Algarve, Portugal

Postcard PT-257988 from Portugal shows a beach scene in the Algarve, the southernmost region of continental Portugal. Known for its sunny Mediterranean climate and its beach and golf resorts, it is the most popular tourist destination in Portugal in the summer. It has half a million regular residents, with visitors and seasonal residents adding to another million during the peak holiday season. The Algarve receives near 10 million visitors annually, including 7 millions from overseas.

Today is Portugal Day. To recognize the contributions of Portuguese-American community in California, the State Senate adopted a resolution, declaring June 10th as “Portugal Day” in the state.

Apúlia, Portugal

Postcard PT-368959 from Portugal shows Apúlia, a town with 4,323 residents and a former civil parish in the municipality of Esposende, Portugal. In 2013, the parish merged into the new parish Apúlia e Fão. It was a municipality by itself until 1834, when it was incorporated into Esposende. Apúlia is known for its dune beaches, as seen on the card, and Roman-style folk costumes, which may indicate its connection to the region of Apulia in Italy where a possible migration was originated during the Roman Empire.

May 17 is the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia. On May 17, 2010, President Aníbal Cavaco Silva ratified a law for legalization of same-sex marriage and became effective on June 5, 2010. Portugal became the sixth country in Europe and the eighth country in the world to allow same-sex marriage nationwide.

Shoeshining in Lisbon

Postcard NL-2904282 from the Netherlands was bought in Lisbon during a trip to Portugal. The photo, taken by Christian Auscher in 1987, features a shoeshiner in an ordinary day in Lisbon.

Danut Ivanescu from Romania has received a copy of the same card through a private swap. In his blog, he made some interesting observations on shoeshiner as a profession. In Las Vegas, many casinos, hotels, convention centers, shopping malls and the airport have hosted shoeshining stands.

USPS Philatelic Truck

Postcard US-3154507 to Portugal was a maxi card showing a special USPS truck that traveled the U.S. between 1939 and 1941 to offer a mobile philatelic exhibit to the public promoting stamp collecting, operated by a three-man crew. The 22 cent stamp was one of the four Stamp Collecting commemorative designs showing a boy examining a stamp collection, issued in State College, Pennsylvania on January 23, 1986, as part of the first USPS commemorative stamp booklet.

Today, USPS is more gearing up to compete with Fedex and USPS in package delivery business. It has a booth at the 2015 CES to promote the packaging and shipping services. Visitors to the booth can get their pictures taken and printed as pre-paid postcards.

Titanic Memorial Lighthouse

Postcard US-2849023 to Portugal shows the Titanic Memorial Lighthouse, at the entrance to the South Street Seaport in New York City, New York.

The 60-foot or 18-meter lighthouse was originally built on the roof of the old Seamen's Church Institute of New York and New Jersey at the corner of South Street and Coenties Slip in 1913, over looking the East River. The time ball on the top of the lighthouse, activated by a radio signal from the Naval Observatory in Washington D.C., would drop down the pole to signal 12:00 at noon to the ships in the harbor from 1913 to 1967.

When the Seamen's Church Institute moved to 15 State Street in July 1968, the lighthouse was donated to the South Street Seaport Museum. It was erected on the corner of Fulton and Pearl streets in May, 1976. It is one of those memorials in the U.S., Canada, England and Northern Ireland that remember the people perished on the RMS Titanic on April 15, 1912.

São Miguel, Portugal

Postcard PT-357733 from Portugal shows São Miguel Island, named for Saint Michael, the largest and most populous island in the Portuguese archipelago of the Azores. Also referred as "the Green Island," it has a Special Protection Area containing the largest remnant of laurisilva forest on the island, habitat to the endemic and critically endangered bird, the Azores Bullfinch.

It is also the hometown of Pauleta (Pedro Miguel Carreiro Resendes, born April 28, 1973), a football player for the Portuguese National Team. Pauleta scored 47 goals in 88 matches for Portugal, a national record at the time of his retirement. He played in two World Cups and two European Championships.

In a Group G match against the United States during the 2014 FIFA World Cup at Arena Amazonia in Manaus, Brazil today, Silvestre Varela of the Portuguese National Team scored his team's second goal in the last minute, keeping Portugal alive with a 2:2 draw on June 22, 2014.

#451062278 / gettyimages.com

Michelle Obama Visits the Summer Palace

Postcard US-2262748 to Portugal shows the Longevity Hill at the Summer Palace in Beijing, China. The front hill, as shown on the postcard, is rich with many splendid halls and pavilions. The Summer Palace, once an imperial garden in Qing Dynasty, has now been one of the UNESCO's World Heritage Sites since 1998.

First Lady Michelle Obama visited the Summer Palace in Beijing on Saturday, March 22, 2014, second day during her week-long trip to China. Mrs. Obama was accompanied by her daughters and her mother, and a group of visiting students from the U.S. They enjoyed a Chinese opera performance and took a boat ride on the famous Kunming Lake. The week-long trip, with the focus on the importance of education, from March 19 to 26 includes stops in Beijing from March 20 to 23, Xi’an on March 24, and Chengdu from March 25 to 26.

Vietnam Veterans Memorial

In this Veterans Day 2013, we feature postcard US-2475557 to Portugal that shows the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall with reflection of the Washington Monument in Washington D.C. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial honors U.S. service members who fought in the Vietnam War, service members who died in service in Vietnam and the South East Asia, and service members missing in action during the War.

In Las Vegas, there will be the 2013 Veterans Day Parade in downtown at 10 a.m on Monday, November 11, 2013. The parade is said to be the largest Veterans Day parade west of the Mississippi River, featuring active duty and reserve service members, veterans groups and local organizations.

International Day for Disaster Reduction

The United Nations General Assembly designated the 1990s as the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction on December 22, 1989. As part of its proclamation, it also designated the second Wednesday of October as the International Day for Natural Disaster Reduction. The objective was to promote the awareness in order to decrease the loss of life, property destruction and social and economic disruption caused by natural disasters, such as earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, landslides, volcanic eruptions, droughts, locust infestations, and other disasters of natural origin.

In 2009, the United Nations General Assembly decided to designate October 13 as the official date and changed the name to the International Day for Disaster Reduction. The 2013 Theme is Living with Disability and Disasters.

Postcard US-2217252 to Portugal shows a postcard I bought in Banda Aceh, Sumatra, Indonesia when I was there to volunteer for tsunami relief effort in February, 2005.

Óbidos, Portugal

Vila de Óbidos

Postcard PT-311465 from Portugal shows Óbidos, a vila with a population of 3100 people. As the municipal seat of the municipality of Óbidos, it is located in the Estremadura Province, Portugal. The vila is located on a hilltop, encircled by a fortified wall, part of a well-preserved example of Medieval architecture. The vila established its charter in 1195, during the reign of Sancho I. The distinctive streets, squares, walls and its castle are now a popular tourist destination.

Portugal Day

Portugal Day is Portugal's National Day celebrated every year on June 10. My received postcard PT-274057 can be a good example to showcase the diversity that Portugal may offer.  Piódão is a tiny village preserved in the mountains with 178 inhabitants counted in 2011. Located on a hillside of the Serra do Goshawk, the houses have traditional schist walls, tiled roofs, wooden doors, with windows painted blue which give a hue of artificial blue at night, Piódão has received a "Historic Village" recognition as national heritage due to its unique pattern of the houses. It has been experiencing the similar emigration trend elsewhere where younger generations migrate overseas or to the coastal areas in search of better opportunities. However, they do return, especially during the festival seasons, to reunite with family members, to relive the past and to search their roots. .