Nicaragua and USA

Central America-Nicaragua-Masaya    Was just passing through here on the way to Granada and  had a break. Found this nice postcard , but did not actually see any Horse and carts . 

Got a mixture here of Definitive stamps and Special stamps. 

Central America-Nicaragua-Granada   Certainly one of my highlights in Nicaragua. This town is a real time gem. I was just waiting for the Spanish to turn up ! The buildings here are all in the colonial tradition.

These stamps happen to show a festival that was happening  in Granada in 2006. 

Central America-Nicaragua-Leon   This city has two World Heritage sites. Leon Cathedral and also the old Ruins of Leon. To be honest they are not so impressive but the Cathedral is. Another great city to visit. Well end of my trip to Nicaragua and what a great trip and surprise it was. Highly recommended. 

Finishing of this with a Butterfly stamp and a crisp Leon Postmark. 

North America-United States of America-Illinois-Rockford   Visiting Rockford to go to a concert. The big tourist attraction here is a Dinosaur that even had a name.  

Not sure who the baseball guy is, must be famous. ! 

North America-United States of America-Illinois-Chicago   Went to the Field museum. Very impressive for sure. This is Sue . 

Here you can read a little about Sue and also the end of the Art Stamps. I think they look a little like rugs. 

Central America

Central America-El Salvador-San Salvador  My first visit to an Central American country. Before arriving here I was warned how dangerous this was. So I was careful and did notice the number of armed guards outside high profile shops. I walked around the city centre and visited the Cathedral. 

Was able to get a good selection of stamps from the helpful philatelic section of the post office. Even though there is only one currency now in place the US Dollar the stamps also have a value in the old currency. 

Central America-El Salvador-Santa Ana  This old town is very nice. This is the old Theatre which is  fantastic inside and in good condition. 

This stamps shows TACA a excellent airline that I used on this trip. Brand new planes and excellent service. So was very impressed. Nice stamp too. 

Central America-El Salvador-Ataco   Went up to this area to visit a coffee plantation. You can see the coffee beans on the postcard . My first and only visit to a coffee plantation.  

On the right is the Christmas stamp for 2006. A lot of the South American and Central American postmarks are large rectangular marks as seen here. 

Central America-Nicaragua-Managua   Here we see part of the old and the new. The very old town was badly damaged by the earthquake in 1972. I had not expected much from this country , but found it a gem of a place to visit. Sometimes that happens when you don't have much of a expectation. Very friendly and lots of tour options. 

A very colourful stamp and a basic postmark all you can see is the date. The main Post office had a excellent selection of stamps to choose from 

California USA

North America-United States of America-California-Los Angeles  This is the tram to the Getty Centre in Los Angeles. Enjoyed the visit here. 

Some more of the Art Stamps. 

North America-United States of America-California-Los Angeles   Sorry about the look of this card on  the scan. It is a hologram type card. So it is showing some of the two versions on the card. In reality a great card with the old and the new . The Getty Villa and The Getty Centre. 

Interesting that this card has a Hollywood postmark. 

North America-United States of America-California-Hollywood   Went to see the sights here as you can see on the postcard. Never been before. You hear so much about Hollywood and  a good feeling just to be here and see what it is like. A sort of place that once is enough  !! 

More Stamps showing President Ronald Reagan. Sometimes difficult in the States Post offices to get a selection of stamps. These stamps they would only sell be in a block. So I had to use them all up! 

North America-United States of America-California-Santa Monica   I am not a big shopper but enjoyed the shops here.  My first Apple product was purchased here,  a Ipod.. Have not looked back since. 

This is probably the only time you will find on this blog  3 sets of the same stamps one after another. Not my usual standard. 

USA

North America-United States of America-Texas-Dallas   Texas what a big state . My second time to this state and first time to Dallas. Went to the JFK museum down town. 

This is a standard USA international Definitive stamp. 

North America-United States of America-Texas-Dallas.Fort Worth   This is the airport I flew  to and from . One of the worlds largest airports. 

Posted at the airport. I see this has a North Texas postmark. 

