A Postcard A Day - Tuesday 26 March 2024 - T for Huescar, Perth and birth-day,

 Hello lovely peeps,

Today I have a very special postcard to show you. It comes all the way from Western Australia! 

And perhaps you can guess who sent it..... yes, none other than Iris! Thank you so much Iris! I am absolutely thrilled! I like it because you went through the effort of buying, writing and sending me the card, I like it because it has a map on it (and I love maps) and of course I like that there is some info on the card:

Of course there are some places that Iris has visited and writes about in her blog. Also I have read a book set in Broome (One of the Seven Sisters series).

The stamp is beautiful:

The Sydney Opera House was formally opened by Queen Elizabeth II, on 20 October 1973. Acclaimed throughout the world and recognised as a masterpiece of creative genius, this extraordinary building was designed by Danish architect Jørn Utzon (1918–2008), who was awarded the project in 1957 following an international design competition. With its prominent location on Bennelong Point, the Opera House is a fitting response to its spectacular harbour setting. 

It comes from a series of two stamps celebrating 50 years Sidney Opera House. 

I never realized the opera house was made of wood.

Now for a quick change of location:

Last week (or was it the week before?) our pastor, another couple and I had been to Huescar, which is an hour and a half drive from here to visit a lady from our congregation who hadn't been well. After visiting her we went for a walk through the little town.

The small town of Huescar is known as "Cuidad de la Paz" (City of Peace). It sits at an altitude of 953 metres and has a population of less than 8500.

 It has some beautiful buildings. We started in the main square:

Which has a beautiful band stand:

Detail:

I discovered a fun fact about Huescar: Huescar has been at war with Denmark for 172 years!

When Spain allied with the United Kingdom against Napoleon during the Peninsular War, Spanish troops in French-aligned Denmark–Norway suddenly found themselves in enemy territory. While many were evacuated by the UK or escaped by other means, some 5,000 Spanish soldiers were imprisoned in Denmark. 

Spain cut off relations with Denmark in response. Upon receiving this news, the City Council of Huéscar decided to declare war on Denmark. Huéscar, being a small village with only eight municipal guards at the time, did not send any troops to fight against Denmark, and neither did Denmark engage in hostilities against Huéscar. By the time of Napoleon's defeat, the declaration of war had been forgotten, and Huéscar forgot to declare peace.

In 1981, a local historian rediscovered the declaration of war. This led to a ceremony and celebration on 11 November 1981, wherein the city mayor and the Ambassador of Denmark ratified a peace treaty. Some representatives of Denmark attended wearing Viking costumes, while Spaniards erected signs in Danish jokingly warning against entering enemy territory. During the intervening 172 years, no conflict or injury occurred between the two parties.

I came upon the modernist house all of a sudden:

This most beautiful house is the  Casa de los Penalves.

This Gaudi style house is situated in El Paseo del Santo Cristo, where it stands out in all its beauty. The Catalan modernist design is both unusual and yet blends in perfectly amongst the Huescar architecture. 

We did not visit the inside of this house but I found some photos on the Internet:

The skylight of the central patio

The rooms are stunning and reminiscent of the Alhambra. Now I'm trying to find out if it is open to the public. I'd love to visit it.

I think I'll leave it at that, but before I go I'd like to show you two photos taken on Saturday when I had a birthday. I organised a little party and of course I had a cake (a Sachertorte), kindly gifted to me by my friend Dian:

Someone had cheekily reversed the candles on the cake. So I'm pretending to be 37!

Sorry about the dark photo, I only had party lights on and we didn't want to flash.

Of course it is T for Tuesday hosted by Bluebeard and Elizabeth, so I need to have a drink. Luckily in the above two photos there are some drinks in the background.

That is it from me my lovelies,

take care,

Hugs,

Lisca