A quick glance at this postcard gave me the impression that I was looking at a view of the famous holiday town of Santorini in Greece. What do you think?
Sent by Eva
Postmarked Castellon de la Plana
Dated 10 - 07 - 09
Fantastic view, isn't it?
Well, it is actually not in Santorini but, as the name in the postcard says, it is the Spanish town of Peñíscola, a little peninsula in Costa del Azahar about 90kms north of Valencia. It is a fortified seaport with a lighthouse built on a rocky headland about 220m high and connected to the mainland only via a narrow strip of land. According to the Wikipedia, it was built by the Knights of Templar between 1294-1307. At the top of the town (middle, topmost of the postcard) is the castle of Pope Benedict XIII (Pedro de Luna), called El Castillo Templario, looking over the entire Mediterranean sea and, apart from the beautiful aquamarine beaches, it is the most popular tourist attraction in Peñíscola. Perhaps the town owes its popularity to the fact that the town and the castle was the main locations for the filming of the movie "El Cid".
Eva says that Peñíscola is on top of her most favorite places in the world. And I could only agree. Not only because this is where she was born and she had her wedding in the castle (must have been a beautiful wedding!)... but because the whole town in itself is amazing! Just by looking at the pictures of Peñíscola over the Internet makes me want to pack my bags and settle there, too. It is a perfect blend of the old and new; the old quarter is characterized by a line of quaint white-walled houses amidst a maze of narrow and winding streets and alleys. We can't see that in this postcard but, looking at it, you can almost picture it in your mind. Eva said that when she was younger, she and her friends would play and chase each other in the winding cobble-stoned streets, going uphill and downhill. I would have enjoyed walking around Peñíscola - it's an awesome way to lose unwanted fats without using any fitness equipment!Anyways, I will post later on another postcard that Eva sent to me -- it shows the street where she was born.
The stamp used features one of the four main Energías Renovables (renewable energy technologies), la energía geotérmica (geothermal energy). The other three of the four featured by the Correo de España are energía hidráulica (hydropower), energía eólica (wind power), y energía solar (solar energy).
Muchas gracias por la hermosa tarjeta postal, Eva. Escribirá a usted pronto.
