Direct Swap - Lynn from Canada

 As I mentioned the other day there is a great Canadian swapping group on Facebook. Lynne and I connected in that group when I posted looking for this card. When I think of Canadian stadiums this is as iconic as it gets. The Montreal Olympics brings back so many memories for me for so many different reasons. I have never been to Olympic Stadium itself but have seen it many times when driving through Montreal. Was happy Lynne had a card and surprised how quickly it got to me - three days, including a weekend! Great to connect with you Lynne and thank you again!

OFFICIAL Card - Moldova

This card from Moldova is my first official card from this country. This is the second if not third time I have connected with someone to swap cards from a country I don't have to have an official arrive a short time later. It is funny how things like that can happen! Oleg sent this card to me right before Christmas. The view on the card is the sports complex in Tiraspol, home of the Sheriff Football Club. That is quite the set-up, two fields and a third one indoors. Oleg also chose a great bird stamp for me.

OFFICIAL Card - Canada

I belong to a Postcrossing group for Canadians only on Facebook. It was a real surprise to receive this card from one of the other member in this group! Krista lives in Regina and sent this great stadium card to me. The views show Mosaic Stadium at Taylor Field home of the Saskatchewan Roughriders. She had a lovely message to share and really prettied the card up with lots of green (the team colours) - pens, stickers and washi tape. Such a great card - thank you Krista!

OFFICIAL Card - Russia

So many cards put a smile on my face when I receive them and this one is no exception! Elena sent this card with a view of the stadium during the 1980 Summer Olympics Games in Moscow. What a fantastic image! I remember that time period very well. I was very involved in track and field at school and was so looking forward to watching the Games, which sadly didn't happen the way I envisioned it in my pre-teen mind. Elena has included her favourite quote from Jeanette Winterson "There's three things to believe in: Believe in yourself. Believe in what's better than yourself. Believe in the one you love". So true!

OFFICIAL Card - USA

I do get a good giggle when someone mistakes the "29" is my Postcrossing user name for my age and not my house number. Jack recently sent this card to me and did just that. This card shows Fenway Park in Boston. Sadly, the Red Sox have had a better decade than the Blue Jays but you got to live to dream, right?!?

Random Act of Smiliness - Hu from China

Hu sent me this official card back In January. When I registered the card I mentioned that Jinan was one of the cities I visited on my tour of China in 2000. He responded and promised to send me another card. What a nice surprise to receive this card in April from him. Love the colours, I think they are such a stunning contrast! The Water Cube is a beautiful building. Thanks again Hu!

OFFICIAL Card - England

Radek lives in Manchester, England (across the Atlantic Sea...couldn't resist!) and sent this great stadium card in Barcelona, Spain. With a seating capacity at just under 100,000 it is huge!

Sometimes the travel times on cards make you scratch your head and wonder. The postmark on this card is clear - March 10 and it arrived on the 23rd. But it "travelled" for 46 days as my address was drawn February 5. I know not everyone writes card right away and for myself it can sometimes be 2-3 days from when I draw an address to actually getting it in the mail, but a month? How long does it take you typically to mail a card?

OFFICIAL Card - Germany

Jens lives in a suburb of Frankfurt. He sent this card showing the Commerzbank-Arena, a local sports stadium/complex. I must say the text in the lower left needed no translation. It makes me sad some days to see stadiums and theatres selling the naming rights. I didn't know this was done in Europe as well. I know it is all about branding but....Call me slow but I still refer to buildings here in Toronto as I know them not their current names. Funny thing, most people still know what I am referring too - O'Keefe Centre anyone?

OFFICIAL Card - China

The Jinan Olympic Sports Center Stadium is located where else but Jinan, China. I love the stamps that Hu chose for me - so eclectic!

OFFICIAL Card - USA

Another great stadium card, this one showing Penn State University. Tom wrote that when he went there it was about a quarter of the size, now it seats well over 100,000! Amazing how much Americans love college ball!

