Grigg Nanjing Friendship Chinese Garden

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Grigg Nanjing Friendship Chinese Garden at Missouri Botanical Garden

I was delighted to receive this postcard from my blog buddy Lynn. It's a view of the Grigg Nanjing Friendship Chinese Garden at the Missouri Botanical Garden in St Louis. The Chinese Garden is modeled on the “scholar’s gardens” of the southern Chinese provinces near the city of Nanjing. It commemorates the exchanges between the Botanical Garden and Chinese botanical institutions, as well as the relationship between St Louis and its sister city Nanjing.

The Chinese Garden is said to be a showcase of craftsmanship. Among its special features are a pavilion built in traditional colors, a handcarved white marble bridge and marble balustrade. Among the plants are pines, bamboos, lotuses, willows, plum trees, forsythia, hibiscus, wisteria, rhododendrons and azaleas.

USPS stamps: adopt a shelter pet, Hawaiian rainforest

I think Lynn overstamped the card... lucky me :) The stamps on the left are two of the 10 from the USPS Animal Rescue: Adopt a Shelter Pet issue, which was the postal service's social awareness stamp campaign of 2010. The stamp on the right is from the Hawaiian Rain Forest pane, a print of an acrylic painting by John Dawson. There are 10 stamps of flora and fauna in the pane. Very cool.

by liberal sprinkles

Cupcake Royale, Washington state

The content posted at postcrosses.blogspot.com may contain affiliate links. This means I may get a commission if you click on a link and make a purchase, at no extra cost to you. I currently participate in the Amazon Affiliate, Bookdepository Affiliate and ShareASale programmes. All opinions expressed in this blog are my own. I have not received payments for any content here.


Postcard from jenwaters in Seattle. Thanks, Jen!

postcard of Cupcake Royale, Postcrossing US-1115296

The postcard is a view of Cupcake Royale, a popular cafe that started operations in Bellevue, Washington, in 2003 and now has cafe/bakeries in four other locations. It bakes its cupcakes from scratch using mostly organic and local ingredients. Cupcake Royale also serves Stumptown Coffee.

Thomas M. Easterly daguerreotype and Louis Daguerre

Missouri Historical Society postcard of Thomas M. Easterly work

I received this Missouri Historical Society from my blog buddy Lynn. The card shows a daguerreotype of still life with flag, lamp and daguerreotype equipment by Thomas M. Easterly, a 19th century Vermont-born daguerreotypist and photographer who is known for his works of the Midwest. His studio in St Louis was one of the first permanent art galleries in Missouri. The Missouri Historical Society operates the Missouri History Museum, which has a nice Flickr page with of a collection of Thomas Easterly's works.

postcards of Minnesota, lady slipper, Eckankar

I received these two cards on the same day from my blog buddy Lynn. Thanks!

Minnesota postcard

postcard of Eckankar Temple

I've never been to Minnesota, in fact I've never seen the US Mid-West. I imagine lots of nature, wildlife and manufacturing (cars?) when I think of the Midwest. I don't know if that's a right picture of what the region is like, but the top postcard does show off some wonderful nature spots. I like how the middle photo is cropped in the shape of the state. I think the flowers at the bottom of that frame are lady slippers, which is the Minnesota state flower (I found this at the 50states.com site - nice information there!). The lady slipper (cypripedioideae) is a type of orchid. Here's a close-up photo of one.

lady slipper (from Wikipedia, public domain)

This little photo is on the back of the postcard. I'm not sure what animal it is...

back of Minnesota postcard

Minnesota is the headquarters of the Eckankar religious movement, which was founded in the US in 1965. The second postcard is a photo of the Eckankar Temple.


Related links
Explore Minnesota
Eckankar (wikipedia)
photos of lady slipper (google images)

Brooklyn Bridge by Tom Baril

I got this card last week, it was sent from North Carolina.

Brooklyn bridge postcard, Postcrossing US-1083333

Nice shot of the Brookly Bridge in New York. The 1,595.5 feet (486.3 m)-bridge took 13 years to build;  construction was completed in 1883. At the time, it was the longest suspension bridge in the world. It was also the first steel-wire suspension bridge. I walked the bridge from the Brookyln side to Manhatten three years ago. You get a great view of the Manhatten skyline. The Brooklyn Bridge is a National Historic Landmark.

