Postcards from Europe and beyond

in #teamuk10 months ago

It's been nearly two months since I did an update on my postcard experiment. Sadly there's still no news on a bunch of postcards that I sent out nearly three months ago. Not that I'm counting every day, but this is how long it's been since I sent out 8 postcards to the following 6 countries. One can only wait and hope they will arrive ..... one day

Philippines, Pakistan and South Africa - 89 days
Chile - 85 days
Cuba and Venezuela - 80 days


On a much brighter note, I received some postcards from some friends who agreed to take part in my little experiment. Let me show you the lovely selection

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Dozza, Italy

This one was sent to me from @delilhavores in Italy. She's from Bologna and the postcard is a medieval village called Dozza near where she lives. The villages is famous for the murals painted around the buildings as seen from the postcard, and this is confirmed by the one and only post that was pinned on Pinmapple last year by miljo76. Now I fully understand why she said this is a breathtaking place.
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The stamp on the postcard is of Ruggiero Leoncavallo. I have to confess, I have no idea who this person is. And that is the beauty of these interactions, because it gives me the opportunity to learn about random things from around the world. It turns out that Leoncavallo is a famous Italian composer and his most famous piece of work is Pagliacci. Naturally, I had to google that, and found a performance by Luciano Pavarotti which is less than 3 minutes long. So much emotion in his performance! This postcard was sent on 31st March and it arrived when I was away in April, so it took between 2 to 4 weeks to arrive from Italy to UK.

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Sintra, Portugal

Here's another postcard I received when I was away in April. @pardinus sent this to me and is about a place called Sintra. It looks very pretty, and we hae a lot of pins on Pinmapple here. Seems like it is easily accessible from Lisbon as a day trip, I shall bear that in mind if I ever go to Lisbon again as it's nice to travel beyond the big cities sometimes.
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Originally I thought the stamp was of a baguette, but that's French and this is Portugal so I can't be a baguette. I googled Travesseiro de Sintra and struck gold!!! Turns out travesseiro means cushion/pillow and this is a famous local delicacy made of puff pastry, egg yolks, almonds and sugar. Desserts are absolutely my favourite, another reason to go to Sintra on my next visit to Portugal!!!
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Lisboa, Portugal

Another postcard from Portugal, this is from @xrayman whom I met briefly (along with pardinus) from Amsterdam HF last year. This was sent on 28th April and I received it on 19th May, so about 3 weeks.

I have nice memories of Lisbon even though I was only there for a day 10 years ago!!! My best memory is the tram ride and a shabby looking shop selling some mouth watering roast suckilng pig, it was so delicious. Sadly I think that shop doesn't exist anymore as I recommended it to a friend who was visiting Lisbon the other year and they said it wasn't there. So I guess it's time to go back again sometime, and maybe some of my new found local friends can help me find an equally yummy place 😄
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It took me a while to find information on this stamp. It was released in 2022 and is part of a set called "The Romeiros of Sao Miguel - 500 Years Since the Earthquake in Vila Franca Do Campo". Sao Miguel is an island in Portugal and a big earthquake erupted in 1522 at the town Vila Franca Do Campo on the island. It's amazing the things you learn when you're on Hive. All you need is to be curiuos.

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Durban, South Africa

I'm so upset that my postcard from Taiwan to South Africa still has not arrived after 89 days, yet it only took just over two months for @lizelle's postcard to get to me in UK. I know two months sounds like a long time, but it's still a lot quicker than non arrival!! And of course, we wouldn't expect anything less than a lion from South Africa!! I love the proverb "Do not flee from a roaring lion towards a crouching lion". You never now what danger lies ahead and you could be running from one to another.

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The stamp is a white rhino, a near extinct creature with only around 20k in the world. I don't think I've ever seen a real one before as I'm not big on wildlife and animals, particularly those locked up in zoos. However it's great to know that work is being done by people to conserve these valuable creatures.
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Drôme, France

And last but not the least, I received this from @anttn last week. He sent it on 20th May and it took two weeks for it to swim across the 33km English Channel from France to UK. By the way, did you know, the first time a person swam across the English Channel was in 1875 and it took him nearly 22 hours. Now, the fastest on record is an Australian who did it under 7 hours in 2012!!

