I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase, “A picture is worth a thousand words,” which implies that a complex idea can be captured in a single image. In this same way, I believe that memories of a trip or vacation can be captured in a single postcard.
About four years ago I began collecting postcards from the places I visited. I love to travel, and postcards seemed like a great souvenir that I could collect. Postcards capture memories of my trips without taking up too much space at home. Recently I spent an afternoon looking through the collection that I’ve built up. In just four short years, I’ve managed to gather hundreds of postcards.
I remember many of the shops where I bought the postcards. Whether it be the antique postcard shop in Edinburgh Scotland or the tacky tourist trap in New York City, I can remember buying them like it was yesterday.
Now get ready to take a trip down memory lane with me as I show you some of my favorite postcards and tell you the story behind them.
1. Water Tower Place Chicago
This postcard was actually the very first that I purchased, before I actually began collecting them. I don’t even remember exactly how old I was, but I was pretty young at the time…
I remember on that day my family went to the top of the Hancock Building – thus it was high in the sky where I came across the postcard of the Water Tower Place. I absolutely fell in love with this postcard because I have always enjoyed that particular building. I purchased it with the little allowance money I had saved up and tacked it onto my bulletin board as soon as I got home.
That day marks the first spark of my love for postcards. It seems appropriate to me that the first postcard is from my beautiful Chicago. You can read more about my love of Chicago in my post “Windy City Wanderings.”
2. Arizona
My trip to Arizona during the summer of 2011 (right after I finished freshman year of high school) was the true beginning of my postcard collection.
We were taking a day trip to Sedona on our way to the Grand Canyon – we hiked the beautiful red rocks for part of the day, then hit the road again. Before leaving, I purchased a postcard that displayed one of the unique red rock formations that we had hiked – that was the moment that I announced to my family that I was going to begin collecting postcards from the places I visited.
Thus, when we arrived at the Grand Canyon, I purchased a postcard of the incredible National Park and all the beauty that it holds.
3. Scotland
Sophomore year of high school (2012), I traveled to Scotland with a group from Wheaton Academy.
A combination of this being my first trip to Europe and it being my first major trip since beginning my postcard collection caused me to purchase an exorbitant number of postcards on this trip.
The postcard on the left is one of my favorites from this trip! I really love the shape of it because it is just so different than the others. The photo is of the Forth Bridge, which is an old railway bridge over the Firth of Forth in Scotland.
This second postcard (below) is another of my favorites from this trip because of the story behind my acquisition of it. I found this particular postcard in a shop that was just off of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh.
The shop sold antique postcards and photos and things like that. I absolutely loved looking through piles and piles of old postcards. I suppose it was a little pricier than I would have liked, but it was totally worth it!
This picture is a sweet reminder of a really interesting shop in Edinburgh.
4. New York City
During my first trip to New York City during my Sophomore year spring break (2012), I purchased this postcard from a 9/11 memorial. Ground Zero and the museum were still under construction during this visit, but visiting the area had a deep impact nonetheless.
I was almost six years old on the tragic day when the Twin Towers fell. I don’t remember a lot from the day itself, but the weightiness of the event is still heavy in my heart.
I purchased this postcard as a reminder that we should never forget what happened, but we should not be ruined by it either.
5. Denver
November of my junior year of high school (2012) I toured with my school band to Denver Colorado. I had been to Colorado several times previously, but this time was different. We stayed at a camp up in the Rocky Mountains and performed at a variety of high schools, churches, and Salvation Army centers.
As a part of our repertoire we were playing the Sousa march “Stars and Stripes Forever.” I had the privilege of playing the iconic piccolo solo in the piece, which I played over and over and over again throughout the tour.
6. France
During the summer of 2013 I ventured to Europe for a second time. This trip was a mission trip through Wheaton Bible Church, and our goal was to support the church’s missionaries in Lille (northern France).
Lille is such an interesting mixture of old and new. There is a clear distinction between “Old Lille” and “New Lille.” Throughout our time there I learned tiny bits of French, mastered the subway system, and enjoyed the wonders of French cuisine. I loved getting to know the missionaries there, and being able to support the spread of the Gospel in Lille.
On our last full day in France, our team took the train from Lille to Paris, and we spent the day seeing as much of the city as we possibly could. I think we walked about ten miles that day alone! We were able to see all of the major tourist attractions, even if only briefly.
However, the whirlwind nature of our visit to Paris did not allow time to stop and buy postcards. I was able to purchase a total of two postcards that day – both from Sainte Chapelle.
