A Postcard A Day - Tuesday 6 October 2026 - T for Krakow

 Hello lovely peeps,

Today I have an arty postcard for you with a beautiful stamp. And I would also like to show you some images of Krakow, where I spent a week recently.

Here is the postcard:

The postcard comes to me (via Postcrossing) from Siddharta who lives in Hongkong and wrote about the Japanese concept of Wabi-Sabi, which, he says, means: 'Nothing is complete, perfect, or forever.'

The image on the card is an artwork called Two Women with Washbasin, 1913 by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (1880-1938).

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner was a German expressionist painter and printmaker. He was one of the founders of the artists group Die Brücke or "The Bridge", a key group leading to the foundation of Expressionism in 20th-century art. Wikipedia

                                          Photographic self-portrait 1913/1915

The stamp is colourful:

It's from a series about 

“Intangible Cultural Heritage – Tai O Dragon Boat Water Parade” Special Stamps

Date of Issue: 2026/06/18

Aren't they lovely!

Now what about Krakow? I flew to Krakow on Thursday 24th of September. My friends from the UK joined me there later the same day. 

We rented a lovely apartment on the edge of the old town. The old town used to be a walled city but where the city walls used to be, is now a green belt called Planty Park. The main square, Rynek Glówny (market square), is huge. It has large open spaces and beautiful buildings like the Cloth Hall, a Renaissance-era trading outpost:

The pillars are ornate:

This arch had men faces on one side and women's on the other.

Behind the Cloth Hall a church tower is visible. It's St Mary's Basilica.

Walking round the Cloth Hall the basilica is visible as is the monument of Adam Mickiewicz.(Sorry, I don't know who he was).

The buildings on the square are ornate. 

No, we did not go to the Hard Rock Café. (It is visible next to St Mary's basilica in the panorama photo.)

Below is a side view of the Cloth Hall.

My friends used to live in Bristol (as did I, that is how we know each other) so we were all a bit surprised to find Banksy in Krakow:

Below a random building with an antique lamp post:

We ate very well as there was every type of restaurant in Krakow. But I didn't particularly fall in love with Polish food. We tried the famous 

Pierogi

:

Polish dumplings stuffed with savory fillings like potato and cheese (ruskie), meat, or sauerkraut and mushrooms, as well as sweet fruit varieties. In the above photo you see a platter of different varieties which we shared. They were nice as a snack but not as a meal.

And then there were the 'obwarzanek krakowski':

A braided, bagle-like bread sold on the streets.

There is so much more I'd like to tell you about Krakow as I absolutely fell in love with the city. But I'll leave that for Friday.

I will be joining Elizabeth and Bluebeard for T for Tuesday. My drink (or should I say: my friend's drink) is visible in the photo with the pierogi.

Happy T-Day all!

Lisca

A Postcard A Day - Monday 5 October 2026 - Monday Murals

 Hi everyone,

I usually post Fridays and Tuesdays, but I have photographed a mural last week, which I would like to show you:

I visited Krakow in Poland last week and I saw this mural as we were walking into the old part of the city.

It has an inscription/signature  just above the door on the left. It reads:

Project: Darek Vasina

Studio2

Wykonanie: Tupet

Sightseeing

Sawshit

2024

I found something about the artist on the Internet and I used Google Translate to translate the Polish text into English:

Darek Vasina, real name DariuszVasina, Studied at the Faculty of Graphic Arts at the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków. Received his diploma in 1990 from Prof. Stanisław Wejman’s Copperplate Engraving Studio, with a supplementary project in drawing from Prof. Jacek Gaj’s studio. 

Cyclops (2011)

Works in drawing, painting, printmaking, and illustration. Has held the academic rank of *doktor habilitowany* (post-doctoral degree) since 2007. Runs painting studios at the Faculty of Graphic Arts at the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków and illustration studios at the Institute of Art at the State University of Applied Sciences (PWSZ) in Tarnów, as well as teaching drawing at the School of Form in Warsaw. Co-initiator and co-founder of the Narrative Drawing Studio at our faculty. Member of the "Non-existent Three Eyes Group" (*Nieistniejąca grupa Trzy Oczy*), the "Gili-Gili" art collective, and the "Studio 2" design and art duo. 

