#20 Amsterdam, Netherlands | NL-486986

Hello Kitty is a fictional character produced by the Japanese company Sanrio. She's birthday is November 1, 1974 and she was born in London, England.

Fijne dag, groetjes uit Nederland ! Nice day, greetings from the Netherlands !

Thank you, Nadja (nadja_ajdan) !

Received on: December 31, 2010

Travel time: 49 days

Distance: 1485 km (923 miles)

#19 Taipei, Taiwan | TW-229895

Muzzlys might be Taiwan's characters, but I'm not sure.

Thank you, Sia (sianan) !

Received on: December, 27 2010

Travel time: 21 days

Distance: 7988 km (4964 miles)

#18 Castro Urdiales, Spain

Madrid (English /məˈdrɪd/, Spanish: [ma'ðrid]) is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan area is the third largest in the European Union after London and Paris. The city spans a total of 604.3 km² (233.3 sq mi). 

 Santillana del Mar is a historic town situated in Cantabria, Spain. Certain features of this historical town includes Altamira Caves (Cuevas de Altamira) and many historic buildings, attracting thousands of holiday-makers every year.

There is an old saying that Santillana del Mar is The Town of Three Lies, since it is neither a Saint (Santo), nor flat (llana) and has no sea (Mar) as implied by the town's name. However, the name actually derives from Santa Juliana (or Santa Illana) whose remains are in the kept in the Colegiata, a Romanesque church and former Benedictine monastery.

 Castro Urdiales is a seaport of northern Spain, in the autonomous community of Cantabria, situated on the bay of Biscay. Castro Urdiales is a modern town, although its castle and the Gothic-style parish church of Santa María de la Asunción, date from the Middle Ages.

Thank you, Mario !

Sent on: December 16, 2010
Received on: December 21, 2010

#17 Novosibirsk, Russia | RU-281772

Thunderstorm in Altai mountains - the Achik Gorge.

Golden Mountains of Altai is the name of an UNESCO World Heritage Site consisting of the Altai and Katun Natural Reserves, Lake Teletskoye, Belukha Mountain, and the Ukok Plateau. As stated in the UNESCO description of the site, "the region represents the most complete sequence of altitudinal vegetation zones in central Siberia, from steppe, forest-steppe, mixed forest, subalpine vegetation to alpine vegetation". While making its decision, UNESCO also cited Russian Altai's importance for preservation of the globally endangered mammals, such as snow leopard and the Altai argali. The site covers a vast area of 16,175 km².
Wikipedia.org

Property No #768

Date of Inscription on the List of UNESCO WHS: 1998

Date of Issue: August 29, 2008 - Definitive Stamps

Date of Issue: July 14, 2010 - Regions

Date of Issue: August 29, 2008 - Definitive Stamps

Date of Issue: December 15, 2009 - Fountains of Russia

Thank you very much, Elena (Kalinushka) !

Received on: December 21, 2010

Travel time: 15 days

Distance: 3416 km (2123 miles)

#16 Kuopio, Finland | FI-973217

Date of Issue: January 1, 2002 - Forget Me Not

Thank you, kanerva2 !

Received on: December 20, 2010

Travel time: 5 days

Distance: 390 km (242 miles)

#15 Hellertown, Pennsylvania, USA | US-933796

The Governor's Palace in Williamsburg, Virginia was the official residence of the Royal Governors of the Colony of Virginia. It was also a home for two of Virginia's post-colonial governors, Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson, until the capital was moved to Richmond in 1780, and with it the Governor's residence. The main house burned down in 1781, though the outbuildings survived for some time after.

Wikipedia.org

Thank you, Jacqueline (paprika) !

Her blog : http://www.littlemailbox.blogspot.com/

Received on: December 17, 2010

Travel time: 8 days

Distance: 6810 km (4232 miles)

#14 Dubai, United Arab Emirates | AE-2808

Dubai, United Arab Emirates, is home of Burj Khalifa 828 m (2,717 ft) - the tallest tower in the world.

Something in Arabic: "Marhaba - Hello" and "Kefhalic ? - How are you ?"

Thank you, Lorelie (ultimate_beauty) !

Received on: December 13, 2010

Travel time: 31 days

Distance: 4400 km (2734 miles)

#13 Helsinki, Finland | FI-966679

The card shows the Finnish coastline, where typically is many islands of different sizes. The ground is mostly bedrock with only a little soil for plants to grow. The rock is mostly granite.

Date of Issue: September 13, 2010 - Torronsuo National Park

Thank you, Inka (InP) !

Received on: December 13, 2010

Travel time: 7 days

Distance: 160 km (99 miles)

#12 Des Moines, Iowa, USA | US-917619

Barrel cacti are classified into the two genera Echinocactus and Ferocactus, both of which are found in the Southwest Desert of North America.

The Barrel Cactus buds start to bloom in April with a bright yellow flower. The flowers only appear on the very top of the plant. As the flowers begin to wilt in early May, they turn orange in color. The flower yields a yellow small pineapple-shaped fruit, which doesn't usually reach maturity until Summer.

Barrel cacti can store up to and sometimes more than 500 kilograms of water; and can live up to 100 years or more.

Wikipedia.org

Date of Issue: August 20, 2004 - American Design: Navajo Jewelry

Date of Issue: May 31, 2002 - American Design: American Toleware

I really love cacti, so thank you very much, Renee (motherbrando) !

Received on: December 7, 2010

Travel time: 13 days 

Distance:  7546 km (4689 miles)

#11 Budai Town, Taiwan | TW-219578

Thank you, Tsai (Jesse-peng) !

Received on: November 29, 2010

Travel time: 17 days 

Distance:  8075 km (5944 miles)

#10 Kuching, Malaysia | MY-51840

Sarawak (Jawi:سراوق) (Malay pronunciation: [saˈrawaʔ]) is one of two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo. Known as Bumi Kenyalang ("Land of the Hornbills"), Sarawak is situated on the north-west of the island. It is the largest state in Malaysia followed by Sabah, the second largest state located to the north-east.

The White-rumped Shama (Copsychus malabaricus) is a small passerine bird of the family Muscicapidae. It was formerly classified as a member of the Thrush family, Turdidae, causing it to be commonly known as the White-rumped Shama Thrush or simply Shama Thrush.

They are native to South and Southeast Asia, but have been introduced to Kaua'i, Hawai'i, in early 1931 from Malaysia (by Alexander Isenberger), and to O'ahu in 1940 (by the Hui Manu Society).

In Malay - "Terima kasih - Thank you", "Apa khabar? - How's it going?", "Selamat malam - Good night."

Thank you, Kim (gingzz) ! 

Received on: November 29, 2010

Travel time: 17 days 

Distance:  9566 km (5,944 miles)

#9 Barnaul, Russia | RU-265301

Postcard from Russia. And this card even older than me - 20 years old !

Date of Issue: August 29, 2008 - Definitive Stamps

Date of Issue: August 29, 2008 - Definitive Stamps

Thank you, Nataša (A-216) !

Received on: November 29, 2010

Travel time: 14 days

Distance: 3561 km (2213 miles)

#8 New York City, New York, USA | US-911170

Central Park is a public park at the center of Manhattan in New York City, New York, United States. The park initially opened in 1857, on 843 acres (3.41 km²) of city-owned land. In 1858, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a design competition to improve and expand the park with a plan they entitled the Greensward Plan. Construction began the same year, continued during the American Civil War, and was completed in 1873.

Wikipedia.org

Thank you, Megan (Blinkstriker22) !

Received on: November 24, 2010

Travel time: 6 days 

Distance:  6171 km (4174 miles)