France, New Zealand, Swaziland, Finland, and Spain

I'm back with another update. Seems like a good day for postcards. It's pouring rain, has been for a couple days now and will be for a few more. My grandson's soccer game last evening was cancelled, and I was looking forward to the Calgary Vipers' baseball season opener tonight. I'm pretty sure that will be a rain out, the field must be sogged. That's why postcards are a great hobby, rain or shine, the mail arrives.

I have 5 postcards for this time. These have arrived over the past 2 days, so I guess it's time to get them up on the blog. O.K. Here we go.

France- Another great airline/aircraft on postcard.My collection of these continues to grow. I love these cards and this one is a great one. An Air France A320 in Retro. In November 2008, Air France rolled out an Airbus A320 with registration F-GFKJ that was repainted in the full 1946 paint scheme to celebrate the airline's 75 year anniversary. Note the Seahorse logo on the tail. This card shows the aircraft on the ground in Toulouse in November 2008. Yes, it's another card from Jean Pierre. He used a round stamp from a souvenir sheet of 2 different stamps , issued for the 800th anniversary of Reims Cathedral.

New Zealand- Greetings from New Zealand. A Flag postcard to boot. This card is from a Postcrosser named Jo who lives in Te Awamutu, a town of about 9,700 people on the North Island . The town is often referred to as "The Rose town of New Zealand", because of its elaborate rose gardens in the centre of the town. Jo used 1 of 2 stamps issued in 2010 to celebrate the All Blacks. The All Blacks are the National Rugby Team of New Zealand. The Rugby World Cup 2011 will be held in New Zealand. The Rugby World Cup 2011 will feature the best players in the world, and will be held in twelve venues around New Zealand. The tournament kicks off on Friday September 9, 2011, when hosts New Zealand take on Tonga, at Eden Park , Auckland. The final will be held at Eden Park on Sunday October 23 2011.
Teams from 20 countries will contest 48 matches, all looking for the ultimate prize, the Rugby World Cup 2011.

Swaziland- The Kingdom Of Swaziland I guess I should say. The card shows a couple of young boys dressed for the hunt. Another Jean Pierre card, but this time with help from Bruce. Jean Pierre wrote and addressed the card, while Bruce, who has often sent cards from South Africa and other places, posted the card while on a business trip to Mbabane, Swaziland on May 5th.
At this point, that's all I know. Obviously, more was involved. Bruce used, since he was the one doing the posting, a 2007 definitive stamp from a set of 13, all of which featured trees. The butterfly stamp is from a 12 values set issued 1992, even though they are dated 1991.

Finland- Now for a little unorthodox card. Certainly not a traditional tourist type card. The card is titled Grand Tour 2001. A little different meaning to the words "riding the rails" then we are used to. A nice card though. Kaisa used a 2007 butterfly stamp , from a set of 3.

Spain, Cartagena to be exact. This card shows a statue of a sailor walking along with his sea bag slung over his back. Jerry and Bev sent this card along. They just finished a transatlantic cruise and had a little time in Spain. Bev used a 2011 International Woman's Day stamp .

Well that's another one in the books. Oh yes, the ball game is now officially rained out. Maybe tomorrow, we'll see.
Take care , Come back soon.