Darek Vasina and Beata Kotnowska.

Has participated in over one hundred solo and group exhibitions. An enthusiast of illustration and artistic comics.

That is all from me. More about my stay in Krakow on tomorrow's blog, which I will link with T stands for Tuesday.

Take care,

Lisca

A Postcard A Day - Friday 2 October 2026 - Friday Smiles, Friday Face Off and Second on the 2nd.

Hello lovely peeps,

 I am showing you an old post from 2015. That will qualify for Second on the 2nd hosted by Elizabeth and Bluebeard at alteredbooklover.com. There is a funny at the end for Friday Smiles and you will be able to see a few faces for Friday Face Off.

Friday, 2 October 2015

A Postcard a Day - Friday 2 Oct 2015 Friday Smiles

Good Morning! It's Friday! That means we share our smiles this week. Have a look yourself at Friday Smiles.

My week has been excellent. Daughter plus 10 yr old grandson stayed for 5 days. A good time was had by all. On Wednesday we drove them back to Malaga airport (3 hour drive). As we were in that part of the country, we then went to visit my sister and her man in Marbella and we stayed the night there. Lovely! They live on the coast. In the evening we walked down the road to the beach and had dinner in one of those 'chiringitos' (beach restaurants). Fantastic! Good food, live music and the waves rolling just yards from your feet. 

We are now back home and things will get back to normal....

Here is my postcard for today. It is one from Russia:

Asya, who wrote the card, did not give me much information about this picture. I managed to decipher the Russian word on the back of the card ('Tungus') and did some research:

Formerly known as the Tungus or Tunguz, the Evenks are an Indigenous People of central and eastern Siberia, Mongolia, and Inner Mongolia.

In addition to the general name, the Evenk (or Evenki, which means simply "person" or "people") also identify themselves by the names of their clans.

In Russia, the Evenks are recognized as one of the Indigenous peoples of the Russian North, with a population of roughly 35,500 people. In China, the Evenki are one of 56 Indigenous Peoples recognized by the People's Republic of China, with a population of 30,500.

Their clothing is absolutely beautiful. I found some photos on the internet.

I read that the patterns are beaded.

THe next few are antique examples of the bead work:

The stamps are beautiful too:

The two stamps on the left are of the series of Kremlins (fortifications), and the large one is from a series of contemporary fine art. But I have not been able to find out the artist.

Now for a little smile:

This is the sign outside the Crown Hotel in Llandegla in North Wales. It's a beautiful hotel, but someone was obviously taking the mickey. I would have definitely gone in with that sign by the door!

This is what it looks like:

That is all from me today. I hope you all have a good week with lots of smiles.

Blessings,

Lisca

PS Now on October 2nd 2026, I'm traveling home so on Tuesday I will get back to blogging normally. Enjoy your weekend, See you all soon! 

A Postcard A Day - Tuesday 29 September 2026 - T for women having fun, and a glimpse of Krakow

 Hello lovely girls,

I have a most beautiful postcard to show you today (at least I think it is beautiful) and because I'm joining Elizabeth and Bluebeard at the T-Party, I will show you some drinks as I have been out and about again.

But first this lovely postcard:

It is a photo from 1906 by Minna Keene, using the carbon printing process. The Stephen Bulgur Gallery website writes:

Minna Keene, née Bergman, photographer (born 5 April 1861 in Arolsen, Germany; died November 1943 in Oakville, ON). A self-taught photographer, Keene was a member of the London Salon, a society devoted to the promotion of pictorial photography. In 1908, she became the first woman to be admitted as a fellow to the Royal Photographic Society. She immigrated to Canada just before the First World War.

Above is a photo of Minna herself.

The Canadian Encyclopedia adds:  In 1910 Minna exhibited in the Fifty-fifth Annual Exhibition of the Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain, and in each year until 1929. In 1911 her photograph of her daughter Violet, entitled Pomegranates, was awarded Picture of the Year at the London Photographic Salon.

