Adare, L`Hermione, West Cork and UTA

BLOG 1537  --  Day 520 of the Pandemic  

Hello again folks. I`m back with a few cards to show . I`ll start with a card from Adare, a village in county Limerick, Ireland. It is designated as a heritage town by the Irish government. The village is an old world place of quaint thatched cottages and medieval churches located on the west bank of the Maigue River. Two abbeys within the town have been restored , one as a Catholic Church and the other is a Church of Ireland. 

David used a stamp from this year, 1 of 3 issued to celebrate Ireland`s Pride Movement.

 

My next card arrived from France. It shows the Hermione , a replica of the 1779 Hermione. The replica was launched on September 7, 2014. The card shows the Hermione passing under the transporter bridge at Rochefort. The bridge was built in 1900 and fully restored in 2020. It is 50 metres high and 150 long.

Again Dominique used an older stamp, from 1972. It shows a likeness of Paul de Chomedey, a famous French military officer. 

One more card from Ireland. West Cork is a tourist region in County Cork. The county is home to the 15th century Barney Castle and its world famous Blarney Stone. David`s card shows the Italian Gardens of Garnish Island, located in Glengarriff Harbour. The island enjoys a climate that is almost sub- tropical, and as a result, you can find plants from around the world.

 David used a recent stamp here, 1 of 2 in a 2021 set , with the theme For People For Planet. 

My next card is a keeper, the latest addition to my Airlines and Aircraft on Postcards collection. It`s a UTA DC-10. UTA or Union de Transports Aeriens was a French airline that was formed in 1963. It was the largest privately owned independent airline in France. UTA was absorbed into Air France between 1990 and1992. 

The DC-10s first flew on August 29, 1970 and UTA operated 7 of them. The last regularly scheduled commercial passenger flight operated with a DC-10 aircraft was by Biman Bangladesh Airlines on February 20, 2014 from Dhaka, Bangladesh to Birmingham, UK. 

Sadly,  I wasn`t on the last flight, but I did experience the DC-10 many years ago , flying to Honolulu. 

Jean Pierre`s card arrived with 2 stamps and a fine Philatelic Centre, Tahiti postmark. Ah,  Tahiti - fabled island of swaying palms and pretty vahines. Someday I`ll get there, I hope ! The stamps, from French Polynesia are these. On the left , from 2019, 1 of 2 showing Endemic Birds. On the right, from 2015, this stamp celebrates the 180th Anniversary of the Discovery of King George Island. 

Well readers, that`s all I have for this time. Thanks for today`s cards go out to David, Dominique and Jean Pierre. 

And speaking of covid- do your part, get vaccinated, it don`t hurt a bit. 

I have been researching travel in these times. It`s not going to be easy or cheap , that`s for sure. But that`s another story, for another time.