Happy weekend!

Hi guys,

how are you?

The weekend is almost arrived, I will have my last class in few hours and then a bit of relax on Saturday and Sunday even if I will have to study!

Today I don't wanna show you a postcard from a place or a country but I would love to make you smile and I think that this postcard is perfect. 

When I got it I couldn't stop smiling and I laugh every time I see it.

I LOVE smiling and make others smile. I think it's something so amazing!

Have you ever thought about what happens when you smile?

The first thing, to me, is that you become more beautiful! 

Your heart increase the pulsations up to 120 per minute.

Your eyes sparkle, they have more light turned on thanks to a new supply of fresh blood to the pupils.

Your nostrils dilate, increasing the amount of air that enters into the nasal passages.

The same sounds emitted by laughter help to give you a burst of vitality, thanks to a positive direct impact on the auditory nerves.

Laughter is the best medicine for everything and you don't need even to go to the doctor!

Just a massive dose of humor every day to see life from a different angle, and certainly better.

Well, it's time to show you the postcard:

Isn't spectacular? :D An amazing seal!

Wilhelm sent me it, he is from Germany and he lives on the coast.

Wishing you a great weekend guys!

Keep smiling,

Giuliana

From Minsk with love

Ciaoooo!! :D

How is going?

I'm very well, I'm studying and I'm so happy, guess why? Today I got 18 postcards :)) I live in a dorm school and there is the doorman. He called my room and said me: "Bring your bag with you!"
I was receiving 3-4 postcards per time and I couldn't imagine to receive 18 postcards at the same time!! I really can't explain how I felt.
I became the "postcards girl" :D Love it!

Well, I got these postcards maybe last week, they are from Minsk, Belarus.
Elena, a lovely girl, sent me 4 of them and one of them it's so funny, 10 things to do in Belarus written in italian. So nice!

1. The square of Independence: independence from Germans after the victory in the Second World War. In the past it was called the Lenin Square and there's still a huge Lenin statue there. The red building is the Cathedral of St.Simon and Alena, where Elena goes to listen some organic music concerts.

2. View of the Upper Town: the central part of Minsk. The river goes across all the city and she said that it is very picturesque, surraunded by many beautiful parks that are favourite places of the citizens for walks and rest.

3. The Victory Square: she lives 15 minutes from here. It is a square devoted to the warriors of the Second World war. About 1/3 of Belarus population was killed during the war. 

That's so sad! :(

4. 10 things to do in Belarus: - eat the Narocianski bread - visit the Medieval Castle - stay at an estate - eat a lot of draniki (fritters) - visit the National Library - feed a bison - wear a dress made ​​of 100% flax - enjoy the scenery on the banks of one of the 11,000 lakes - drink Krambambul, a local beverage - and come to visit it again! :D

Thank you so much Elena!

Hope you like this post! Leave a commentttt :D

Big hugs,

Giuliana

Two lovely postcards from Latvia

Hi everybody :)

a very sunny day in Milan :) Spring is coming!

This is a view from my room:

I love the blue sky, I feel better when the sun lights up the city! :D

Well, today I'm flying to Riga, the capital city of Latvia. I had a great time with a latvian girl that I met during my work experience in Vancouver. She is from Sigulda. We had lots of fun there and shared our experiences. Now she is teaching English in Vietnam! 

Over this wonderful experience with the Latvian people, the guy who sent me these postcards is also a very nice person. In addition to send me postcards, we also had the opportunity to exchange talks. 

It's great to know people who are so kind. He was in Oslo about 10 days ago and he also sent me a postcard from there. His name is Arturs, a boy of my own age, a sports fan and that he had never sent a postcard to a stranger before. Arturs thank you very much :D

Here are the postcard, a general one of his country and another one of Riga:

When Arturs sent me these postcards, about one month ago, he said that the temperature there was between -18°C and -23°C. Omg, I can't imagine how cold was, such a chilly winter. Brrrr!

Latvia has a long and ancient history and it is one of the least densely populated countries of the European Union. Along with the neighboring countries Estonia and Lithuania it is known as the Baltic States.

In the Riga's postcard we can see the Railway Bridge, I think is so beautiful, it is located  over the river Daugava and it was opened on 1 January 1873. It is illuminated in white and blue, the colors of Riga's flag.

We can also see the House of Black Heads, the Riga Castle and an old view of the city.

The House of Black Heads is a medieval building and its name is due to the Brotherhood of Black Heads (because of the headgear of the members), born in the city in 1416 as a guild of Latvian merchants. It is currently the house of some municipal administrative offices, the Office of Tourism and a coffee shop.

