Here are the postcards!
I’ve been collecting postcards since 2008. Since then, I’ve sent and received over 1800 postcards from all over the US and dozens of countries. I respond to every postcard I receive, so I’m always open for private swaps.
My origin story: Back when I was a young boy, I got the idea to write a letter to several world leaders, but I only ever ended up writing the US president and the Queen of England. I was so tickled to receive responses from President Bush and then Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II! Well, they weren’t directly from the world leaders, but rather from their staff members. President Bush sent me an autographed photograph (which I lost later in a show-and-tell accident).
One of the Queen’s ladies-in-waiting sent me a very detailed letter, typed on Buckingham Palace stationery, answering all of my questions about the Queen’s horses and her corgis and her favorite foods. I marveled at the strangely-sized paper, the texture of the embossed coat of arms centered at the top of the page, and the stamps on the envelope. A real person had spent time reading my letter, responding to it, folding it and placing it in an envelope, and then more real human beings had taken the time and effort to transport it from London to some mail distribution center, to an airport in England, to an airport in the US, and back through the various USPS chains until it arrived in a plastic mailbox at the foot of my driveway in southeast Michigan.
I’m still fascinated by this process today, and all for less than the price of some chocolate! So I maintain correspondence with about a dozen penpals across the world, and send and receive postcards. At last count, I have a little under 2,000 postcards that I’ve received. Keep scrolling to see the most recent postcards that have arrived in my mailbox.
Yellowstone National Park (California)
I received this postcard with wishes for me to visit Yellowstone, which I've never done! The handwriting tells me it's a Chinese-speaker who wrote it, but unfortunately they never signed it. I'm not sure who sent it to me (I think it's a student)!
Pulsano (Italy)
This postcard arrives from Lino's vacation to Pulsano and features an image of this beautiful little fishing port.
Graceland (Florida)
Of course Graceland isn't in Florida (it's in Tennessee) but this postcard arrived from my aunt and uncle, having passed through TN and stopped at Elvis Presley's home on their way from their summer home in Michigan to their overwintering grounds in Florida.
Maison Empereur (France)
What a fantastic image! The reverse of this postcard says that this a sundry store. So cool! And it's still in operation, near as I can tell, having been founded in 1827. Do we in the US have any business still in continuous operation from such an early date?
Niedermorschwihr (France)
Dominique écrit qu’il y a des lieux dans l’Alsace avec des noms imprononçables pour les non-auchtoctons. J’imagine que cette village y forme partie du groupe! La fameuse Christine Ferber y habite!
Road Town, Tortola (British Virgin Islands)
This is the first postcard I've received from the British Virgin Islands. It arrived in early October after my mom's cruise stopped there in August. The cancellation is 28 August, so it did take a little over a month to arrive.
le fromage, c’est la vie (France)
Mon ami Francis s’est échappé à la France avec son mari pour fêter ses 50 ans. Là-bas, ils ont “trop bu, trop mangé…” quel voyage!
I followed my heart (Germany)
J’adore tellement ces cartes postales que Dominique m’a envoyées d’Allemagne. Je suis tout à fait d’accord avec la phrase ici: J’ai suivi mon coeur et il m’a emmené vers un café.
Folsom uniform (Australia)
Matty always finds the most delightful postcards to send! This one arrived during Folsom weekend so the timing was quite appropriate.
la tarte au fromage blanc (France)
Voici autre recette d’Alsace, cette fois une tarte au fromage blanc (qui me paraît peut-être comme un cheesecake). Mais avec les blancs d’oeufs battus en neige, je me demande si peut-être elle serait plutôt comme une cream pie?
on the go with treats in tow (Germany)
Mon ami Dominique a bien aimé son séjour à Baden Baden, ou il a profité des magasins, restaurants, et cafés.
Turkish delight (Türkiye)
This is not that kind of Turkish delight, but instead the kind that comes from having a great colleague whom you enjoy seeing alone and also with her husband. They had dinner at our place last month and brought this postcard with them (along with some other goodies)!
todo un desfile (Spain)
I know the word “desfile” for parade, but here it's translated as “runway show.” I suppose that could work but I think I prefer the sense of “parade” for this image. Julian and Salvo sure know how to pick them! I wonder which one they've decided to bring home for me?!
Passau (Germany)
My penpal who lives in Norway grew up on the German/Dutch border. I wonder if it still feels like coming home after all these years, especially in a place so far from his home?
amiguitos (Spain)
It's funny how the diminutive -ito can do double duty. Sometimes it diminishes the size, but sometimes it's endearment. Here, I'm not sure it's reducing the size of anything (except the swimwear, but then that would also be endearment I would think!)
tarte aux myrtilles (France)
Comment j’adore les cartes postales avec les recettes! Et celle-ci avec la recette en trois langues?! Ma rêve!
Palau de Maricel (Spain)
Or should I be captioning them “Catalunya"? Well, I don't shy away from the political, but maybe it's premature to do that? Although I've visited Sitges, I didn't see the Palau de Maricel when I was there. I guess we'll have to visit after all!
Sitges beach (Spain)
I have been to Sitges before but it's been over 24 years now! J & S made it to their beach vacay despite the pouring rain that caught them on their way out of Barcelona.
Stravinsky bottle (Spain)
Hrm, what's the art-work style on this postcard? It's really captivating.
Pan Am bull (Spain)
I know I've written before about how touched I am when people take the time to find postcards, write them, get postage, and post them to me - all while on their long-awaited vacations. That Salvo and Julian had the time and energy to do so for me on their trip to Catalunya, I'm just really overwhelmed with gratitude and love.