Tuesday 17 December 2019

A Postcard A Day - Tuesday 17 December 2019 - T for Buddhas, bamboo and cider


Hello lovely ladies, it the T-Party today! 
I will be sharing a beverage (or two) in a minute but first let me share some postcards.
This one comes from Japan. Mauco sent it to me and she says she lives in Kamakura, a historic city with many shrines and temples. It is about an hour by train from Tokyo.

There is the Kotoku-in temple which  is renowned for its "Great Buddha", a monumental outdoor bronze statue of Amida Buddha, which is one of the most famous icons of Japan.

And there is the Kokokuji temple, a Zen temple  Famous for its bamboo garden, it is also known as "Bamboo Temple".


The stamp is quite special in that the image is embossed. I was surprised it came up on the scan. It reads Tokyo 2020 with the symbol of the Olympic Games underneath.
The second postcard comes from Germany. Yes, you read that right. It was sent by Olga who lives in Germany but originally is from the Ukraine. She decided to send me a card from her home town of  Mykolaiv.

It is a city of half a million in habitants in southern Ukraine, near the Black Sea. I had to look it up on the map, as I'd never heard of it. 
An interesting factoid I discovered:
If you had arrived in the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv before 1992, you would have been met at the outskirts by machine gun-wielding military police intent on preventing you from entering. That’s because this former Soviet secret city was a key center of military shipbuilding, producing the submarines, aircraft carriers, destroyers, and battleships at the heart of Soviet naval power. The city was completely off-limits, not just to foreigners, but even to the extended families of local residents.

Some nice German stamps. The one on the left is about Alexander von Humboldt 1769-1859.
Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt was a Prussian polymath, geographer, naturalist, explorer, and influential proponent of Romantic philosophy and science. He was the younger brother of the Prussian minister, philosopher, and linguist Wilhelm von Humboldt.

OK, that's enough of that. I'm coming to the beverage now. (Elizabeth and Bleubeard organize a T-party every Tuesday. All we need to do is show a beverage.) 

Saturday it was my hubby's birthday (73 years young) and because I had a meeting to go to on Saturday, I decided to surprise my hubby on Friday night. I told him I was taking him out for lunch. and we drove 60 km (about 45 miles) to this place:
It's an English run restaurant in a town called Albox, where a lot of Brits have settled. 
Our drink was Strongbow cider. That is difficult to find where we live, so this was a treat.
  • The most famous cider on the planet. Strongbow's famous refreshment is characterised by its bittersweet, Herefordshire apples - sharp and tangy with lively effervescence and a crisp dryness.
  • ABV: 5.0%
  • Aroma:
  • Crisp and tangy.
  • Flavour:
  • Apple store, cooking apple and oaky.
  • Mouthfeel:
  • Tart green apple.
  • Finish:
  • Crisp and very refreshing.
  • Food Match:
  • Ploughman's, pork belly.

  • First made to refresh in 1962 and has remained the most refreshing and most popular cider ever since.
  • Strongbow is named after the Anglo-Norman knight Richard de Clare, later Earl of Pembroke, nicknamed Strongbow for relying heavily on archers within his battles.
  • Strongbow's iconic arrows have been on screen for nearly 50 years.
  • 1 billion bittersweet apples go into Strongbow cider; all grown, harvested, pressed and canned in and around Herefordshire. That's 30% of all apples grown in the UK!
No, I was not paid to advertise. We both just love the stuff.


 But the whole point of going to a British restaurant was to eat Fish & Chips. We both like that and again, where we live, no battered fish is available and I don't own a deep fryer. The green stuff is called mushy peas. And it is just that. Mashed up peas. 
Hubby was ecstatic and I wasn't far behind. It was a once a year treat for sure!
When we looked out of the window across the road. There was an English convenience store. 
(I thought I'd get that palm tree in too for Elizabeth)

We got a trolley and went a bit mad. This is our haul:

 That's it from me today. I have written this on Monday and am posting this at midnight. Then on Tuesday morning we will be starting our travels and will be catching a bus to Alicante. I will try to do some comments in the evening at the hotel. On Wednesday morning we will be flying to Rotterdam.

Wishing everyone a very happy T-Day,
Take care,
Hugs,
Lisca

14 comments:

  1. Oh Japan must be so beautiful to experience in person. Beautiful postcards! Happy belated birthday to hubby! How wonderful to have such a special English meal as a treat you both obviously love. Happy T day, and happy travels too!

