CHINA

A card from postcrosser Betty, China.

JAPAN - Old Foreigner's Mansion, Nagasaki

Miho from Japan sent a card of old foreigner's mansion in Nagasaki. Thanks for the swap.

PORTUGAL - The Park and Palace of Pena, Sintra

Today, 6 cards come to my mailbox.  The first card is from Ricardo, a great card shows Palace of Pena. Thank you.

"Sintra is a town and a municipality in the Grande Lisboa subregion of Portugal. Located in the Sintra hills, the Park and Palace of Pena are the fruit of King Ferdinand II’s creative genius and the greatest expression of 19th-century romanticism in Portugal, denoting clear influences from the Manueline and Moorish styles of architecture. The palace was built in such a way as to be visible from any point in the park, which consists of a forest and luxuriant gardens with over five hundred different species of trees originating from the four corners of the earth."

ANTARCTICA - Port Lockroy

Port Lockroy Antarctica is the British Antarctica Territory, South Pole. Latest territory in my collection!

"Port Lockroy is a natural harbour on the north-western shore of Wiencke Island in Palmer Archipelago of the British Antarctic Territory."

"It was discovered in 1904 and named after Edouard Lockroy, a French politician and Vice President of the Chamber of Deputies, who assisted Jean-Baptiste Charcot in obtaining government support for his French Antarctic Expedition. The harbour was used for whaling between 1911 and 1931. During World War II the British military Operation Tabarin established the Port Lockroy base (Station A) on tiny Goudier Island in the bay, which continued to operate as a British research station until 1962.

In 1996 the Port Lockroy base was renovated and is now a museum and post office operated by the United Kingdom Antarctic Heritage Trust.

It is one of the most popular tourist destinations for cruise-ship passengers in Antarctica. Proceeds from the small souvenir shop fund the upkeep of the site and other historic sites and monuments in Antarctica. The Trust collects data for the British Antarctic Survey to observe the effect of tourism on penguins. Half the island is open to tourists, while the other half is reserved for penguins. A staff of four typically process 70,000 pieces of mail sent by 18,000 visitors that arrive during the five month Antarctic cruise season."

INDONESIA - Lampung

Thank you to postcrosser Fira for the card.

"Lampung is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the southern tip of the island of Sumatra and borders the provinces of Bengkulu and South Sumatra which lie to the north. Lampung is the original home of the Lampung people, who speak their own language and have their own alphabet. Its capital is Bandar Lampung."

RUSSIA - Yarosiav city

"Yaroslavl (Russian: Ярослáвль) is a city and the administrative center of Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, located 250 kilometers (160 mi) northeast of Moscow. The historic part of the city, a World Heritage Site, is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Kotorosl Rivers. It is one of the Golden Ring cities, a group of historic cities northeast of Moscow that has played an important role in Russian history."

USA - Oregon

Thank you to dear Debbie for the nice cards and stamps.

DAGESTAN - Traditional costume

"The Republic of Dagestan (/dɑːɡɨˈstɑːn/ or /ˈdæɡɨstæn/; Russian: Респу́блика Дагеста́н, Respublika Dagestan; also spelled Daghestan) is a federal subject (a republic) of Russia, located in the North Caucasus region. Its capital and largest city is Makhachkala, located at the center of Dagestan on the Caspian Sea.

With a population of 2,910,249, Dagestan is ethnically very diverse (it is Russia's most heterogeneous republic, where no ethnicity forms a majority) with several dozen ethnicities and subgroups inhabiting the republic, most of which speak Caucasian and Turkic languages. Largest among these ethnicities are the Avar, Dargin, Kumyk, Lezgian, Laks, Azerbaijani, Tabasaran and Chechen. Ethnic Russians comprise about 3.6% of Dagestan's total population."

ILLINOIS - Chicago City

Thank you Lauren for the swap.

"Chicago is the third most populous city in the United States, after New York City and Los Angeles. With 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in both the U.S. state of Illinois and the Midwestern United States."

BARBADOS - Cover

ISLE OF WIGHT - Freshwater Bay

Tennyson Down rises impressively  beyond Freshwater Bay, a horseshoe-shaped cove eroded out of the chalk cliffs by the wind and waves. My 4th card from Krystyna, thank you!

"Tennyson Down is a hill at the west end of the Isle of Wight just south of Totland. Tennyson Down is a grassy, whale-backed ridge of chalk which rises to 482 ft/147m above sea level. Tennyson Down is named after the poet Lord Tennyson who lived at nearby Farringford House for nearly 40 years."

RUSSIA - Pickle Soup with chicken

RUSSIA - The house on the street. Belinsky

Thanks to postcrosser Marina for this wonderful house card.

"Residential house was built in the early twentieth century (1904) as his own house Tomsk provincial engineer-architect Stanislav Vikentievich Khomich, the author of the project and construction. A two-storey house is like a fairytale tower. By the number of decorative elements it surpasses all other buildings in Tomsk."

ISLE OF WIGHT - St Catherine's Lighhouse

St Catherine's Lighthouse, Niton, I.W., my 3rd card from Isle of Wight.

"St. Catherine's Lighthouse is one of the oldest lighthouse locations in Great Britain. The first lighthouse was established on St. Catherine's Point in 1323 on the orders of the Pope, after a ship ran aground nearby and its cargo was either lost or plundered. Once part of St. Catherine's Oratory, its octagonal stone tower can still be seen today to the west of Niton at the foot of the Undercliff. It is known locally as the "Pepperpot"

NETHERLANDS

UNITED KINGDOM - Duke and Duchess of Cambridge

Royal Wedding of Duke and Duchessof Cambridge.  Thanks to postcrosser Jill.

ISLE OF WIGHT - Mapcard

5 cards arrived in my mailbox today, four from swap and one from postcrossing.  The first card is from Krystyna. 

"The Isle of Wight, is a county and the largest and second most populous island of England. It is located in the English Channel, about 4 mi (6 km) off the coast of Hampshire and is separated from mainland Great Britain by the Solent."

ISLE OF WIGHT - Shanklin

"Shanklin is a popular seaside resort and civil parish on the Isle of Wight, England, located on the east coast's Sandown Bay. The sandy beach, its Old Village and a wooded ravine, Shanklin Chine, are its main attractions.

The history of the Isle of Wight includes a brief period of time as an independent kingdom in the 15th century. Until 1995, like Jersey and Guernsey, the island had a Governor."

CROATIA - Croatian Adriatic

Thanks to Anja for the beautiful Croatian Adriatic card.

"The Adriatic Sea is a part of the Mediterranean Sea. It is positioned between the eastern coastline of Italy and the coastline of countries of the Balkan Peninsula (Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Albania).

The coastline and the islands all make up a continuous Mediterranean tourist destination spanning from the smallest island village and hidden cove to a national park or urban coastal town. Crowned with 1,244 islands, islets, rocks and reefs, and characterised by cleanliness and clearness, the Croatian Adriatic can claim to be among the top sailing destinations in the world."

About the stamp, is Mediterranean monk seal, one of the most endangered mammals who also lives in Adriatic. The stamp was issued in 2011 and comes in 20-stamp sheets and three 10-stamp booklets.

CROATIA - Varazdin, The city of Baroka

A swap with Petra of Croatia.  Thank you!.