Quiberon, France

Quiberon is a commune in the Morbihan department in Brittany in western France.

It is situated on the southern part of the Quiberon peninsula, the northern part being the commune of Saint-Pierre-Quiberon. It is primarily known as a seaside resort for French tourists during summer, and for its history of sardine production.

During the Seven Years' War the bay was the site of the Battle of Quiberon Bay between the French and British fleets. In the French Revolution, in July 1795 Quiberon was used by French Royalist exiles, with assistance from the British, as the base for a failed invasion of Brittany (traditionally a royalist area). The invasion was defeated by the Revolutionaries under General Lazare Hoche.

In the 19th century, Nicolas Appert, a chemist, developed a technique that permitted the sterilization of food. Thanks to this process, Quiberon became the leading harbour for sardine fishing and the production of canned sardines in France. Many families from the Finistère département migrated to Quiberon for the fishing season (May to October). When the men put out to sea, the women worked in the sardine can factories.

The railway between Auray and Quiberon was inaugurated in 1882. It deeply changed Quiberon's way of life. Fishing, canning and the exploitation of seaweed has been replaced by tourism. At that time, some famous people went to Quiberon for a stay, including the writers Gustave Flaubert and Anatole France, and the actress Sarah Bernhardt. The year 1924 was important for the peninsula because it was classified as health resort. Now, the main resources for Quiberon come from tourism.

Source: Wikipedia

Thanks to my long lost friend Milan for this surprise from Quiberon :)

Sent: (can't read barcode)   Received: 9 June 2016

Montparnasse Derailment

22 October 1895

The Montparnasse derailment occurred at 4 pm on October 22, 1895 when the Granville–Paris Express overran the buffer stop at its Gare Montparnasse terminus. With the train several minutes late and the driver trying to make up for lost time, it entered the station too fast and the train air brake failed. After running through the buffer stop, the train crossed the station concourse and crashed through the station wall; the locomotive fell onto the Place de Rennes below, where it stood on its nose. A woman in the street below was killed by falling masonry. The engineer was fined 50 francs and one of the guards 25 francs.

Source: Wikipedia

Thanks to Coucheny for the interesting postcard!

Sent: 18 May 2016   Received: 2 June 2016   Travelled: 15 days

Masgot Village, France

The card shows a quaint little village brought to life by the Naive style

sculptures of Francois Michaud.

Thanks to Milan for this surprise card!

Sent: 1 October 2014   Received: 14 October 2014   Travelled: 13 days

Lali Riddle: Can you find the doll with the flower?

Thanks to Catherine for this awesome card for my small

Lali collection and also for the meetup signatures from the 

Nantes Postcrossing meetup on 16th April 2016 ^_^

Sent: 16 April 2016    Received: 29 April 2016   Travelled: 13 days

Sainte Enimie (Lozere)

Sainte-Enimie is a commune in the Lozère department in southern France. It was founded in the 7th century by Énimie, who started a convent there after being cured of leprosy in the surrounding waters. According to a 13th-century poem by Bertran Carbonel troubadour of Marseille, Enimie was a daughter of the Merovingian king Clothar II. When she reached marriageable age, she did not want to marry, preferring to care for lepers instead. According to Bertran she asked God to help her avoid marriage; she was then infected with leprosy. Her father wished for her to be cured and had her taken to be bathed in the waters of Gévaudan, to no avail. An attempt at Bagnols-les-Bains was equally unsuccessful, but a river in Burlats near the Tarn miraculously cured her disease. However, when she returned home to marry her noble suitor, she was once again infected with leprosy and returned to Burlats, where she was cured once more. This process was repeated a third time, after which it was decided that she must remain in that area. She briefly lived in a cave before starting a convent and becoming a nun, and eventually died there. When her brother Dagobert I came to look for relics buried with her to decorate his Basilica of Saint-Denis, the nuns tricked him, and he ended up finding the relics of Énimie's niece instead.

Source: Wikipedia

Thanks to Marion for the postcard from Sainte-Enimie!

Sent: 14 March 2016   Received: 29 March 2016   Travelled: 15 days

Auvergne Volcanoes

Auvergne is known for its mountain ranges and dormant volcanoes. Together the Monts Dore and the Chaîne des Puys include 80 volcanoes. The Puy de Dôme is the tallest volcano in the region, with an altitude of 1,465 m. The Sancy Massif in the Monts Dore is the highest point in Auvergne (1,886 m).

The northern region is covered in hills while the southern portion is mountainous and dotted with pastures. The Domanial Forest of Tronçais covers nearly 11,000 hectares (27,170 acres)and is the largest oak forest in Europe.

Two major rivers in Auvergne. The Loire runs through the southeast and borders the northeast, and the Allier runs from north to south down the center of Auvergne, with branches going east and west. Over many years the Allier river has created what are known as the Allier gorges. Auvergne has about 50 freshwater ponds and lakes. Some are high in the mountains and have volcanic origins. Guéry Lake is the highest lake in Auvergne.
Source: Wikipedia

Thanks to Helene via Postcrossing for the amazing 

landscape of Auvergne!

