More flowering trees, originally uploaded by CarolinaRen.

Just wanted to share this personal photo taken off my back deck yesterday, March 23rd. Spring is springing!

Wife of the Governor, Eastern Tibet, originally uploaded by CarolinaRen.

Wife of the Governor of Mar Kham in Lhasa-style headdress and dress. Gartok, Eastern Tibet, circa 1920-1930. This and the other Tibetian cards were purchased by me for my private collection.

Young Tibetan Girl, originally uploaded by CarolinaRen.

Look at that smile!

Tibetian Monks, originally uploaded by CarolinaRen.

Monks of Nechung Monastery, near Lhasa, Tibet; their lives are so much different than mine.

The Church of All Nations, Jerusalem, originally uploaded by CarolinaRen.

From my penpal Leeba. The church is on the Mount of Olives and is said to have a piece of stone on which Jesus prayed before he got arrested.

St. Francis of Assisi, originally uploaded by CarolinaRen.

My scanner did not recognize the top and bottom black portions of this card so it looks out of proportion here. I purchased this card, by monk/artist Robert Lentz, because I’m fascinated by the tale of Assisi. The story goes that the Icon of Christ Crucified came alive and said to him three times, “Francis, Francis, go and repair My house which, as you can see, is falling into ruins.” (Thanks to Wikipedia for that quote!)

The Vassily, Moscow, originally uploaded by CarolinaRen.

The Blessed Cathedral, Moscow–so beautiful! From a round robin 🙂

Art card, Kuala Lumpur, originally uploaded by CarolinaRen.

From a round robin; I am sorry my scanner could not recognize the top or left side border, which is why this looks like a poor scan–which it is 🙂

Electric twin railcar, Garmish, originally uploaded by CarolinaRen.

This lovely card is from an organized swap–would love to ride this rail! 🙂

Turku, Finland, originally uploaded by CarolinaRen.

Nice multi-view showing Turku, on the west coast of Finland; from a round robin.

Bad Schwartau, Germany, originally uploaded by CarolinaRen.

Love this view! A visit to the city’s Web site, translated by Google translation, says this about the town’s library: “For read rats and book worms the Paradies – our public library. Beside books you find also to play and hearing media. There more is for the whole family somewhat thereby…” Just think….this is probably what I sound like to a German when I am speaking (or trying to speak!) German 🙂

Victory Monument, Verdun, France, originally uploaded by CarolinaRen.

I like this for the cafe scene and the people on the street. Looks like a beautiful place for lunch 🙂 From an organized swap.

Art card – Ukiyoe, by Hokusai Katsushika, originally uploaded by CarolinaRen.

This lovely official postcrossing card is a welcome addition to my collection–thanks to Hiromi with the beautiful handwriting! 🙂 She tells me that ukiyoe is “old Japanese art.”

Fountain in Rome, originally uploaded by CarolinaRen.

“La fontana di Piazza della Rotonda”…from a round robin. I am told that this is a famous meetingplace for pigeons 🙂

New Zealand, originally uploaded by CarolinaRen.

This card, from a round robin, is just too beautiful. I can’t believe New Zealand has water like this! 🙂

The Australian High Country, originally uploaded by CarolinaRen.

“Greetings from Mansfield, Vic.” This shows the Australian Alps and a high country horseman….awesome! Despite Crocodile Dundee, I never once would have thought “Australia” in the same sentence as “cowboy!” 🙂

Flinders Range, South Australia, originally uploaded by CarolinaRen.

Lovely views of mountainous deserts, from an organized swap.

Bastogne, Belgium, originally uploaded by CarolinaRen.

This view makes the town look like it is a movie set! Thanks to Wendy, who also shared that Bastogne is the location of a WWII battle–as evidenced by the tank in the left corner.

Otso — Finland, originally uploaded by CarolinaRen.

This card is really beautiful; what an elegant design! It was an official postcrossing card received by my husband. Lovely 🙂

Oklahoma City National Memorial, originally uploaded by CarolinaRen.

Surprisingly, this card came to me from Wendy in the Netherlands 🙂 The memorial pays tribute to the 168 people who died in the 1995 bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building. Wow…this was ONE instance. Imagine if it were like Iraq or Sudan or Israel here…with trouble like this all the time. We would quickly grow tired of building memorials for each place and time something happened. There’d be no way to keep up.

National Museum of Australia, originally uploaded by CarolinaRen.

Exterior of the National Museum of Australia at night, showing the loop curving up to 30 meters–that’s 98 feet!–high! I love this card! 🙂

Twisters, originally uploaded by CarolinaRen.

I wonder if this is real. I received it from someone in Europe (maybe Germany?) for an organized swap. Awesome!

Tallinn, Estonia, originally uploaded by CarolinaRen.

Lovely card from a round robin showing the old town of Tallinn. The sender shares that Tallinn is the oldest capital city in Northern Europe–it was put on the world map in 1154 by an Arabian geographer!

Helsinki, Finland, originally uploaded by CarolinaRen.

This card is so beautiful and elegant; I love it! It was another of my husband’s official postcrossing cards. He gets many nice ones 🙂

Melaka, Malaysia, originally uploaded by CarolinaRen.

This shows a settlement, or “kampung,” along the Malacca River. Imagine what happens if it rains much! From a round robin — thanks Nurul!