The photo was taken by photographer Tom Baril in 1993.

Related links
postcards of the Brooklyn Bridge
NYC images by Tom Baril
Brooklyn Bridge (nycroads.com)

Missouri map postcard

I got two map postcards in the mail last week via swaps. The first was a a map card of Texas; this is the second. It came from my blog friend Lynn from Missouri.

map postcard of Missouri

Do you recognize any of the pictures on the map? I flunked the test pretty badly! You can read about the card and the other postal goodies Lynn sent me in my post at my main blog liberal sprinkles. The post went up there and not here because I went on to talk about my blogging experience. I'd be happy if you visited me there too. Have a great week!


by liberal sprinkles

Texas map postcard, handmade swap card

I received this great map postcard last week from a postcard swap. I blogged about it at my main blog in this post.

Texas, Lone Star State map postcard

I got another postcard in that package, which was the actual swap postcard, made for the Great Big Stitched Postcard Swap. Here it is:

this is the postcard I received from Great Big Stitched Postcard swap

The theme of the swap was love. I sent my handmade swap postcard to my partner in North Carolina in March. You can see it in this post. The nice lady who sent me the cards above put everything in a cool envelope that I will treasure and keep for sure. Look at all the fantastic stamps! I had actually been eyeing several of those stamps after seeing them in the USA Philatelic magazine that a blog friend sent me. Lucky me!

by liberal sprinkles

St Louis Gateway Arch, westward expansion of US, tallest structures and buildings

The content posted at postcrosses.blogspot.com may contain affiliate links. This means I may get a commission if you click on a link and make a purchase, at no extra cost to you. I currently participate in the Amazon Affiliate, Bookdepository Affiliate and ShareASale programmes. All opinions expressed in this blog are my own. I have not received payments to write any content here.

I received this postcard from my blog friend Lynn from Present Letters, a new Postcrossing member.
Thanks, Lynn!

postcard of St Louis' Gateway Memorial Arch

This is a very iconic structure, isn't it? The Gateway Memorial Arch in St Louis, Missouri, is also known as the Gateway to the West. It was built to commemorate the expansion of the United States to the west during the 19th century and symbolizes St Louis' role as the gateway to the Wild West.

It was designed by Finnish American architect Eero Saarinen and structural engineer Hannskarl Bandel, who won a design contest for the Arch, and was completed in 1965. At 630 feet (192 meters), it is the tallest man-made monument in the USA. It's height is equivalent to about 63 floors, if every floor is the average 10 feet high! If you dare, there is a tram system that can take up to 6,400 visitors to the observation room at the top every day when both trams are working in the summer.

Some interesting facts about the Gateway Arch from the National Park Service website:

Is the Arch moving?
The Arch is designed to sway as much as 18 inches, and can withstand an earthquake, however under normal conditions the Arch does not sway. It takes a 50-mile an hour wind to move the top 1 1/2 inches each side of center.

Has the Arch been hit by lightning?
The Arch has a series of lightning rods on the top which are grounded directly into bedrock, with a perfectly insulated interior. It is able to withstand hundreds of lightning bolts which hit it each year.

OK, I'm not sure I'd want to be up there in strong winds or nasty weather...

The steel Arch is the centerpiece of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, which includes a 91-acre (36.8-hectare) park along the Mississippi River park, the Old Courthouse and the Museum of Westward Expansion.

Lookeee, I found this interesting article on the Arch from 1964: Tallest U.S. Monument (Popular Science, April 1964) via Google Books. It details the construction and has a nice infographic on the tram to the top of the monument.

Something else interesting I learned while researching the Arch, St Louis city is in Missouri but the Great St Louis metropolitan area straddles 2 states: Missouri and Illinois.

USA stamp: Grand Teton National Park

This stamp on the card of the Grand Teton National Park is the same as the one on a card I received last week from North Carolina, you can read about it here.