Sent: 14 February 2016   Received: 22 March 2016   Travelled: 37 days

Alexandre III bridge

The Pont Alexandre III is a deck arch bridge that spans the Seine in Paris. It connects the Champs-Élysées quarter with those of the Invalides and Eiffel Tower. The bridge is widely regarded as the most ornate, extravagant bridge in the city.[2][3] It is classified as a French Monument historique.

The Beaux-Arts style bridge, with its exuberant Art Nouveau lamps, cherubs, nymphs and winged horses at either end, was built between 1896 and 1900. It is named after Tsar Alexander III, who had concluded the Franco-Russian Alliance in 1892. His son Nicholas II laid the foundation stone in October 1896. The style of the bridge reflects that of the Grand Palais, to which it leads on the right bank.

The construction of the bridge is a marvel of 19th century engineering, consisting of a 6 metres (20 ft) high single span steel arch. The design, by the architects Joseph Cassien-Bernard and Gaston Cousin, was subject to strict controls that prevented the bridge from obscuring the view of the Champs-Élysées or the Invalides.

The bridge was built by the engineers Jean Résal and Amédée d'Alby. It was inaugurated in 1900 for the Exposition Universelle (universal exhibition) World's Fair, as were the nearby Grand Palais and Petit Palais.

Source: Wikipedia

Thanks to David via Postcrossing for this beautiful postcard!

Sent: 29 February 2016   Received: 14 March 2016   Travelled: 14 days

Mont-de-Marsan, France

Mont-de-Marsan is a commune and capital of the Landes department in Aquitaine-Limousin-Poitou-Charentes in southwestern France.

Thanks to Oliver via PostcardUnited for this postcard from

Mont-de-Marsan.

Sent: 9 Ocotber 2015   Received: 24 November 2015   Travelled: 46 days

Périgord, France

The Périgord is a natural region and former province of France, which corresponds roughly to the current Dordogne département, now forming the northern part of the Aquitaine région. It is divided into four areas called the Périgord Noir (Black), the Périgord Blanc (White), the Périgord Vert (Green) and the Périgord Pourpre (Purple). The geography and natural resources of Périgord make it a beautiful, unspoiled region rich in history and wildlife, and the newly created Parc Naturel Régional Périgord-Limousin aims to conserve it as such.

There are Roman ruins in Périgueux which have been restored and the whole area is known as the 'cradle of mankind' due to its wealth of prehistoric sites, of which the most famous prehistoric site is the painted cave of Lascaux, whose depictions of aurochs, horses, deer and other animals (but not of humans) date back some 17,000 years.

The centre of pre-historic studies is the small town of les Eyzies, home to the newly rebuilt Museum of Pre-History, where 19th century archaeological investigations established the valley of the Vézère as an unusually rich array of pre-historic sites dating back some 40,000 years. One of UNESCO's World Heritage locations, the valley contains 147 prehistoric sites dating from the Palaeolithic era and 25 decorated caves.

Périgord was one of the main battlegrounds of Hundred Years' War between the French and English in the 14th and 15th centuries. It is also the land of medieval and Renaissance castles like Puymartin, Losse, Hautefort and Beynac situated mainly along the Dordogne and Vézère rivers. Other major castles include Jumilhac-le-Grand, Fénelon, Biron, Bourdeilles, Castelnaud, Puyguilhem and Rouffiac.
Source:Wikipedia

Thanks to Catherine for this lovely map card of her region.

Received: 19 January 2016

Louis Coulon

Louis Coulon and his beard of elevent feet, France , 1904

Photograph by Bonnot

Hahah,such a great card of a black cat inside a beard from Anaik.

Thanks so much!

Sent: 9 Sept 2015   Received: 7 Oct 2015   Travelled: 28 days

Menton, France

The Menton area has been inhabited since the paleolithic era, and is the site of the original "Grimaldi Man" find of early modern humans, as well as remains of Neanderthals and Cro-Magnons. In Roman times, the Via Julia Augusta, a road connecting Placentia (now Piacenza) with Arelates (now Arles) passed through Menton, running along the Rue Longue in the old town. The first major settlement occurred during the 11th century CE, when the Count of Ventimiglia constructed the Château de Puypin (Podium Pinum) on the Pépin hill, north and west of the modern town center. During the 13th century, the seigneury of Puypin fell to the Vento family of Genoa who built a new castle along the Roman road, now the site of the Vieux-Château cemetery, providing the core around which the current town grew. Menton was thus incorporated into the Republic of Genoa. The first mention of Menton dates from 21 July 1262, in the peace treaty between Charles of Anjou and Genoa. Its position on the border between the Angevin-ruled Provence and the Republic of Genoa, which at the time claimed Monaco as its western limit, made it a coveted location.

