19 December 2014

Quick, comrade! Get in the car!

postcard, russia, robeda trading house, monument
Click to enlarge

Backside: "Owners of the Pobeda Trading House in front of the monument to Peter I. 1912"

Left stamp: Triumphal Arch of Moscow, erected to commemorate the victory over Napoleon
Middle stamp: Crater lake of the Maly Semyachik volcano on the Kamchatka Peninsula
Rights stamp: Russian foodstuff. The machine makes tea, the pancakes are called blinchiki. The rings could be baranka. There's also honey and caviar. Delicious!

triumphal arch of moscow, maly semyachik, kamchatka, baranka, blinchiki

17 December 2014

Yaqona Ceremony

Last week I've received this card from Fiji, it traveled almost 4 months to reach me. And it was a rough ride, too, but I'm very glad that it arrived after all.

postcard, fiji, kava, tanoa
Click to enlarge

Backside: "Also referred to as kava, this ceremonial drink is made from the crushed root of a plant of the same name. Very little reason is required for the yaqona bowl (tanoa) to be brought out and drinks offered to all present. It also, however has an important place in formal meetings and ceremonial occasions."

The bird on the left is a Scarlet Robin (or possibly a Pacific Robin). On the right, you can see a Mangrove Heron fishing.

scarlet robin, mangrove heron