Related links
Tallest buildings in St Louis (Wikipedia)
Build the Gateway Arch (gatewayarch.com) something for kids. Adults can play too, I did ;0
Top 117 Tallest buildings in the U.S. (Wikipedia list)
Tallest buildings in the world (wikipedia)
Tallest buidings and structures in the world (Wikipedia)
Images/graphics on tallest buildings in the world (Google images)

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Asheville, NC (USA) Ravenna Archiepiscopal Chapel

I received four cards in one day this week! This is the first, sent from Asheville, North Carolina.
Thanks, Kristy

Ravenna Cappella Arcivescovile postcard, Postcrossing US-1063101

This beautiful mosaic work is on the upper part of the vestibule of the Archbishop's Chapel (or Archiepiscopal Chapel) in Ravenna, Italy. It represents Christ as Victor, he is dressed in military wear, has a cross in his right hand and an open gospel in his left.

Ravenna Archbishop's Chapel mosaic,
photo by Madaki
from Wikipedia (CCA license)

You can see the mosaic wall a little more in perspective in the photo on the left.

The cross-shaped chapel, located in the Bishop's Palace, was built by Bishop Peter II around 495 and was the private oratory of the orthodox bishops. It is one of 8 locations in Ravenna that are collectively designated as a World Heritage site. The city was the capital of part of the Roman Empire in the 5th century and later became part of  the Byzantine Empire until the 8th century. Ravenna is well known for its Byzantine mosaics.

I once lived in Bologna, the gastronomic capital of Italy. It is only about 65 km (40 miles) from Ravenna, which I visited then. I probably saw the chapel and mosaic although to be honest, I don't remember. It was a long time ago. I traveled a lot in that year and I've been back to Italy many times since. It's one of my favorite countries in the world. More about that if I get an Italian postcard :) Suffice to say I always live and eat very well in Italy and it's a feast for the eyes anywhere you go. You literally walk into history at every corner.

Grand Teton National Park stamp, Postcrossing US-1063101

The stamp is of the Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. The website says it has a "spectacular landscape rich with majestic mountains, pristine lakes and extraordinary wildlife". It gets nearly 4 million visitors every year. I've never been, I would love to. I love national parks, my favorite is Death Valley in California. The colors you see there are breathtaking. Check out the photos of Death Valley from Google.


Related links
The Bishop's Palace: architecture and authority in medieval Italy by Maureen Catherine Miller (Google books)
Early Christian monuments of Ravenna (Unesco World Heritage list)
Mosaics in Bishop's Palace, Ravenna (livingtravel.com)

Seattle, USA

A postcard from Seattle came in the post two days ago.

postcard of Pike Place Market, Seattle. Postcrossing US-1038326

very nice stamps!

Thanks, Rebecca!

Pike Place Market is a popular tourist spot I visited about 10 years ago during a trip to Washington state. I loved the Puget Sound islands. Many of the towns like Port Townsend were very old-world English, I thought. The scenery is fantastic everywhere in the bay. No, it didn't rain everyday, although quite often!

Pike Place Market, a public market overlooking the Elliott Bay waterfront in Seattle, opened August 17, 1907, and is one of the oldest continually operated public farmers' markets in the US.

I drank a lot of coffee while in Seattle and the surroundings. Seattle is supposedly Coffee Central in the USA and some say latte was born there in the 1970s. I had a lot of Seattle's Best Coffee, which was what my hotel served. It has a longer history than the better known, ubiquitous Starbucks, which in fact bought over Seattle's Best in 2003.

Another supposed Seattle invention: latte art, all that cute stuff that's done to the foam that tops the espresso. The makings of it:

etching latte art [wikipedia]

Have one on me...

latte art photo [wikipedia]

or make one yourself...
Here's a cute video on latte art. Live and learn!






related links
Seattle's top 5 lattes
Nicely Poured Latte Art (Seattle) on flickr - lots of photos

Austin, Texas

Yesterday (March 9, 2011), I recorded a first: I received my first postcard after joining Postcrossing. It came from Austin, Texas.

beignet postcard. Postcrossing US-1024170

love the stamps!

Thanks, Megan.

The card shows a recipe for beignet, a pastry made from deep-fried dough that is liberally sprinkled with powdered sugar. When I think of beignets, I think of New Orleans and Café du Monde, a coffee shop on Decatur Street in the French Quarter that I've read about in novels. Hopefully I'll get a chance one day to visit the city and drink cafe au lait and eat beignets there! For now, I'm checking out the Café du Monde website.

photo of beignet from wikipedia