The Lemon Festival takes place every February. The festival follows a given theme each year; past themes include Viva España, Disney, Neverland, and India. The festival lasts a few days, with different bands passing through Menton's streets on foot or on truck trailers. The Casino Gardens in the centre of town are decorated in the theme of the festival, using lemons to cover the exhibits, and huge temporary statues are built and covered with citrus fruit.

Hahaha such a neat card showing the Lemon Festival, really a festival for Lemons?!

So if the Spanish have the Tomato festival, the French,the lemons, what do the

Italians celebrate? Grapes?? Just my line of thought :D
Thanks to Paola via PostcardUnited.

Sent: 21 Sept 2015   Received: 5 Oct 2015   Travelled: 14 days

Catalan Coast

A beautiful view from the French part of Catalan Coast.

Thank you Tom for this card from a lesser known part of France 

and the lovely fig! I love figs :D

Sent: 10 September 2015   Received: 24 Sept 2015   Travelled: 14 days

I'le Vierge

Île Vierge is a 6-hectare (15-acre) islet lying 1.5 kilometres off the north-west coast of Brittany, opposite the village of Lilia. It is in the commune of Plouguerneau, in the département of Finistère. It is the location of the tallest stone lighthouse in Europe, and the tallest "traditional lighthouse" in the world.The International Hydrographic Organization specifies Île Vierge as marking the south-western limit of the English Channel.
About 1450, the Conventual Franciscans established an abbey on the island. The name "Île Vierge" probably comes from a chapel dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. In 1507, the monks moved to Aber Wrac'h on the mainland. In 1844, the French state purchased the island  from sieur Goyon de Coëpel for 6,000 francs.

Thanks to Mary from France via postcardunited for this 

lovely aerial view!

Sent: 20 August 2015   Received: 27 August 2015   Travelled: 7 days

Keep calm and Hug a tree!

Always fun to receive a Keep Calm postcard!

FR560716
Thanks to a French postcrosser for this cool card!
Swnt:10 August 2015  Received:19 August 2015  Travelled: 9 days

Paris 1937

The Competition doesn't prevent the friendship

Photographer: Emeric Feher, Paris , 1937 

A beautiful vintage reprint by www.desastre.com

Thanks to Andy of France via Postcrossing for this lovely card and

the Goat stamps that fits this year's Year of the Goat/Sheep/Ram.

Sent: 22 June 2015   Received: 6 July 2015    Travelled: 14 days

Place Charles De Gaulle,Paris

The Place Charles de Gaulle,  historically known as the Place de l'Étoile , is a large road junction in Paris, France, the meeting point of twelve straight avenues (hence its historic name, which translates as "Square of the Star") including the Champs-Élysées. It was renamed in 1970 following the death of General and President Charles de Gaulle. It is still often referred to by its original name, and the nearby metro station retains the designation Charles de Gaulle – Étoile.

Thanks to Erna for this romantic view.

Sent: 12 July 2015   Received: 4 August 2015   Travelled: 23 days

Avoriaz,France

Avoriaz is a French mountain resort in the heart of the Portes du Soleil. It is located in the territory of the commune of Morzine. It is easily accessible from either Thonon at Lake Geneva or Cluses-junction on the A40 motorway between Geneva and Chamonix. Either way one follows the D902, Route des Grandes Alpes, to Morzine and then the D338 running from Morzine to Avoriaz. Snow chains are often necessary. Avoriaz is built on a book high above the town of Morzine, which is among the pioneering towns of skiing with its first lifts dating back to the early 1930s. Today Avoriaz is one of the major French ski destinations catering for all standards of skiing and ranks among the top snowboarding destinations of the world. Apart from snow-based pursuits, Avoriaz is also a centre for trekking, golf, VTT (mountain biking) and other outdoor activities during the summer. Cars are forbidden in Avoriaz. The station is designed to be fully skiable. Other transport around the resort includes horse-drawn sleighs during winter and snow caps.

Thanks to Francois for this vintage view card of Avoriaz

Sent: 29 May 2015   Received: 10 June 2015   Travelled: 11 days

Paris ephemera

Received a card from Postcard United RUS3758.

Rather hard to categorise this card ,it shows nice things about Paris

an illustrated baguette and cupcake with the miniature of Eiffel tower.

Thanks to the sender for the great stamps though.

Sent: 30 May 2015   Received: 11 June 2015    Travelled:11 days

Lille meetup

Yippee! My first meetup card of the year from Lille , France.

Thanks to Janine for this beautiful card.

Sent: 2 February 2015   Received: 24 February 2015   Travelled: 22 days

Pere Lachaise

Gotta love it when senders don't write their names on the card, thank you anyways Anonymous for this cemetery postcard of Jim Morrison. I don't know who he is (some musician, the Rock gods are roiling on their clouds now) but I had the chance to see his tomb myself when I came exploring Pere Lachaise cemetery,my companion wanted to see his tomb not I! It's really easy to get lost because this cemetery is as big as a park! PS: Yes, I'm a bit of a tapophile and cataphile hence the cemetery collection (but only for educational purposes!) 

Sent: 14 January 2014

Received: 5 February 2014

Travelled: 22 days