These two postcards remind me of a wonderful speed tour of Paris that I will never forget – they also remind me that I need to go back when I have more time to spend there!
7. Door County
Also during the summer of, my family and grandparents took a short trip to Door County, Wisconsin. I had not visited Door County in what felt like FOREVER.
We were staying in a tiny log cabin that was kind of in the middle of nowhere – which is such a change of pace when you live in the suburbs of Chicago. I really enjoyed the rest and the solitude and the break from technology. I also loved being somewhere that didn’t have so much light pollution – meaning that we could actually see the stars (haha). We happened to be there during the a meteor shower, so we spent several nights outside watching shooting stars (a very magical experience).
8. Italy
Wow. There is so much I could say about the trip to Italy that my family took Spring Break of 2014.
I will start with talking about Venice, which was the first city we toured in Italy. Venice is the most unique city I’ve ever visited, and the canals and gondolas were even better than I had imagined or seen in the movies.
I bought these postcards at the shop of the nicest Italian woman who had helped my family get “un-lost” in the maze of alley-streets when we were trying to find the grocery store.
To read more about my travels to Venice, you can read my post “Throwback Thursday: A Visit to Venice”
Second, we took the train to Florence for several days. Florence is known as one of the most beautiful cities in the world, and I can’t help but agree.
On our final day in Florence, we decided to climb to the top of the Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore – close to 500 steps!
But the view from the top was completely worth the climb to get there. You could see the entire city and the surrounding hills, which was definitely one of the highlights of our visit to Florence.
Our final stop in Italy was Rome – home of the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, the Campo de’ Fiori, the Piazza Navona, the Castel Sant’Angelo, the Vatican, the Spanish Steps, the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, and St. Peter’s Basilica.
So much history was packed into just one city. Every site was even more impressive than the last.
I threw a coin into the Trevi Fountain so that I will have to go back someday!
9. Wheaton, Illinois
Perhaps it is cliche to have a postcard from the place that I grew up. But I was just so excited to figure out that “Wheaton” postcards even exist that I just had to get one last summer (2014).
While I didn’t technically grow up in Wheaton (I’m actually from the next town over), it has always been a part of my life. Now I actually do live in Wheaton for nine months of the year – when I’m at school.
I have so many wonderful memories of growing up in Wheaton – biking on the Prairie Path to get into Wheaton, going to the Popcorn shop for a bag of cheap candy, and going to get Ice Cream at Wheaton College.
10. Williamsburg, Virginia
I had wanted to go to Williamsburg since third grade – my third grade teacher had gone to Williamsburg, and used her travel pictures to teach us colonial history. Back in the day I actually really loved history, and was captivated by her stories. I begged my parents every summer to take a family trip to Williamsburg. But to no avail.
So when my roommate was from Richmond, Virginia and only lived 45 minutes from Williamsburg I was stoked. I was able to visit her in January 2015, and finally made it to Williamsburg – 10 years after the dream was born.
11. Women’s Chorale East Coast Tour
The Wheaton College Women’s Chorale toured to the East Coast just this last spring break (March 2015). Our first stop was Washington DC. We were given about five hours of free time in DC – I had been there before, so it was plenty of time to visit the monuments.
We were there at sunset, and seeing the Lincoln Memorial with the sun setting behind it was a gorgeous site to see. It was on this day that I took the photo that got me my most likes on Instagram and also won me an honorable mention in Wheaton’s annual photo contest – using a five dollar bill and the Lincoln Memorial.
Another stop on our tour was Annapolis, Maryland. We were given some free time in the Downtown Annapolis area, near the Naval Academy.
When we were there in March, the Chesapeake Bay still had some sheets of ice floating. My friends and I decided to take some jumping pictures by the water – but my friend Mary’s shoe flew off of her foot and into the Bay. The shoe was never retrieved, and is most likely still resting on the bottom of the bay.
Needless to say, Mary walked around most of Annapolis with only one shoe on.
Another stop on our whirlwind tour of the East Coast was the city of Philadelphia. I hadn’t ever been there, so I tried to see EVERYTHING during our few hours of free time (I mean obviously I couldn’t see everything, but it was worth a try!).
A highlight of Philadelphia was the Reading Terminal Market – full of produce, Cheese Steaks, Amish creations, baked goods, flowers, and more. A very aesthetically appealing location for sure.
I also got the very best cup of coffee there (which really can make or break a place). Thumbs up for Philadelphia!
Well that’s all for now – but that’s the beauty of a collection like this. The sky’s the limit for how many I can collect. All I have to do is travel (no complaints there)
Thanks for reading!
~Rachel
discovering. daring. dreaming 