International Women's Day

Postcard ID: RU-2492461
Country: Russia

International Women's Day is celebrated on March 8 every year. In different regions the focus of the celebrations ranges from general celebration of respect, appreciation and love towards women to a celebration for women's economic, political, and social achievements. Started as a Socialist political event, the holiday blended in the culture of many countries, primarily in Europe, including Russia. In some regions, the day lost its political flavor, and became simply an occasion for men to express their love for women in a way somewhat similar to a mixture of Mother's Day and Valentine's Day. In other regions, however, the political and human rights theme designated by the United Nations runs strong, and political and social awareness of the struggles of women worldwide are brought out and examined in a hopeful manner. 

Belarus and Russia as well belong to the first regions. It's a national holiday, when men gift tulips, roses and different gifts to their mothers, wifes, girlfriends and colleagues :)

A fire helicopter on the stamp

Postcard ID: NL-2369085
Country: Netherland

This card is really in postcrossing theme as it looks like a big stamp! For me it looks like Japanese stamp, but postcard was sent to me from Netherlands.
Actually, I've not flown by a fire helicopter or ordinary helicopter or just a plan :)

Stamps on the card are not connected with helicopters of Japan :)

Keep Calm and Carry On

Postcard ID: GB-519495
Country: United Kingdom

Finally, I also received a card from popular series Keep Calm. A traditional card!

Here, in Belarus we had a competition in vk.com postcrossing group to make our own Keep Calm cards. Then all the best cards were printed. My favourite is with grumpy cat and inscription "Keep Calm and say No" :)

The Belgian chocolate

Postcard ID: NL-2363734
Country: Netherlands

This is one more chocolate card to my collection :)

I think it's absolutely amazing, sweet and tasty :)

Usually I have a chocolate at my desk in the office, but recently I noticed that my chocolates are getting melt. I'm sure that the Belgian Chocolate is better :)

Wish all the sweetest to all who reads this message!

Neuschwanstein Castle

Postcard ID: RU-2500127
Country: Russia

It's a little unusual, but cards showing German castle came to me from Russia :)

Neuschwanstein Castle is a nineteenth-century Romanesque Revival palace on a rugged hill above the village of Hohenschwangau near Füssen in southwest Bavaria, Germany. The palace was commissioned by Ludwig II of Bavaria as a retreat and as a homage to Richard Wagner. Ludwig paid for the palace out of his personal fortune and by means of extensive borrowing, rather than Bavarian public funds.

The palace was intended as a personal refuge for the reclusive king, but it was opened to the paying public immediately after his death in 1886. Since then more than 61 million people have visited Neuschwanstein Castle.More than 1.3 million people visit annually, with as many as 6,000 per day in the summer. The palace has appeared prominently in several movies and was the inspiration for Disneyland's Sleeping Beauty Castle and later, similar structures.

Also this card contains nice stamp from Olympic Games in Sochi:

And image of butterfly for me :)

Bailarico by Mario Eloy

Postcard ID: PT-352261
Country: Portugal

This card helps me to know more about Portuguese painters. Here is a description from the backside of the card:

"The figures are executed schematically and the houses reveal cubist influences and suggest an anthropomorphic dimension. The space is thereby transformed into a projection of the unconscious world of the subject"

Mário Eloy was a Portuguese expressionist painter.

Eloy was born in Lisbon. His style shows the influence of painters like van Gogh, Picasso and, mostly, from the German expressionist painting, that he admired during his staying in Germany, from 1927 to 1932, especially Carl Hofer.

After returning to Portugal, he become the best representative from expressionism in the Portuguese painting. Some of his latter works, like "Enterro" (c. 1940), in his references, seems to anticipate the surrealism painting in Portugal.

He had to leave painting due to a serious mental disease, in 1944, and he spent the rest of his life in a mental institution at Rio de Mouro, where he died.

Here is a Portuguese stamp:

Breakfast

Postcard ID: FR-368654
Country: France

I think that these pancakes with blueberries are ideal summer breakfast. I want summer, go to my grandpa, then go to forest and bring some blueberries :)

In my childhood we liked to eat blueberries with milk and sugar. But pancakes or even pie is much better!

