Mediterranean

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with love from Avignon, France (1988)

avignon

Weds 17 Aug 88 – Avignon “Chères Amies Bonjour d’Avignon!” That’s about as far as I can go after 2 bottles of Vin du Pays de Vauduse! We’re having a lovely holiday and enjoying the many faces of France (especially those with corks in the top!) James has been excellent, he loves travelling, thank Goodness, and seems to grow larger by the hour. Arrived here via Cherbourg, the Loire Valley, the Cévannes Mts & th plateau of Vauduse. Tomorrow we move camp to the Med. coast nr. St Tropez (Le Lavandou). The weather has been first class: Temps in the high 80s and a good cooling breeze. We must try to see you both soon, before James grows up too much more. Hope Si has recovered his fitness Love to you both. Take care now. All our love, Gra, Sheila + James xxx

Loads of information in this status update – a veritable tour of France! The image on the front features the famous Avignon bridge together with the words of the even more famous song.

The card is postmarked ‘CAVALIERE 15H 19-8-1988’ so although written in Avignon, it was, in fact, posted a couple of days and some 200km later when they arrived at the Mediterranean. The stamp is a 2 franc Marianne definitive.

Here’s Gra again, this time with Sheila and baby James. Sadly, shortly after this Gra became estranged from Sheila and the baby. We continued to see Gra, but have now lost touch…

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with love from Corfu (2015)

With love from Corfu

To Mum & Dad x Been to some pretty cool places recently but missing the famolam!♥ Hope home life is still plodding along… Cannot wait for some QFT in October ☺ Love you both lots – Thanks for all the support hugs & kisses Tallulah (aka: your ‘seafarer’ daughter ☺)

This carries the postmark ‘TZABPOY 24.08.15’ which I have identified as the tiny hamlet of Tzavros on Corfu, Greece. The stamp is very colourful featuring an underwater scene and is part of a set issued in 2015 entitled ‘Diving Tourism’, promoting Greek tourism and the diving opportunities to be found there.

The picture on the front is self explanatory featuring the old town and fortress of Corfu which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The use of symbols and punctuation identifies this as a 21st century message which is simply ‘missing you and looking forward to seeing you’.

Tallulah is my daughter who travels the world working as a super yacht deckhand; this billionaire industry is jaw dropping…  Tallulah loves being on the water and her trips home are becoming less frequent. However, in October 2015 we did enjoy QFT (quality family time) when she was back for a few weeks. Home life does, indeed, plod along – that’s the beauty of home; always there and always more or less the same – enduring security and insurance for the traveller! Like all daughters Tallulah is beautiful; I love her unconditionally and I am very proud of her.

 

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with love from Costa Brava (1986)

With love from Costa Brava

Tuesday  Dear Simon & Hilary, We didn’t quite make it to the Greek Isles but we’re still on the Mediterranean in an apartment outside Estartit. It is very quiet here and not too far from the beach. We’ve been to a local market and a few towns & have booked trips to Montserrat, Gerona and a flamenco show. The weather is very warm – even at night, although it is rather windy which makes swimming in the sea quite tricky. We have been eating out a lot & discovered everything said about the Spanish waiters is true! Love to you both, Sue xxx

Post marked ‘L’Estartit 18 Sept 86 Girona’ with the additional post mark message ‘CONSIGNE EN SUS ENVIOS EL CODIGO POSTAL’ which I believe roughly translates to ‘Always use the post code’.

It carries two 20 peseta stamps featuring King Juan Carlos

Lots of information is being shared, although there is no clue as to why they didn’t make it to Greece; likewise no clue as to who is with her on holiday – their name is excluded from the signature so I can only assume that we did not know her travelling companion.

The picture is not referenced on the reverse but, having visited the area some years ago, I can confirm that it is typical of the rocky coast of the Costa Brava which features many, tiny hidden coves and is probably best explored from the water.

Having studied the sweep of the ‘S’ and the style of the ‘E’ I am confident that this is not the Paris Sue. Amazingly I do not remember this Sue either! As she has addressed Simon first I suspect she was a friend of his, but he cannot shed any light. So, once again, I have to admit to losing touch with Sue 😦 

 

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with love from La Côte Bleue, France (2015)

With love from La Cote Bleue

Dear Hilary It’s not Grece, but almost! I am for 1 week South of France, nearby Marseilles and it’s very beautiful. A place to see. And you’re reight it’s fun to recieve post card. I like it too!!! Have a nice summer. Bises Christine

France again and a hand written, physical status update postcard from this month!

The post mark date is 03-08-15

The stamp carries the detail 20g which helpfully indicates the weight of mail for which it is valid.

La Côte Bleue is to the west of Marseilles, so named because of the particular blue of the sea in the area. The picture shows one of the several viaducts carrying the rail tracks, which run for 32km offering spectacular views of the coast and all its narrow, steep walled inlets, or ‘calanques’ as they are known.

Swiss Christine has been inspired by this blog to send me another postcard to add to the collection -it’s good to hear from her again and to know that we have been exchanging news for 34 years!