"Maintal Hochstadt"

A Postcrossing post card from Nicole in Germany.

Maintal is a small town near Frankfurt.

Thanks Nicole!

Hervey Bay

Liz gave me this postcard which she received from an old school friend who was on holidays at Hervey Bay.

"Maasvallei"

Tour boat "Maasvallei" on the River Maas (Meuse) in the North East of Belgium.

A Postcrossing Post Card from Theo who lives in Lommel, Belgium.

I love those stamps too.

Thanks, Theo!

"Is that a doll in your sporran, or are you just happy to see me?"

Pauli, a tall dark strange englishman in a military kilt, helped us celebrate Australia Day today.

We met this joyous riot of a man while we were having a few Coronas and a light meal at Scarborough.

In a few weeks, we might forget what we ate, but we won't ever forget our serendipitous meeting Paul and the laughter he shared with us.

Thanks for the fun, Paul. You make the world a better place.

Australia Day 2009

This weekend when you spend more than $30 on grog, the local bottle shop will give you a free flag. How patriotic is that! Happy Australia Day!

"The sunset at River Kwai Bridge, Khanchanaburi"

A Postcrossing postcard from Jurga who lives in Vilnius, Lithuania.

Jurga spent a couple of weeks in Thailand last year, which is where this card comes from.

Thanks Jurga!

"M/S Funchal"

A Postcrossing post card from Vitoria in Portugal.

Funchal was originally built in 1961 to cruise between Lisbon, Madiera and the Azores. At 153m in length, she's much smaller than many of today's cruise ships, but she still has all of the essentials, including two restaurants, three bars, a theatre, a library and a casino.

She can accommodate over 400 passengers, and regularly cruises around the world during the Northern winter.

Thanks for the lovely postcard, Vitoria!

Glandan (Bruce) reads "The Gruffalo" at bed time

He may not be the world's best reader, but I think he's the world's best grandfather. "Glandan" (Bruce) read this bedtime story to the kids a few years ago, and we were lucky enough to film it. Contrary to what dad says, the monster in the story is a "Gruffalo". It's a delightful story by Julia Donaldson which is available at Amazon:

Here's the bedtime video:

We love Geocaching!

We love Geocaching!
Originally uploaded by MagicTyger

We've had a great time today finding some geocaches in Toowoomba. Here's a picture of us all relaxing after the third find of the day!

Fun with Glowballs

(Click on one of the thumbnails for a bigger picture)

1. Put the camera on a tripod
2. Give the kids some glow balls
3. Stand back
4. Enjoy the fun!

"Spili"

A Postcrossing Postcard from Aris in Greece.

This fountain is on the island of Crete in the town of Spili which is located in Chania region.

It's so the donkeys can have a short rest and drink.

I wonder if this is what they had before petrol stations and cars?

Thanks for the postcard, Aris!

"Norway. Storm off the coast of Finnmark"

A Postcrossing postcard from Britt in Norway.

I don't know the name of this ship, but Finnmark is a region of Norway on it's extreme north coast, way above the arctic circle. I don't imagine it would be very pleasant to be in a storm there.

Thanks for the postcard, Britt!

"Finnjet"

A Postcrossing post card from Mari in Finland.

Mari is a 23 year old uni studen studying Librarianship in Oulu.

Thanks for the postcard, Mari!

"Bochum"

DE-261819
Originally uploaded by MagicTyger

A Postcrossing post card from Alma, who works in this building.

It's a concert hall / performing arts centre that was converted from an old factory.

Thanks, Alma!

Brisbane

Brisbane
Originally uploaded by MagicTyger

A postcard from good friends Nerida and Robert who know I like postcards and ships.

The "City Cat" in the bottom photo is actually, officially, a ship!

Thanks Nerida and Robert!

"Hubei. Chibi of Puqi"

A Postcrossing Post Card from Jianke in Guangzhou, China.

Thanks Jianke!

"Cafe Wand"

A Postcrossing Postcard from Bjorn in Germany.

Bjorn is working with the German Teachers Union researching All-Day schooling and plans to visit Zurich next month.

Thanks Bjorn!

"Turku Abo"

A Postcrossing Postcard from Juni in Finland. Juni is 13 years old and has a pet snake.

One of her hobbies is sleeping :)

Thanks Juni!

"View of Andrijwiski Uzviz Street"

A Postcrossing Postcard from Trina in Kyiv, Ukraine.

This is Trina's favourite street.

Thanks Trina!

Brussels: Atomium

"Brussels: Atomium - Iron Crystal - World fair 1958 - H:102m Spheres: 18m. 2200t"

A postcard from Flickr friend Isabelle, who lives in Brussels.

The entire structure weighs over 2,000 tonnes. Each sphere is 18 metres across. What an imposing piece of architechture!

That circular postage stamp looks amazing too.

Thanks Isabelle!

Gulf Coast - Texas

A Postcrossing Post Card from Lindsey.

Thanks Lindsey!