The Castle was founded in 1330 and it is the home of the President of the Republic of Latvia and the National History Museum of Latvian, the third oldest museum in Latvia.

Well, I hope one day to visit this beautiful country and to know in person Arturs!

Have a great time and a nice week!

See you,

Giuliana

Flying towards the land of the kangaroos

Ciao :-)

how are you guys?

Another week is almost finished, my God, time flies so fast!

Today I received other postcards :D I'm so happy, every day more and more.

Do you know how many postcards I have now? Well, I don't know, I'm just counting them while I'm writing, so....drumroll....double 6 :D 66 postcards! That's a great number, I never imagined it in such a short time! Thank you to everyone! <3

Ticket for Australia? Oh yes, why not!?
Who has not dreamed of visiting this beautiful country? Maybe just the people that live there! :D

This is the nice postcard that I got, it's from Sydney.

When I was younger I thought that it was the capital city of Australia, and then one day I was playing at Trivial Pursuit and I discovered that Canberra is the capital city, I felt a little bad, I was particularly convinced! hahaha

The graceful shells of Sydney Opera House and the massive single span of the Harbour Bridge rise luminously against a glowing evening sky. Ramzi sent me it, his first postcard!

The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing art centre designed by a danish architect and it was opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 20th October, 1973. 

About the bridge I found that it has been nicknamed "Coat Hanger" by the locals and it is the largest steel arch bridge in the world measuring 1149 meters in length. Wooow, that's a lot!!

I really would love to visit this country one day, actually I would visit the entire world! :D

I'm going to study a bit!

Hope you will like this post and I will appreciate any comments!

See you,

Giuliana :P

A special post for Ukraine

Ciao guys,

just came back in Milan.

My weekend was very nice with my family :) How was yours?

Well, these are two postcards that I got from Ukraine:

The first one is from the capital city Kiev (or Kyiv) and, in particular, the postcard represents the Monument of Independence.
Independence Square is one of three squares located along Khreshchatyk close to the northeastern end of the street. It is situated close to European Square, which is the terminal end of Khreshchatyk.
Maria, the girl that sent me this postcard, said me that Ukrainians used to unite there for their country to be free, prosperous and with european values of democracy, the rule of law, freedom of speech and movement. She truly believe in that! The statue represents a woman in Ukrainian national costume on a 40 meter column.

The second one represents little shots from many different cities:
Mukacheve, Kerch, Sebastopol, Kyiv, Kamianets-Podilskyi, Sambir.

* Mukacheve is located in southwestern of the country. The city is now a rail terminus and highway junction, and has beer, wine, tobacco, food, textile, timber and furniture industries. On the postcard there is the Palanok Castle located on a former 68 metre high volcanic hill. It has of 130 different rooms with a complex system of underground passages connecting them together. Upper left there is also represented The Town Hall considered the splendid ensemble's gem of the city.

* Kerch is considered to be one of the most ancient cities in Ukraine. On the picture there is the Yenikale fortress, that was built by Ottoman Turks in 1699–1706. The fortress occupied area of 25,000 m² and had two powder-magazines, arsenal, water reservoir, living houses, bath-house and mosque.

* Sebastopol is the second largest port in Ukraine. The Inkerman Monastery of St.Clement represented on the postcard, is a cave monastery in a cliff rising. It was founded in 1850 on the where the relics of St. Clement were kept.

* Kyiv the capital city. The Saint Andrew's Church is a major baroque church located in the city. It was constructed in 1747–1754, to a design by the Italian architect Bartolomeo Rastrelli. Isn't nice? :)

* Kamianets-Podilskyi is a city on the Smotrych River in western Ukraine. This city has a big castle and its foundations were built using limestone. That's not strange? It seems so majestic!

* Sambir is a city of wester Ukraine. In 1668, a town hall was built here, and in the early 18th century, the local church was remodelled.

Thanks to Oksana for this postcard!
All seems very nice places. What do you think?

Before concluding, I would show you this video about the really sad situation that the country is experiencing.

Share it!


It's time to go bed here!

Have a great week,
Giuliana

Sibiu, a little town in the heart of Romania

Good morning guys,

how is going?