North America-United States of America-California-Los Angeles    My trip to LA should have been a stop on the  way to the Pacific. However the trip got cancellated as my destination Wake Island was off limits at that time. So spend a great few days here with some fellow travellers. Makes all the difference when you have someone local to show you around. 

Posted at a large Post office in Down town LA. 

North America-United States of America-California-Los Angeles    This is a postcard from the Van Gough collection at the Paul Getty museum. This is the famous " Irises" . 

These stamps from a collection of Art stamps . 

Scotland,England and Wales.

Europe-Scotland-Edinburgh   Edinburgh the capital of Scotland.  The castle bring the most famous site here. Always a friendly place and I am saying that from a Irish point of view. A very fine city. 

This Scottish regional stamp shows a thistle one of the national emblems of Scotland. 

Europe-United Kingdom-Edinburgh   Here we have the Royal Yacht Britannia. This was the ship used by the Queen for worldwide travels. It is now a tourist attraction. Also used for functions. It was interesting to see and I was surprised how small the bedrooms were. 

Showing two first class stamps from the United Kingdom. 

Europe-United Kingdom-Bristol   Bristol an old English town. The postcard is a good reflection of the sites on offer. 

This stamp shows the outside of a retail department store in Birmingham England. 

Europe-Wales-Cardiff   My first visit to Cardiff the capital of  Wales. Took me a while to get here, being so close to Dublin. The castle was the main attraction here. I have to say I much prefer the Wales small towns and countryside. 

This Welsh regional stamp shows a daffodil ,one of the national symbols of Wales. 

Pakistan, Afghanistan, Kuwait and Turkey

Asia-Pakistan-Peshawar  This is the main Gates into Peshawar.  This was a fascinating city to visit. Went to the local museum , which to be honest had seen better days. But enjoyed been out on the streets. They are certainly not used to seeing tourists. But everyone friendly at this time. In fact the hotel I stayed in was bombed a few years ago and rebuilt.  

In this post office you take what stamps you can find. A old post office, but in fact in full use. A good clean postmark of G.P.O Pershawar. 

Asia-Afghanistan-Kabul  Showing a poster of Karzai in one of the main squares. I have to say that Afghanistan was very dusty everywhere. Had to have security here for the trip,but all arranged. Went to see the museum but most of the items were destroyed, but still quite a lot to see. When here was not permitted to walk around that much. Thought I did go down chicken street which used to be the main tourist street in its heyday. This place is a feast for you eyes. So much to see. A very different culture. The week I was here the very first car bombing took place around the corner from my hotel !. 

The security team did not want me to visit the post office. Why? Because it is a government building. So I was a little hesitant going in. I met the postmaster who was very friendly and delighted to show me the stamps they had for sale. Interesting they had stamps dating back to the 1970 for use as postage. Two of the stamps here are 2003 and the other looks quite old as I think it shows The King . The Post office could not be more helpful. 

Asia-Afghanistan-Herat   Considered to be one of the safest parts of Afghanistan. Went by plane from Kabul. Run by a warlord so was told very easy to walk around. This was the case. I was with a friend Karin and I arranged her to "Rent a Burka" to see what it was like. She told me very difficult to see as we walked down the main street. The whole street shopkeepers came out to see what was going on. Quite a lot of laugher everywhere. All the shops including shops for women were all staffed by men. Herat  main square is a fantastic site. Pity I dont have a good postcard shot , only this one. A unforgettable few days here. 

Quite a job finding the post office in Herat. Still a clean postmark here as well. Herat is in West Afghanistan and quite near Iran. 

Middle East-Kuwait-Kuwait City   Went by plane from Kabul to Kuwait via Dubai. Had two days here. Certainly not one of my favourite spots in the Middle East. Did not find a lot to see here. But at least rested on a beach resort and got some good rest after the energetic trip to Afghanistan. 

The Post office here had no selection of stamps. So happy to take what they had. 

Asia-Turkey-Izmir  A very good city to visit. Was here for work .They have a lot of marble in this area so was working  designing Tables. So a very successful trip. 

I had a feeling that the currency had just changed when here. So I think these stamps are the old currency . This is what the post office gave me.