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  2. Your postcards are beautiful. I loved the photos of the Buddha and the Bamboo Temple, too. Reminds me of what Erika saw when she was in Japan last year.

    Everyone in the U.S. should know where the Ukraine is now. If they don't, they sure don't follow our political nightmare.

    What IS IT with you Brits and your mushy peas? I never got it, and I'm half British. I DO love the fish and chips, though. AND, I would gladly eat the mushy peas, too.

    Wow, the apple cider looks good, but the ABV is still too much for me. Congrats to a successful birthday for your husband. Please wish him a belated happy birthday for me.

    LOVE the palm tree and you two scored by finding British food, too. I can't believe you don't get Kellogg's Rice Krispies in Spain.

    In case Sharon doesn't explain, Panera is a chain sandwich and baked goods shop. They sell drinks, too. They are in many cities in the U.S.

    Thanks for sharing your postcards, your trip to eat at a British restaurant, and your Apple Cider with us for T this Tuesday. Have a fun holiday, dear.

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  3. Your post cards are always so interesting. That bamboo temple is pretty. I don't think I would like mushy peas, as I don't like regular peas, period. In answer to your question, PANERA is an American bakery café chain with hundreds of locations in USA and Canada. Fiends meet there and have bagels or pastries and unlimited coffee and tea refills, as long as it isn't specialty drinks. We sit there for hours and visit. No one bothers you. They have pastries, lunch menus, great soups and sandwiches.
    Happpy T Day!

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  4. Oh fish and chips and mushy peas. I am not even British but oh those mushy peas. They look yummy. I have never tried the cider but I bet your husband really loved his birthday treat. I am glad you shared this fun outing with us. And I also enjoyed your Japanese postcard. That shrine looks quite interesting. I hope you have a fantastic week and happy T day. Hugs-Erika

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  5. Hi awesome postcards and stamps-and I love Strongbow allot and it's gluten free too-your food looks so good, I love fish and chips.
    Glad you were able to do some shopping hugs Happy T wishes Kathy

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  6. Such a beautiful card! I can´t wait for cherry-trees blooming over here again, too.
    The Bamboo temple is impressive.
    Yes, the name Olga sure surprised me ;-)
    Happy belated Birthday wishes to your Hubby, he sure looks (young and) happy! Never heard of that cider. Sadly.
    Oh, I can so relate with you running wild there :-)
    Happy T-Day and travels!!! Hugs from here.

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  7. Beautiful postcards. Love the beautiful, embossed stamp. Happy Birthday to your hubby. I will be 73 this week, too, but will probably celebrate with coffee and not cider, although Crossbow is very good. Glad you had such a fun trip out. Enjoy your holidays, happy T Day, Valerie

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  8. The cherry blossom postcard is beautiful. I'm awe-struck by the size of the bamboo! Happy belated birthday to your hubby :) I never say no to fried fish, though here it never comes with mushy peas. They do look like they'd go well with the fish :) Have a wonderful trip! Happy T Tuesday!

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  9. Such beautiful postcards! The cherry blossom looks so pretty and the bamboo looks amazing 😁. Nice to find those English treats too. Happy travels and Happy T Day wishes too! Hugs, Jo x

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  10. Lisca I’m pleased to hear that you enjoy our British fish and chips and mushy peas, quite a few people don’t like the peas but we have always loved them!
    We have a new English shop opened here while we’ve been away, it’s a Tesco store really, I couldn’t believe it when we went in today as we had just loaded the car with English things to bring back.
    Great postcards again, the blossom is so beautiful.
    Have a safe journey, jan x

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  12. Wonderful postcard, the bamboo garden looked fantastic.
    You gave your husband a lovely surprise, fish and chips I think we take for granted here as it is widely available. Its a favourite family meal for us and your cider to drink with it is super.
    Happy T day wishes Lisca.
    Yvonne xx

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  13. Wonderful postcards and stamps. Lovely photos. Happy belated T-Day!

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  14. Wonderful postcards, Lisca. I bet you'd be a whiz at Trivia category: geography. Happy birthday to your hubby. What a nice surprise you gave him. Then finding all those English treats that you love was "the icing on the cake."

    Happy T-day! Eileen xx

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