Anyway, I digress. I caught a glimpse of this postcard when anttn posted about his visit to a peony farm a few weeks ago, and he got the postcard there. I can imagine how beautiful actually being there would be, with the array of colours from over 600 variety of peonies and that stunning view. Thank for sending a piece of that over to UK.

There was no stamp on this postcard as it came in an envelope with one of those electronic code stamps.
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It was very nice to learn a lot more about the world through these postcards I received from friends on Hive. So thank you guys and girls, and I have set a 5% beneficiary to each of you.

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Hey. Wait, how. Did I? Was I supposed to send one back?

Did no one tell you it was part of the deal???!!!!!

Just joking 😄
We just like taking things off chain, like you were our guest of honour in UK last year. Wow!! Been that long already

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Dang, over 80 days for some of them. That is just crazy. No wonder electronic mail and the like have taken over most forms of communication. I wonder if that time frame has always been the same or if it has gotten longer now that fewer people use snail mail.

I'm surprised postcards take so long from Europe to UK, I mean three weeks is an awfully long time, no wonder no one post anything nowadays. It's such a pity, as I do like physical stuff, virtual can't beat it

I wonder if it would get there quicker if you put higher postage on it.

Wow, that's crazy. The arrival time and all but the pictures are worth the wait. I especially love the one from South Africa with that beautiful quote to match. And the peony farm too. Just so lovely all of them. It's an amazing hobby. Connecting to people and places through postcards. Sharing and making your stories too. Epic!✨

That's what Hive can do, connect you with people from all over the world, and it's up to you on how much you want to develop the relationship that you never thought was possible.

It's so beautiful that I've gotten to witness that firsthand. It's amazing the wonderful friends I've gotten here. And it's so nice to meet you as well.🤗

What a great initiative 😍 I'm very happy to be part of this experiment, I enjoyed it a lot. Thank you very much 😊

!discovery 30

By the way, I'm italian but I had no idea who Ruggiero Leoncavallo was 🤣

🤣😂😂🤣


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I almost can't believe that nowadays, when you can be at the other side of the world in a day, postcards take 3 months or more to arrive. Maybe they are delivered by steamships 🤔. The last postcard I received from Mexico took a good month to reach Slovenia. Thanks for the mention!

Maybe they are delivered by steamships

More like pigeons 😉

A month from Mexico to Slovenia isn't bad actually, considering Portugal to UK took three weeks.

No, not bad, although when I thanked my friends, they had forgotten they had sent it 🤣

I cannot tell you how much I love this!!!! 💕 This was such a fun initiative and I hope it keeps on going!

Taking it off-chain a little bit helps build friendships in a real way.

I am shocked it takes so long for the postcards to travel, to be honest. I mail postcards all the time when I am away and most of them get there before I get home if I am in the US, Canada, or the Caribbean Islands. (that is being away for a week) In Europe, it used to take a week or sometimes two, but, I haven't been there since Covid.

Le sigh.

Hi, Pauline! Thanks for the update on the postcards!

I have no idea why postcards takes so long nowadays. In Taiwan, where I sent the bulk of them, I think they charge a lower rate because it's considered printed material but it's still absurd that it takes so long. I really do not know where the delay is as it goes through so many places.

It's so thoughtful of you to mail postcards when you go away, lucky your friends and family Denise!

Getting postcards never gets old!!I dont know anyone who doesnt love being thought of. I still like when my friends and family thinks of me.

Its a fun little way of leaving your trail.

I'm waiting and checking our post box almost everyday 😁 but really hope it will come soon 🙏🏼

Maybe Philippines can have its own little race between Cebu, Negros Oriental and South Cotabato. Please do let me know when it arrives, I hope it will one day

Haha! That will be exciting 😁 will do for sure. 🤗

Damn, that waiting period! I remember how hard I received the postcard from you and the Christmas card that never arrived.. it's sad that you have to wait for so long to receive something or even never arrive.