I like this photo because of its atmospheric lighting and the fact that she is carrying pomegranates (the Spanish word for pomegranates is 'granada'. As I live in Granada, that hits the spot.)

Let me show you some drinks as I need a 'ticket' to the T-Party hosted by Bluebeard and Elizabeth.

The local Women's Association held their annual lunch. I am the third from the right. There were 15 tables of ten women.

There were several antipasti and tapas before the first course arrived. I had chosen octopus as my first course. Here it is with my drink in the background. I am drinking alcohol free beer as, again, I was driving.

I forgot to take a picture of the main course, which was a nice cut of pork called 'Iberian pork pluma'. It's a prized little cut of Spanish black-footed pig, very tender and beautifully marbled. I enjoyed it very much. So much so that I forgot to photograph it.

My dessert was Pan de Calatrava:

Spanish Media writes: Pan de calatrava is a traditional dessert from Murcia, although its origin has several theories. It is very similar to the flan but with the addition of using leftovers from the previous day, either bread, cakes or muffins. 

A sort of glorified bread pudding, with bread/sponge drenched in caramel sauce. Yummy.

In between courses I went outside with my friends to chat and take pictures.

We're just having a bit of fun.

The name of the restaurant is Las Conchas (meaning 'the shells'.)

At the moment I am still in Poland (Krakow) with my two friends. We're staying in a delightful apartment in the centre of town:

I'll post more of Krakow when I get home.

In the meantime: 

Happy T-Day!

Lisca

A Postcard A Day - Friday 25 September 2026 - Friday Smiles and Face Off

 Hello lovely peeps, 

Here we are again at the end of another week. Has it been a good week for you? It has for me as I am on holiday in Poland, in the city of Krakow. More of that later. 

But first a postcard:

Some of you know that I love Steampunk. And if this card doesn't make me smile, I don't know what will. (Big smile!)

It was sent to me (via Postcrossing) by Eugenia, who lives in Nizhniy Novgorod in Russia. She is a fire safety engineer.

The small(er) stamp at the bottom features the Main Fair House of the Nizhny Novgorod Fair, an architectural masterpiece completed in 1890. 

Designed by architects Karl Treiman, Alexander von Gauven, and Nikolai Ivanov, this magnificent building was specifically constructed in the Russian Revival style (also known as the neo-Russian or pseudo-Russian style). It was intentionally built to mimic the ornate, fairy-tale look of 17th-century Russian administrative palaces (terems). It served as the grand administrative and commercial headquarters for what was once the largest and most important annual trade fair in the Russian Empire. (I think I got this info from Wikipedia)

Following the Russian Revolution, the Soviet government shut down the fair in 1930, labeling it a "hostile social phenomenon". Most of the fair's 60+ historical trade buildings and streets were demolished to build housing blocks. Miraculously, the Main Fair House survived. Today, it has been fully restored and serves as a premier modern exhibition center hosting the multimedia museum Russia.

The red double stamp at the top represents the Moscow Metropolitan (Underground) , showing carriages from 2024 to 1935 (from left to right).

Now what am I up to? Tuesday and Wednesday night I stayed at my sister's in Marbella. 

Here I am in between my sister and my brother-in-law. (Faces for the FaceOff)

I boarded a flight at Malaga airport and I arrived in Krakow on Thursday afternoon.:

You can just about see the pink plane through the glass. It's an airline called WizzAir and as far as I know it's an Hungarian budget airline. Anyway, it was fine. Very relaxed, on time and a pleasant flight.

I arrived at Katowice airport, which is an hour away from Krakow. That was to avoid a crazy-o'clock early flight direct to Krakow, which would have been the alternative. There are buses from the Katowice airport to Krakow (an hour by road) and I got to Krakow bus station in good time. A short walk to our apartment and then fiddle with entry codes etc but I'm here now and the apartment is very nice.

My friends from the UK are arriving later tonight (I'm writing this on Thursday evening), so I've had the evening to myself. I went out for a meal and had an Indian curry at a place called Indian Flame

I had a prawn mango korma and it was the best I've ever had.

I ate the lot! 

That is all from me today. Of course there will be some funnies at the end.

Enjoy your weekend!

Lisca