Smile on Saturday

Horse Smile

 

Horses in Art

 Couple Riding-Black and Violet. 1906,

Wassily Kandinsky

My Kandinsky collection

 Riders on the beach. 1902

Paul Gauguin.

My Gauguin collection

Shoeing, exhibited 1844

Sir Edwin Henry Landseer (1802–1873)

My horse art collection

Sir Edwin Henry Landseer RA was an English painter and sculptor, well known for his paintings of animals – particularly horses, dogs, and stags. However, his best known works are the lion sculptures in Trafalgar Square.

Groom with Two Horses 1880

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec  (1864 - 1901)
My Toulouse-Lautrec collection

Knights and Cavallers

Turku Castle, Finland   

Tournament,  Medieval Fight Weekend

Bran Castle ("Dracula's Castle"  ), Romania

From Nadiut in Brasov, Roamania

 Festes de Sant Joan -  A Unique Summer Solstice Festival in Spain on a Small Historic Island of Menorca.

 My favorite knight, our son :)

Iceland

Warm in their winter coats.

 These horses seem to smile as they wait for summer time and easier grazing. 

Received from Thorey, Reykjavik
Distance: 2,167 km
Travel time: 6 days

View to the east over the pond in downtown Reykjavik. 

The National Gallery of Iceland and Frikirkjan church are just across the street from the pond. The spire of Hallgrimskirkja church can be seen in the background. 

Received from Mandy, she spent her autumn vacation in Iceland.

Ireland

 US-2533022

Stephanie lives in Atlanta, Georgia and last summer she spent 10 days with her family in Ireland. Among other things they visited this ancient structure of Dunluce Castle. 

Dunluce Castle is a medieval Irish castle on the Antrim Coast. It is located dramatically close to a headland that plunges straight into the sea and it's fascinating history dates back to the 14th century.

Beautiful card from Anna. ( Direct swap)

Anna writes that this is a typical landscape in rural Ireland - the hills, fences and castles. She wonders how those fences hold in place for so long because there is no cement between the stones.

The historic and picturesque coastal village of Carlingford is situated on the Cooley Peninsula, County Louth. King John's Castle is sited on high rock at the entrance of the harbour. The area offers many attractions for active holidaymakers. 

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Filling up in Ireland!
This postcard made Laura smile and me too:)

That's a very handy beer tap, says my husband!

Direct swap from Tomek

Tomek was busy, he was going fishing because Ireland is a paradise for anglers :)

The public house has long been the centre of Irish social life. Think of Ireland and your first thought probably is of Irish pub, indeed most people's first visit to Ireland is noted by a recommendation of a good local where they can go and experience a pint of the black stuff, take in the atmosphere friendliness and general craic that's unique to every Irish pub.

Direct swap from Vicky

Vicky is from China but lives now in Dublin and she loves it.

Is that not the most beautiful library you’ve ever seen? Definitely a Dublin highlight!

The Long Room, Trinity College, Dublin

The main chamber of the Old Library is the Long Room, and at nearly 65 metres in length, it is filled with 200,000 of the Library’s oldest books.  It's one of Ireland's biggest tourist attractions. There's also an old harp which is believed to be the oldest in Ireland. It dates from the 15th century.

Cards from October

Received on 22 Oct, 2013

And now it's November, I must shape up with my updates :)

 Don from Australia sent this card showing Blue Mountains Crossing Re-enactment, 200th Anniversary of first European Crossing, May 1813 - May 2013. He also told an interesting story  how his great-great grandfather and the family traveled to Iman Valley on the Fleurieu Peninsula. 

When these these guys came back to Holland from a long journey,

 they sure were happy to see Brinta !

Hooray! There is Brinta again!

Linda writes that Brinta is one of the most famous and oldest breakfast in Netherlands.

Renato from Italy must be a real flower person, he sent me this nice ad card of Eurolora.  Euroflora is an international event event held in every five years.  Between the exhibitions with the same typology it is the most visited in Europe. 

Matthias from Germany has five dogs and he thinks he can't take such peaceful picture of his dogs together with a cat. The text in the card says: Two friends have to be similar in their hearts, in all other things they can be completely different.

There are no golden leaves hanging on the trees anymore. 

October means hard work for gardeners, but kids love it!

Eeva from Helsinki sent this cute card, 

it is a fine addition for my Virpi Pekkala collection.

Kukkuu! Tittut! Peek-a-boo!

Z is for Zoo

Snow leopard kittens (Uncia  uncia ) in Ähtäri Zoo, Finland.

Ähtäri Zoo is located in the middle of Finland, some 160 km from Tampere, and is the first natural wildlife park of its kind in Finland. Set in 60 hectares, the aim of Ähtäri has been to provide a spacious and natural environment for the animals, and it has a varied terrain and flora which has provided an excellent opportunity for the implementation of the basic principles of EAZA, the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria, on how best to care for animals in care.

Przewalski's Horse ( Equus przewalskii )

Korkeasaari Zoo in Helsinki is located on an island in the harbour, and is home to some 150 animal species and almost 1000 plant species, and includes many endangered species that are raised here. The zoo is laid out in zones, enabling visitors to pass from the tropical climates of Africa, Asia, and the Amazonian rain forests, into the deserts of Africa and the jungles of Indonesia. In the Arctic environment such animals as the snowy owl, musk ox, and the European forest reindeer are all at home in the Finnish winter. In the Cat Valley you'll find Amur tigers, lynxes, and leopards that are used to similar wintery conditions in their homelands.



Galloping Horses

Traditional Chinese ink painting of galloping horses.

Recieved on : 5 Jan, 2013

Distance: 7,573 km (4,706 miles)

Travel time: 48 days

Thank you  Vorx from Nanning, China.

These horses in the painting look very strong with  energetic. What a great pleasure it would be to watch horses galloping!  Because it's not possible for me now and here, the second best thing to do is admire these lovely Chinese paintings.

 Nanning, the capital city of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, is the political, economic and cultural center of the region. It has the most prosperous economy in Southwest China, supplying an abundance of agricultural products to the whole Guangxi. Bordering Vietnam, this city is neighbor to Guangzhou, close to Hong Kong and Macau, and faces Southeast Asia. This advantageous location makes the city a commercial and communication center, opening China to Southeast Asia.
  It is known as the "Green City" because of its abundance of lush tropical foliage.

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