I'm sorry the Christmas car never arrived, it's just so odd that the post card made it a few months early. Maybe one day a postal worker will find it dropped behind a desk somewhere and continue to process it. One can only hope 🙃

Haha, yes, maybe 🤔

I have always found the idea of your postcard experiment fascinating, and it really is a great way to learn about other places in the world.
The postcard you sent me has not yet arrived, but I do not lose hope that someday it will. 🤞

The UK postal service is okish, so hopefully it will arrive one day, it's really mind boggling why it takes so long 😔

The postcards sent back are really great. I wish I hadn't lived through those terrible days so I could have been part of this experiment. 90 days is a long time for postcards. I would expect it to get there, even if it's halfway around the world. I hope to hear something soon.

I'll keep everyone posted when there's any development. And no worries, you had more important things to do back then.

I was super-excited to hear my postcard arrived, and surprisingly fast...for South Africa that is! But, I posted it near the central Durban Post Office.
I've still not received your postcard.

All the way from SA to the UK - 2 months, delivered to your post box
Likely scenario:
Taiwan to South Africa - 1-2 months to our central post office depot where it's been sitting for a further month already, waiting to be driven only 17 kilometres to our local depot. Said depot is only 2 kilometres from our home, but my postcard could sit there a further couple of weeks, waiting to be delivered to our postbox!

Do I sound like I'm whining?
I cannot wait to see magic happening in my post box, it's really such a fabulous experiment @livinguktaiwan!

It would be great if only we knew it made it to South Africa already, then at least we know it will be delivered sometime when they get round to it. Just out of interest, is the postal service always this bad, even for local mail?

It used to be good, but very few people use it because it's so slow. Everyone uses courier services. But, a lady who has worked there for a long time, told me it will get to me if it landed in SA, it just takes much much longer!
Eric Vance Walton sent me a book from Minnesota via our postal mail a couple of years ago, and it took many months to arrive, but it was all intact, so I am sure it will get here...hopefully before the year is over!
It is very frustrating not knowing!

Thats a nice update on your experiment and I loved hearing about the stamps !

I don't collect stamps, but it's always interesting to learn about them as something or someone has got to be important to get on a stamp. It's surprising what you learn from Hive

Remind me to send you one card next time I go to Romania. Where I find the address?

I finished this part of the experiment now, but thanks so much for your offer. Maybe I will reinstate it again sometime in the future

Funny, fact, it was a coincidence the stamp being from a Sintra typical dessert, I didn't got it at the same time as the postcard! :) If you like desserts... you should definitely visit Portugal again, there are toooons to choose from! And yes, Sintra is a place to put on the travel list for sure.

I thought that was quite unusual, the stamp being about Sintra, was wondering what little magic you had done 😉

Ahahah really can't take credit, was pure luck; the fact it showed you one of the coolest pastries in the region was just the cherry on top! ;)

Yeahhh 😁! That's awesome to see a bit more all the postcards you received :) It was and is a great experiment to add physical links in addition of the ones we're all building here !

Next travel in France or aboard, you'll have some news hehe

Have a good day dear @livinguktaiwan, I hope you're doing well 🌟

Hope you have a great weekend @anttn !

Many thanks 😇

How could this not be the case, since we're returning to the corner of the elephant's rock 😂 ?

I wish you a lovely one too ! Take care ✌️

Another positive side about your postcard experiment is the exchanging of knowledge! When I arrived at the post-office, I've asked for a "normal" stamp, and not the "ugly" ones / printed by the franking machine with only the value of it... The only stamp from those that were available was this one from the Romeiros de São Miguel. the employee who attended me, loved that I had asked her for a stamp, because even though she had to go and get a large dossier with all the available stamps and she had to go to some trouble to find the available ones, she thanked me for asking her for something different... It took her more then 5 min, to do a simple thing that she could have done with just a pressing of a key, but she loved to sell me a "normal stamp"... Ahaha What about this!

Ten years it is a long period! You have to revisit Portugal, and maybe discover a little bit more about different parts of my country, like Porto ;)
If you and your hubbie love gastronomy, you are simply gonna love the North part of Portugal! Trust me :)