It's cloudy again in Milan but in two hours I'm coming back in my lovely hometown: Salerno :) The weather will be so good, sunny and around 20°C :D

Today I want to show you this nice postcard from Romania:

That's Sibiu, a lovely town in the heart of Romania. It's one of the most important cultural centres of Romania and along with the city of Luxembourg, it was designated a European Capital of Culture for the year 2007.
The old city of Sibiu was also ranked as "Europe's 8th most idyllic place to live" by Forbes.
On the postcard there are 3 shots:

• Piata Mica: as it's name says (small square) is divided into two parts separated by Ocnei Street, which slopes under the Bridge of Lies towards the Lower Town. The square preserves with very few changes the aspect of the XV and XVI centuries, all the buildings are historic monuments;

• Podul Minciunilor: in english "Bridge of Lies", it is a metal bridge built in 1859 over Ocnei street which connects the lower city and the upper city. It's a pedestrian walkway and it's the oldest iron bridge in service on the territory of Romania. I like it, it's so particular. There are a lots of legends about this bridge. One of them says that on this bridge used to walk around couples in love. Young people there swore eternal love, and the girls say they are virgins. But after the wedding night, it is discovered that some girls were lying. They were dragged off the bridge, being thrown over the railing. :O

• Palatul Brukenthal: is one of the most important Baroque monuments in Romania. This building was built between 1777 and 1787 to serve as the official residence of Baron and head of its collections. 

Well, I knew a new city and I learned more about it thanks to Simona, the girl that sent me this nice postcard!

Have a great weekend! 

See you,

Giuliana

First one from Europe: Trnava

Hey there,
how was your weekend?

My last semester of study started this morning, first class Advertising Management.
First impression, not bad! I liked it, it was a funny lesson full of advertising campaigns.

I'd like to share one with you, maybe you have already seen it!

That's not funny? :D


Well, the postcard of today is from Slovakia. This is the first postcard that I received from Europe!
Do you know how to say HI in slovak? :) Martin, the guy that sent me this card, told me that it says AHOJ!
I learned something new ;)

The city is Trnava, a small city in western Slovakia, about 50 km to the north-east of Bratislava. It is also one of Slovakia's oldest cities (13th century). Because of the many churches within its city walls, Trnava has often been called the "Slovak Rome". On the picture are represented some important monuments of the city like the Cathedral of St.John (upper left), the Tower in the historical center (upper middle), the Gothic church of St.Nicolas (upper right).

That's not another nice place?
Thank you so much to Martin, he also got mine from Milan, it was a pleasure exchange with him.

I feel tired, tomorrow I will have another new class starting at 8.45am.

So, have a good night in you're reading from Italy and Europe and enjoy the rest of the day for other people!

S pozdravom (best regards in slovak ;)),
Giuliana

Me gustaría ir a México

Hola gente,

how are you?

Today I'm gonna to write a post about México :)

And, you know why I chose to tell you about México? Well, I just had my spanish exam and it went well, I'm happy!

Who, among us, has never think of doing a nice vacation there? Since, unfortunately, it is not of my future trips due to distance, price and lack of time, I will travel a bit with my imagination!

Here is the postcard that I received :)

Stefan, sent me this postcard last December! It took lots of time, I got it around the mid of January!

Well, this is the "Palacio de Bellas Artes", a building built of white marble. The construction began in 1904 and it is considered the most important theatre in the city. It is located on the west side of the historic center of Mexico City.
It also contains murals of important Mexican artists such as Camarena, O'Gorman, Orozco, Siqueiros and Tamayo. The palace has a mixture of a number of architectural styles; however, it is principally Art Nouveau and Art Deco.

Stefan wrote me that this is his favourite building in Mexico City.

I think that is a must to see especially for people who are passionate about architecture and art.

So, what do you think?

Hope you will have a great weekend!

Best,
Giuliana <3

ps. I always think about Mexico when I liste this song:

I like it :)

Two B for you: Borneo & Brunei!

Heyyy :D
how is going?

Guess what? No rain, finally today it was a very sunny day :) A small break since it tomorrow it will rain again!

Today, I had a very long day! I went to Padova, a nice city close to the famous Venice, for a presentation of my university. This little trip took me back a few years. I had been in Padova during my secondary school trip :) Mmm, about ten years ago!! Omg, I feel a bit old! :D

And, I have more to tell you, I made a "discovery": I tried the McDonald cappuccino and I really liked it :P Hahaha

I also had a UNICEF video conference for a kind of a new project and I met two lovely polish girls, we went to a nice live music pub here in Milan, had a great cocktail and shared experiences! A very nice evening!

Anyway, the postcards of today are from Borneo and Brunei :)

Borneo is the third largest island in the world and the largest island of Asia. It is close to Brunei, Malaysia and Indonesia. The card represents the Mount Kinabalu, the highest mountain in south east of Asia. This is one of the most important biological sites in the world.
That's not amazing?
I wanna say thank you to Fiona, the girl that sent me this nice postcard! :) She also got mine from Milan!

