A Postcard A Day - Tuesday 3 September 2025 - T for Paradise Bookshop, rumba and paper art

 Hello lovely peeps, How are you all? I am back from my travels and it was wonderful to be reunited with my Ronnie (my cat). I missed him a lot.

My postcard today comes from China:

It was sent by surface mail so it has been in the post since June! The sender writes his/her name in Chinese characters so I have no idea how to say that.

The characters at the top of the Ex Libris card read "Old Paradise Bookshop" (courtesy of Google Translate).

The stamps are beautiful:

The two on the left represent the 2020 Shanghai Expo and The bird on the right is a stork or a crane. The red 'thing' looks like macramé. It is called Chinese knots.

"Chinese macramé" refers to Chinese knotting, a decorative Chinese folk art that uses a single length of cord to weave intricate, symbolic shapes. Popular since the Tang and Song dynasties, it is a form of macramé involving knotting techniques, not a different craft altogether. These knots are known for their aesthetic appeal and are often imbued with symbolic meaning, serving as good luck charms or talismans.  

I think it's very beautiful. I might have a go at that....

I wrote about my trip on Friday. I'll tell you some more. 

I attended a concert. I had bought a ticket as that was the only thing that was going on as far as I could see on the Internet. It was called 'A Rumba', so I assumed it was rumba music. Well it wasn't. It was a group of musicians and singers who were playing songs that were popular in the 60s and 70s. (Songs I didn't know) 

They were good and I enjoyed it. It was typical Spanish music, famenco-ish. The audience was full of older people.

Another thing I visited is the Origami museum. That was all about the history and origin of origami in the far east and also in Europe.

I was given a folded 'kiss' when I entered:

There were other rooms dedicated to art with paper:

Amazingly beautiful.

Zaragoza has many impressive churches, as you would expect of a Catholic country. The biggest was the basilica of Maria del Pilar (Mary of the Pillar):

Wikipedia writes: The Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar (Spanish: Catedral-Basílica de Nuestra Señora del Pilar) is a Catholic church in the city of Zaragoza, Aragon. It is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title of Our Lady of the Pillar, praised as "Mother of the Hispanic Peoples" by Pope John Paul II. It is reputed to be the first-ever church dedicated to Mary.

Local traditions take the history of this basilica to the spread of Christianity in Roman Spain attributing to an apparition to Saint James the Great, the apostle who is believed by tradition to have brought Christianity to the country. This is the only reported apparition of Mary to have occurred before her reputed Assumption.

The architecture is of Baroque style, and the present building was predominantly built between 1681 and 1872.

This last photo is from the Internet, the others are mine. Below another photo from the Internet that shows the beautiful roofs:

Today I will be joining Elizabeth and Bluebeard for the T-Party. Of course I will bring a drink to the party.

I have a photo of a lunch I had at a Japanese restaurant but my glass was still empty....

I thought I'd take a picture before other people entered.

Below are the sushi that I had:

Very nice it was too.

That is all from me today. 

Happy T-Day,

Lisca