Growing Antiquities

It looks like this Greek monastery is growing right out of the land around it. Mont Athos is a peninsula, and peninsula is one of those words I sometimes misspell ... I often forget the second "n," which, in this case, is actually quite appropriate. Mont Athos only allows male visitors.

Katerina lives in nearby Thessaloniki, Greece, and she writes that in the summer, women can take a boat from a local seaside resort and tour around the coast of Mont Athos. The site is UNESCO World Heritage, so if I should be so lucky to visit Greece someday, I'll have to settle for that boat ride. Settling for a boat ride in Greece is not such a bad thing. I wonder if they offer lovely beverages on that boat ....

Hearing History

The Colosseum in Rome, Italy ... all shadows and ghosts in this nighttime view. Should you visit, Marie wants you to touch the stones, and let your imagination roam ... back to a time when men prepared to battle and the condemned whispered their last words. The watching crowds roar and captive animals loudly make known their fear. Perhaps you will hear history with that touch of stone.

Framed By Blossoms

Lisa has only visited Italy via travelogues, but she writes that it is the top of her "must see" list. Her son traveled in Italy last year and she hopes to be able to make the trip with him someday.

The postcard features Basilica of San Francesco in Assisi, Italy. A portion of the basilica was badly damaged in the 1997 quakes, however the repairs were completed only two years later.

The Return

Via Dolorso, Jerusalem

I rarely know what to expect when the orphaned postcards come back. Sometimes the adopter writes a wonderful memory that sparks a connection between me and him/her. Sometimes I get just a simple "so happy to be part of your project." The latter is much more difficult to write about in a blog post. And sometimes the message needs nothing more than me as narrator. Such is the case with this one.

Laura adopted this postcard, and a few others, including Masada, which I featured last month. Laura's daughter made her Bat Mitzvah in Israel, and then returned seven years later. Her return coincided with a war between Israel and Lebanon. Laura and her husband wanted their daughter home, however she wanted to stay.

Laura writes that the experience made her daughter more aware of the world and she did come home safe.

Of Barns and Plates

Bale Kenyon Road, Delaware County, Ohio

Ohio went all out for their bicentennial celebration and these decorated barns are all over the state. I featured a different one last year and wrote that I had never seen one in person, even though I've traveled a bit in Ohio. I have, however, seen lots of the bicentennial automobile license plates.

AmyMarie writes that she moved to Ohio in 1995 and remembers having to get one of the new bicentennial license plates. Since plates can be renewed without having to be replaced, most of those plates are still on the Ohio cars, seven years after the event.

License plates in the US are fun. They come in all sorts of colors and designs and sometimes even show something about the car owner. When I first moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, I got a plate that read "ZMRZKA," which is a diminutive of the word "zmrzlina," Slovak for "ice cream." There are lots of Slovaks living in my city, so I figured at least some people would understand. I sold my car, but still have the plate. I'm thinking of having it recycled into purse.

First the Baroque, Then the Food

Congonhas is in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. The view is the beautiful Baroque Santuário do Bom Jesus do Matosinhos, built in the 18th century. Dora has not visited this town since she was a child, but she is planning a return this summer.

The state of Minas Gerais is also know for its annual food festival, Comida di Buteco. It starts in a couple of weeks, and if I were to plan a visit to Brazil, I think I would want to plan it around this food festival. I haven't found a lot of information in English, and my Portuguese is quite limited, but the pictures from previous years need no words.

I also love this postage stamp Dora used. I'm particularly fond of food postage. This one is making me long for tomato season. I won't eat tomatoes unless they are local, and local tomatoes won't be available for many months. Looking out my window right now at a dusting of new snow, it feels like tomato season is even farther away.

Where Fairytales Are Born

Neuschwanstein might be the most recognizable castle in the world. Bärbel has visited it three times, and writes that it is especially wonderful in the winter because there are many fewer tourists. Guests ride up to the castle in horse-drawn coaches, through a tree-lined winding path. I try to resist the allure of all romantic trapping, but really ... I'd like to ride that coach.

This area of Germany in southwest Bavaria is fairly secluded, so the castle escaped damage during the 20th century wars. These days its most active threat is probably the tourist traffic ... 6000 people a day!