Some French stamps are:

Water, Light and Clouds

Postcard ID: DE-2944430
Country: Germany

This is so romantic card... Actually, I haven't met a sunrise or sunset at water. I think I should correct it this year!

Cards like this one don't require a description. Just see it and enjoy :)

Here are some beautiful flower stamps:

Toy Story

Postcard ID: SG-132786
Country: Singapore

As usual I like this non-standard card. It came to me from postcrosser which is animator. My first familiar animator, huh :)

I don't what else I can write about this card, but I think that this toys are similar to Angry Birds ;)

Traditionally, here is a new stamp:

Amusement Park

Postcard ID: TW-1176653
Country: Taiwan

I like postcards with many details as I can see on it over and over again and find something new each time. This card shows us a painted amusement park. I defined it as I noticed a ferris wheel :) from the second sight you can see a carousel. Also I see some enigmatic buildings, so I can imagine all what  I want about them :)

It's really kind postcard which returns me to my childhood. Although, now I also like to visit Amusement parks :)

Here are new stamps for me:

Burj Khalifa, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Postcard ID: AE-7699
Country: United Arab Emirates

Hurray! This is my first card from United Arab Emirates! So, now I have 50 unique countries in my stats :)

And this card is absolutely awesome! Here is incredible building and so wonderful night view.

Burj Khalifa, known as Burj Dubai prior to its inauguration, is a skyscraper in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and is the tallest man-made structure in the world, at 829.8 m.

Construction began on 21 September 2004, with the exterior of the structure completed on 1 October 2009. The building officially opened on 4 January 2010, and is part of the new 2 km2 development called Downtown Dubai at the 'First Interchange' along Sheikh Zayed Road, near Dubai's main business district. The tower's architecture and engineering were performed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill of Chicago, with Adrian Smith as chief architect, and Bill Baker as chief structural engineer. The primary contractor was Samsung C&T of South Korea.

Here are 2 stamps, they are nice, but looks too dark after scanning because of its gold color:

Como, Italia

Postcard ID: IT-260655
Country: Russia

Italy is quite rare country for me on Postcrossing. So it's so exciting to receive card from this country :)

Como is a city and comune in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como.

Its proximity to Lake Como and to the Alps has made Como a popular tourist destination and the city contains numerous works of art, churches, gardens, museums, theatres, parks and palaces: the Duomo (seat of Diocese of Como), the Basilica of Sant'Abbondio, the Villa Olmo, the public gardens with the Tempio Voltiano, the Teatro Sociale, the Broletto (the city's medieval town hall) and the 20th century Casa del Fascio. With 213,996 arrivals, Como is the third most visited city in Lombardy after Milan and Bergamo.

Como was the birthplace of many historically notable figures, including the (somewhat obscure) poet Caecilius who is mentioned by Catullus in the 1st century BCE, the far more substantial literary figures of Pliny the Elder and the Younger, Pope Innocent XI, the scientist Alessandro Volta, and Cosima Liszt, second wife of Richard Wagner and long-term director of the Bayreuth Festival.

I think it's wonderful place and I already want to visit it!

Here are some Italian stamps:

Do english foxes drink tea?

Postcard ID: RU-2470164
Country: Russia

This cute fox came to me from Russia in 9 days! This card is painted by Russian illustrator Evgenia Golubeva.
For me this card is simple and beautiful. It corresponds to my mood :)
Hope, I'll receive some more cards of this illustrator in the future :)

Here is nice New Year stamp with rabbit:

Empire Cottage, Grass Valley, California

Postcard ID: US-2636158
Country: USA

This week I received so many beautiful postcards. That one if one of the them. It's so colourful and says me that real spring and summer are coming soon.. :)

The Empire Cottage was originally built in 1897. The Cottage, rose garden and formal grounds have have been restored to their original appearance by the California Department of Parks and Recreations.