OFFICIAL Card - Russia

A little over a week until the opening of the Sochi Olympic Games. You will know where to find me on opening night - glued to the TV with the kids! In all honesty, I can't say I watch that much of the actual sporting events, however I really do enjoy the lighting of the cauldron and the show that goes along with it. This card from Alexander in Moscow is a great addition to a few of my collections. While much more open, oddly Fisht Olympic Stadium reminds me a little of Bird's Nest Stadium. I also will be able to enjoy seeing my brother in laws work as he is part of the television crew covering the Olympics. Will you be watching any of the Games?

OFFICIAL Card - Germany

Uwe from Germany sent this card to me showing Schuco Arena located in Bielefeld. I don't see any people in this card, does it really exist.....I wonder?!?!?

OFFICIAL card - Germany

Ralf lives in Bochum, Germany and sent this card showing views of his hometown. He told me about a fast food from this region called "Curry-wurst, pommes, rot-weib" - sausage with curry sauce, fries with mayonnaise and ketchup and tells me it is delicious. Not a fan of ketchup but the rest does sound like an interesting combination, although I can almost feel the heartburn! And no, I don't think I'll have a bubble tea with that! Fun stamp he chose for me too.

OFFICIAL Card - Germany

Silvia lives outside of Cologne and sent this card showing RheinEnergieStadion home to FC Koln. Intersting to see such a perfect square, most stadiums in my mind at least tend to circular or oval. The grass looks so perfect and so green!

OFFICIAL Card - USA

Kim lives in Alabama and sent me this card showing Neyland Stadium home of the University of Tennesse Volunteers Football team. It always amazes me just how big American stadium are, especially given these are not professional teams that play in them.

OFFICIAL Card - USA

Liz wrote this card to me from Arizona, on a day that was "very sunny and 110F" I think I would fry in that heat but I guess you would get used to it. She was having a great day and says Arizona State University is HUGE! She is hoping to make it to a game this year. Looks like it would be fun. The stadium holds 71,000 people - more than our professional football stadium in Toronto. It is HUGE!

Direct Swap - USA from CaptainSoul

Ron often posts on the Postcrossing Forum offering free cards on a variety of different themes. Last month he was offering stadium cards. I couldn't believe it when this card arrived showing Riverfront Stadium (also known as Cinergy Field) in Cincinnati. Growing up the Cincinnati Reds were my favourite baseball team and I could always be found wearing my hat...that is until the Blue Jays came along. Once again, Ron used some great State Flag stamps and even themed it perfectly using an Ohio one. In return, I sent Ron a view of Toronto's Skydome (Rogers Centre).

OFFICIAL Card - Spain

Anna tops the list of Spanish Postcrossers having sent a staggering 5,300 postcards in the past 6 years! I was delighted to get this card from her last week showing the Olympic Stadium in Barcelona, Spain. So kind of her to send me something that combines two of my favourite types of cards - The Olympics and stadiums. She wrote telling me she is originally from St. Petersburg, Russia. Where she lives now in Spain she sees thes sun 320 days of the year and it has 10km of beaches - good move!

OFFICIAL Card - Russia

I {heart} Google Translate, and I {double heart} virtual keyboard. Last week I received this card from Yulia who lives in Nizhiny Tagil, Russia. On her postcrossing profile she states her only language as Russian and all she wrote on the back was "Hi". That is fine, my Russian is as good as her English but I still wanted to know what the card was about. After a few minutes of hunt and peck on virtual keyboard, I was able to translate the phrase along the bottom to be "Nizhny Tagil Ice Sports Palace named VC Sotnikova". By the looks of the arena now I might even say this is a vintage card too.

OFFICIAL Card - Poland

Natalia from Dabrowka, Poland sent me this night view of the National Stadium in Warsaw which also arrived last week. She tells me there was a communistic and old stadium on the site before this was built for Euro 2012. Now I have two different cards showing stadiums from that series - fun!