Jean Pierre's Day

Today I want to do something a little different. For the past 2 months I have received a number of cards from Jean Pierre of Paris, France. I have shown only one of his cards previously , so today I will only show cards that he has sent. The cards are quite nice and Jean Pierre always seems to use wonderful and different stamps that are new to my collection. Also of note, the postmarks. They are always of somewhere different and special and always quite readable.
Jean Pierre's first card is from Paris, the capital. It shows , among others, Le Pont Neuf or The New Bridge. It is the oldest standing bridge across the river Seine in Paris. The bridge is comprised of 7 plus 5 spans for a total of 12 and is 232 metres in length. Construction started in 1578 and was completed in 1607. The stamp on the left is from a 2002 multi sheet of 10 ( 5 different designs ) featuring photos . The stamp on the right is from a 2003 set of 6 celebrating novel heroes. And, of course, it's hard not to notice the special postmark.

The next card is also from Paris. It shows La place du Tertre and Montmartre. Montmartre is known as the last village of Paris and Le Place du Tertre is in the heart of Montmartre. Over the years , many pennyless painters , including Pablo Picasso, have lived there. In the upper center of the card one can see the Sacre-Coeur Basilica . The 2 stamps on the left are from a multi sheet of 10 featuring automobiles. The Bugatti and the Citroen are on the two stamps shown. The stamp on the right is a 20 gram priority letter rate stamp of which I know little else. Again, notice the special postmark.
Card number 3 is one that Jean Pierre sent from Auvergne, one of the 26 regions of France. It is postmarked at Vichy. Vichy is known as a spa and resort town. It was in the de facto capital of Vichy France during the World War II Nazi occupation from 1940-1944. The card bears an image of a castle in the Cevennes, a range of mountains in south central France. Jean Pierre used another of the 2000 automobiles set , this time a Volkswagen along with another different 20 gram priority letter rate stamp. Another great and different postmark.

The shoreline of Brittany is shown on our next card. Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in north west France. It lies between the English Channel to the north and the Bay of Biscay to the south. The coast of Brittany is unusual due to its colouring. Pink granite rock is found here. It is 1 of only 3 places in the world where one finds this pink rock. May artists have painted the coastline and its many villages, including Paul Gauguin, who painted in the area of Finistere , where this card was postmarked. The stamp used here is a 2010 Vancouver Olympics stamp from a set of 2 issued in February. This one highlights figure skating.
The final card from Jean Pierre for today was actually mailed from Scotland. It is a card of the Forth Bridge . The Forth Bridge is a railway bridge over the Firth of Forth in east Scotland. It is to the east of the Forth Road Bridge and 14 km west of Edinburgh. It is currently the longest cantilever bridge in the world for rail transport and the second longest cantilever bridge in the world. It is 2,587.7 meters in length and was opened on March 4th, 1890. The British stamps used include, left to right, from 2006, 1 of 8 issued to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II's 80th birthday, from 1987 , 1 of 4 issued to promote safety at sea and from 1987, 1 of 4 celebrating Isaac Newton.
What more can I say except a big Thank You to Jean Pierre and there are cards on the way from Alberta to you. I hope our exchange of postcards can continue. It has been wonderful so far.
Thanks again.