Postcard A Day - Friday 26 July 2024 - Friday Smiles

 

Hello lovely ladies,  We are having a whopper of a heatwave. Temperatures have been pushing 40, even at night they are nearly 30. It is very tiring. Now a sane person would stay st home and keep calm. No, I have my son and his family over from Italy and they want to go places and see things. So we have been out every day. I am exhausted (but happy to have my family near, lots of smiles).

I will show you a postcard of a cooler place and then tell you what I have been up to.

Here is my postcard:

It was sent to me by Laurel, who lives in San Mateo, California. Of course the Redwood National Park is famous. But I didn't know there were more:

Google writes:

Redwood National and State Parks are a string of protected forests, beaches and grasslands along Northern California’s coast. Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park has trails through dense old-growth woods. Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park is home to Fern Canyon, with its high, plant-covered walls. Roosevelt elk frequent nearby Elk Prairie. Giant redwood clusters include Redwood National Park’s Lady Bird Johnson Grove. ― Google

With this heat, just looking at the shady forest in the picture is pleasant.

The stamp is the orange gerbera, my favorite of the flower stamps:

The cancellation stamp is about Dog bite awareness.

Today (Thursday) I stayed home and let 'the kids' get on with it. I was too tired. They have gone to visit Granada. 

Yesterday we visited Almería city. I love that city as it has lots of culture and things to do and also the harbour and the beach. 

We parked at the harbour and took a taxi to the Alcazaba, the fortress built by Abd al.Rahman in 955 

The above is an aerial photo from Wikipedia, as is the next one:

It's very big and we wandered about for a long time, climbing stairs and changing levels. 

The surrounding parks were beautiful too as the Arabs always had water running everywhere. Very pleasant when it's hot:

Me and my daughter-in-law:

In the same town of Almería we also visited the cathedral:

It's beautiful inside, but the outside looks like a fortress. I suppose it had to be a fortress in the days of fighting the Moors.

One of the large squares
looks like this:

It's called PLaza de la Constitución.

I think that's enough for today. I'll show you more on Tuesday.

Keep smiling!

Have a great weekend,

Lisca

The translation is: "Look, a shooting star! Make a wish!". "Thats you sell all your kayaks". "I'm sorry! It was a plane..."

A Postcard A Day - Tuesday 23 July 2024 - T for Swanboats and Westerns

 Hello lovely peeps,

Are  you ready to party? We are T-Partying today at Bluebeard and Elizabeth's Altered Booklover. Do join us and bring a drink (meaning: post and image of a beverage on your blogpost).

A while ago Elizabeth announced an exchange for the T-Party anniversary and CJ and I exchanged two postcards and two tea bags. My cards are on their way to CJ but she was quicker off the mark and I have already received my postcards. One of them is this one:

It features Swanboats at Dock. I read on the back: "Graceful swanboats await visitors to the Public Garden in the heart of Boston. Soon delighted children and their weary parents will glide around the pond... a Boston tradition since 1877". I have never been to Boston and I had never heard of these boats. Aren't they pretty.

Wikipedia writes: The Swan Boats operate in the same pond in the Public Garden in which they have operated for over 140 years. A Swan Boat ride is a peaceful experience, usually lasting about 12–15 minutes. Each boat is powered solely by a driver, often a high school or college student, who pedals the boat like a bicycle. The boats are steered by pulling one of two ropes connected to a series of pulleys and a rudder. The Swan Boats remain a Boston tradition and symbol of the city.

The stamp is a standard gerbera flower. But CJ might have remembered that the orange one is my favorite, so thank you CJ. 

Here in Andalucia it's all systems go. My son and his family are over from Italy so we are spending some quality time together. Today (Monday) we went to Oasys Mini Hollywood, a Western style theme park in the Tabernas desert. It was once a film set.

I got this photo from Wikipedia as I would not have been able to photograph from up high. 

Originally known as Yucca City, the set was designed by Carlo Simi and built for Sergio Leone's For a Few Dollars More in 1965. It was also used as a set for other films, such as The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966). 

(My son)

After filming of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly was completed, the extras in the project bought the set and ran it as a tourist attraction. 

(My D-I-L)

They were later bought out by a hotel group. The park features daily cowboy stunt shows, such as a mock bank raid,

and a re-enactment of the final moments of Jesse James. It also has a swimming complex, abandoned gold mine, Cowboy style saloon, a Fun Barn for children's activities, a zoo with birds and big cats in cages and many mock western stores.

My son and I (without glasses).

On the way out there was a bench with writing above it:

"Don't go without a kiss".

Now today is the T-Party so I need a drink (to show you).

My son and his wife fancied paella, the traditional rice dish from Valencia. We asked around and none of the bars had it on the menu. One of the bars, the Kiosko, said we could order it and they would cook it especially for us.

Here we are having a good time. I invited my Friend Dian too as the paella was for 5 people.

Drinkwise, I think I had a white wine. The small blue bottles are fizzy water, which by the way is more expensive than wine.

Now you are a bit more up-to-date about what I'm up to.

Happy T-Day to all!

Lisca

A Postcard A Dsy - Friday 19 July 2024 - Friday Smiles

 

Hello lovely ladies,

It's Friday again and I have a postcard for you from Japan. Friday is about the smiles of the week  (see Annie at A Stitch In Time) and this postcard (among other things) made me smile:

The artist is Noburo Baba, a famous Manga artist. The person who sent this to me is YaYoi and he/she was on a trip to Aomori Prefecture. She/he wrote the card at the Sannohe post office, the home town of above mentioned Noburo Baba.

A rubber stamp on the card made clear where Aomori is.

The stamps are beautiful:

They depict the Aomori Nebuta Festival.

The Aomori Nebuta Festival is a Japanese fire festival held annually between August 2nd and 7th in Aomori city. Every year more than 3 million visitors gather for the festivities from all over Japan and abroad to attend. During the festival, over twenty dynamic nebutas – massive lanterns floats based on kabuki or mythical stories – parade through the city of Aomori. 

On the evenings of August 2nd through 6th and daytime of the 7th, colorfully dressed Haneto (nebuta dancers) as well as flutists and drummers convey the nebuta floats through the city. On the night of the 7th, the nebutas are placed in boats and ferried around the Aomori Bay as fireworks light up the night sky to conclude the festival.

What an amazing festival! I've not done anything that exciting this week. My friend from South Africa was still here this week and we had many a pleasant night out:

With a drink or two.

Yesterday I drove her to the bus station where we said goodbye and I spent the day cleaning and preparing the room for my son and family. They arrived early this morning from Rome so I had to get up at an early hour to collect them at the airport at 8:30, which is 3 hours drive away. 

I let my son drive a bit on the way back.

My D-I-L and my grandson (yes, he has long hair).

So tonight I am going to flop into bed a bit early (It's Thursday night). It's 11:30 pm, that is early for me.

Have a great weekend,

Keep smiling!

Lisca