Broken Bridge on West Lake

West Lake is a freshwater lake in Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang province in eastern China. It is divided into five sections by three causeways. There are numerous temples, pagodas, gardens, and artificial islands within the lake.

West Lake has influenced poets and painters throughout Chinese history for its natural beauty and historic relics, and it has also been among the most important sources of inspiration for Chinese garden designers. It was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2011, described as having "influenced garden design in the rest of China as well as Japan and Korea over the centuries" and reflecting "an idealized fusion between humans and nature".

Source: Wikipedia

Thanks to Caiyuan for another beautiful card of China

Sent: 23 April 2016    Received: 2 June 2016   Travelled: 40 days

Guilin, China

Guilin is a prefecture-level city in the northeast of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China, situated on the west bank of the Li River, and bordering Hunan to the north. Its name means, "Forest of Sweet Osmanthus", owing to the large number of fragrant Sweet Osmanthus trees located in the city. The city has long been renowned for its scenery of karst topography and is one of China's most popular tourist destinations.

Source: Wikipedia

Thanks to Caiyuan for this amazing card swap

and the beautiful cat stamps

Sent: 23 April 2016    Received: 2 June 2016   Travelled: 40 days

The Artist's garden at Vetheuil

Thanks to Anna lissa for the artwork of Claude Monet

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

Pet love

Thanks to Erica for this sweet Leap Day card

and amazing stamp!!

Sent: 29 February 2016   Received: 2 March 2016   Travelled: 2 days

Cat watercolour

Art by Elena Shved

More from Russia, this time a watercolour cat with the

amazing Cats of Russia stamp. Thanks to Natalia for the postcard.

Sent: 24 November 2015   Received: 31 December 2015   Travelled: 37 days

Coming thro the rye by Robert Burns, 1782

Photo by Angelina Shishmanidiva

Gin a body meet a body

Comin thro' the rye,

Gin a body kiss a body,

Need a body cry?

Gin a body meet a body

Comin thro' the glen

Gin a body kiss a body,

Need the warl' ken?

"Comin' Thro' the Rye" is a poem written in 1782 by Robert Burns (1759–96). It is well known as a traditional children's song, with the words put to the melody of the Scottish Minstrel Common' Frae The Town. This is a variant of the tune to which Auld Lang Syne is usually sung—the melodic shape is almost identical, the difference lying in the tempo and rhythm.

Source: Wikipedia

Ooh a rather interesting photography card with a poem.

This postcard is from Bulgaria via Postcrossing, thanks to Angelina for the card. 

The 2013 Domestic Kitten stamp comes in a set of 4,(so cute!) while the left shows 

the 2004 Butterfly definitive stamp.

Sent: 13 Oct   Received: 11 November 2015   Travelled: 29 days

Mellow Yellow

I had a marmalade tabby that live to the ripe old age of 15..or was it 16 years.

He was a kitten born in my home and his mama, was eaten by a python that was in

my residential area. For the longest time we only had two cats, the marmalade cat

who never got a real name, just Miaw , and Fuji the ticked tabby that everyone thinks

is a Siamese. Miaw Miaw left us on 1 July 2011. That was 4 years ago.

Thanks to Olesya for the beautiful marmalade tabby and the amazing wild cat stamps!

Sent: 6 Oct    Received: 2 November 2015   Travelled: 27 days

Cheetahs from South Africa

The word "cheetah" is derived from Hindi , in turn from Sanskrit citrakāyaḥ, meaning "variegated".

The cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) is a big cat in the subfamily Felinae that inhabits most of Africa and parts of Iran. It is the only extant member of the genus Acinonyx. The cheetah can run as fast as 109.4 to 120.7 km/h (68.0 to 75.0 mph), faster than any other land animal.It covers distances up to 500 m (1,640 ft) in short bursts, and can accelerate from 0 to 96 km/h (0 to 60 mph) in three seconds.

The cheetah is a unique felid, with its closest living relatives being the puma and jaguarundi of the Americas. This cat is notable for modifications in the species' paws, being one of the few felids with only semi-retractable claws.

Its main hunting strategy is to trip swift prey such as various antelope species and hares with its dewclaw. Almost every facet of the cheetah's anatomy has evolved to maximise its success in the chase, the result of an evolutionary arms race with its prey. Due to this specialisation, however, the cheetah is poorly equipped to defend itself against other large predators, with speed being its main means of defence.

In the wild, the cheetah is a prolific breeder, with up to nine cubs in a litter. The majority of cubs do not survive to adulthood, mainly as a result of depredation from other predators. The rate of cub mortality varies from area to area, from 50% to 75%, and in extreme cases such as the Serengeti ecosystem, up to 90%. Cheetahs are notoriously poor breeders in captivity, though several organizations, such as the De Wildt Cheetah and Wildlife Centre, have succeeded in breeding high numbers of cubs.

Source:Wikipedia

Big thanks to Arnold for this amazing wildlife card of Cheetahs

and the fantastic matching stamps. So delighted to receive this :D
This card is especially cool because the pair of cats here twisted like a
sleek "S" and there's a heart in the middle :)

Sent: 12 Oct    Received: 27 October 2015   Travelled: 15 days

Dusun Tabilung

A rare postcard showing the Dusun Tobilung. 

Thanks to Isabella  for sharing this postcard!

Sent:9 October 2015   Received: 15 Oct   Travelled: 6 days

St Petersburg snow globe

Thanks to Niki for this great swap for this cat art postcard.

The Tiger stamp is rather fitting, kind of a big brother to the orange cat on this card.

Sent: 10 Sept 2015   Received: 5 Oct 2015   Travelled: 25 days

San Diego

San Diego /ˌsæn diːˈeɪɡoʊ/ is a major city in California, on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, approximately 120 miles (190 km) south of Los Angeles and immediately adjacent to the border with Mexico.

With an estimated population of 1,381,069 as of July 1, 2014,San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest in California. San Diego is the birthplace of California and is known for its mild year-round climate, natural deep-water harbor, extensive beaches, long association with the U.S. Navy, and recent emergence as a healthcare and biotechnology development center.

Thanks to JaneinSD via swap-bot for this great view

Sent: 7 August 2015   Received: 21 August 2015   Travelled: 14 days