  

Brunei is a sovereign state also located in the south east of Asia. This city, Kampong Ayer also called Water Village, has a very particular characteristic: all buildings are constructed on stilts above the Brunei River.

That's not cool?
Thank you so much Yani :)

I "googled" the distance from Milan to Brunei, well, more than 16000km :O That's a lot!!

I really appreciated these two postcards! Did you like them? :)

It's time to go bed, I feel a bit tired and tomorrow I will have another long day!

See you,

Giuliana

Vancouver, what a lovely place!

Hi guys,
how are you?

Another post, two in one day is too much, I'm having lots of free time!

It's still raining here in Milan, I really can't take it anymore! I look forward to the spring, I hate the rain!

Well, today it's the turn of Vancouver, the city where I spent 3 months for an internship experience. I had such a great time. I met lots of wonderful people, I saw breathtaking views.

I really enjoyed my stay there. I'd like to come back.

The only downside of this city is the rain, it's very rainy, sometimes people call it "Raincouver", but I was lucky, not too much rain during my stay ;) Yeah for me!

Are you ready for such a lovely card?

Here it is, a piece of Vancouver Downtown. My office was so close to this area!

Unike as I thought, Vancouver isn't the capital city of British Columbia but is one of the largest Canadian cities. Compared to European cities, it is very young! There is nothing that has more than hundreds of years. It is located on the sea but is less than half an hour from the mountains, that makes it so fascinating!

It is also one of Canada's warmest cities.

Isabelle is the girl that sent me this postcard, I didn't have chance to meet her in person, what a shame!

Maybe next time ;)

So, what do you think about Vancouver? I fell in love with her the first day!

Before greeting you, I wanna show you a short video, a collection of some pictures of my experience.

I heard that song for the first time there. I hope you will like it!

See you soon,

Giuliana

First postcards that I've received :)

Are you ready for the first postcards that I got?!

Here we are: Philippines, Thailand and Cambodia!
I got these postcard from the same person, her name is Jaja and she is from Philippines :)

Philippines

Taal Volcano is located on the island of Luzon in the Philippines. It is the second most active volcano in the Philippines with 33 historical eruptions.

Even it is a volcano this postcard makes me relaxed, I don't know why, maybe the nature, the water, the amazing view!

I've never been to Philippines, I really wish one day!

Thailand

A lovely floating market from Thailand. 

This is the market of Tha-Kha, in the Samut Songkhram Province, one of the central provinces of Thailand. This market still is part of the villagers’ way of life. The villagers here do farming and grow various plants. They usually paddle a boat to bring their produce to sell to each other.

 I was in Thailand about two years ago, one of the best trip that I've ever had. I visited Bangkok and some islands in the south of the country: Koh Tao, Koh Phangan and Koh Nang Yuan (my favourite). What an amazing country! So different culture from Europe, lovely people and amazing views. I'd love to come back to discover the North of this beautiful country. 

Thailand will always be in my heart!

Cambodia

An amazing sunset from the province of Siem Reap.

The Angkor Wat is a Buddhist temple in Cambodia and the largest religious monument in the world. This temple was built lots of time ago, in the early 12th century. It is a symbol of Cambodia, in fact it appears also on the national flag. 

My boyfriend was there about two years ago with his friend. They described me as a fascinating and so misterious place, a must to see!

Another place on my travel wishlist ;)

So, did you like my first postcards? I love them!

Have you ever been in these places?

All the best,

Giuliana

Let's start!

Hi there,

greetings from Milan, Italy.
It' Giuliana, a girl that, like lots of people, loves to travel.

It's raining right now, it's a typical day to stay in the bed drinking a tea or an hot chocolate and watching a movie or reading a good book.

Let's start to explain you the reason of this blog!

Just few months ago, when I was in Vancouver for an intership, I had the idea to start to collect postcards from all over the world. Well, I really started in January and in a month I collected already 28 of them: Sidney, Bangkok, Belgrade, Riga, Warsaw, Madrid, Bruxelles, Tirana...Not bad ;)

Whenever I get a postcard is like to travel for a moment in that city, besides the fact that the thought over it makes me smile. Thinking that a person who I don't know for a minute of his life thought about what to write for me on a postcard, is something that makes me happy.

Through this blog I simply want to show you all the postcards that I got and I will get (if you want, you can send me a postcard from your place :P) and some thoughts about travelling. I also want that, for a while, you can travel with your imagination!

I know that there are lots of blogs about this topic but I hope that you will find mine a bit interesting!

Any comment and thought will be appreciated :)

Best,
Giuliana