Penguins, An Aviator, Krakow, UNESCO WHS, and Marseille

Hello folks, I'm back again, but not quite so soon as I expected when I ended my last update. But that's the way it goes sometimes. Actually I have been a little under the weather, a lot really. But I'm on the mend now so it's time for another bunch of postcards. Today's title gives you some idea of what's coming , so here goes.

This first card shows a crowd of King Penguins having a meeting. Reminds me of the 2005 movie March of the Penguins. There were lots of Penguins standing around in that one. The card is postmarked Dumont D'Urville, Adelie Land, T.A.A.F or French Southern and Antarctic Lands. I love the clear and perfectly placed cancellations. The small flag stamp in the center is from a set of 5 flags issued in 2008. The stamps on the left were issued in 2009 and show the mineral Pyrite. The stamps on the right were issued in 2011 and show the gemstone Zircon. Thanks to Jean Pierre for this card.

Next is another aviation related card. Surprise, it's not an airline, not an airplane but an aviator. Here we get a look at Antoine De St Exupery in July 1944. Saint-Exupery was a french writer, poet and aviator. He was one of the pioneers of international postal flight. His writings include The Little Prince, Night Flight and Wind, Sand and Stars. He has a couple of connections to Canada- In 1942, the Saint-Exuperys resided in Quebec City for several weeks and his 1939 philosophical memoir Terre des hommes was used to create the central theme ( Terre des hommes- Man and His World) of the most successful World's Fair of the 20th century, Expo 67 in Montreal, Canada, which I was lucky enough to attend. Saint-Exupery was lost at sea while flying offshore, south of Marseille, France on 31 July 1944.
The card brings greeting from Dominik in Switzerland. He writes that plane cards are hard to come by so he settled on an aviator, which is fine by me. The Priority A stamp was issued in 2009 and is 1 of 2 in a Bird set.

Next up is a card from Ana. She must have been on a little holiday as this card comes from Krakow, Poland not Skopje , Macedonia as is usual. Ana has a great postcard blog called My World of Postcards and you can see it here. On the card we see Wawel Hill. The Royal Palace and the cathedral are located here. The stamps are a little ordinary( Ana's words, not mine ). The stamp on the left was issued in 2005 and features Sieradz, a town in central Poland. The other one was issued in 2001 and is 1 of a set of 2 featuring farms. Thanks Ana

There's a great picture on this next card. It shows the boat lined , deep rocky inlet of Goudes, located on the outskirts of Marseille, France. Looks like a place where I would enjoy a short stay. The Marianne stamp was issued in 2008, 1 of a set of 13 definitives.

Now I am ending off this update with another card from my brother Dale. This one is from Canada, Quebec City in fact. The card shows the big fancy posh hotel The Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac. Quebec City, constructed by Samuel de Champlain in 1608, is the birthplace of French civilization on the North American continent. The Upper Town quarter has the only walled city in North America. The architecture, the narrow cobbled streets and the precipitous staircases transport visitors back in time. The historic district of the city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and has been since 1985. Dale used one of the Canadian Pride issue stamps from 2011. It is 1 of a set of 5 issued last January 17th. And just so you know, a new set of 5 Canadian Pride stamps will be issued on January 16th of this year. Thanks Dale for this one .
So there you have it, another update in the books. Hope you got something from it , if you did, let me know. The comment is always open .