50 Cities of the World #38 Chicago

An other trip inside USA. Well...the country has the size of a continent so it's normal there are lots of interesting cities to visit.

Today we go to the Windy City Chicago. The city I always tend to type as 'Chigaco'...I have keyboard dyslexia sorry...

Well, I was checking the other existing nicknames for Chicago and this one I just don't get it: City of Big Shoulders.

Errrrrr someone to enlight me please!?

Besides that the representation of back then Chicago to the current Chicago changed *just* a bit.

Still one of the most important cities, but I don't know if you can still say it's the second most important after NYC.

But hey! Cubs one the WS after so many years!

Checking the city wiki page I also found out that its best known for Italian cuisine. Pizza and pasta and we are all good to go!



For more on Chicago here the wiki page.

50 Cities of the World #37 New York

And we're finally at the United State of America for a visit to some of the big cities.

And so we start in the Big Apple.

Welcome to New York!

And what should be presented in the card to show off the city? The Brooklyn Bridge of course!

You can also see the phantom boats and ships that nowadays are no more and those small buildings, comparing with the skyline of the New York of our time this is like looking at ants.

(And I must say that the flag flying looks more like the Portuguese flag than the American one...lol)

The card back states New York was THE centre back then but I think, nowadays, even if it has all the glamour, it shares the importance with other cities in the US.

And it's the home of my New York Yankees ;)



Check the wiki page here.

50 Cities of the World #36 Cape Town

And again I've been away more than I wanted but had some time out because I had a surgery and you know, it always look like you can do any thing while on drugs but the next days you understand the recovery is slower than you were thinking.

But I'm here for the Opening Day! Not with baseball cards, because I thought I had a post saved in my drafts to finish my rainbow packs but it seems something went wrong and it was empty...

So I'm here doing an other travellers post about Cape Town in South Africa.

Back in the days it was more of an important harbor serving as the head-quarter for the Imperial Forces, as stated in the back. And by it's geographical location you can understand why. And the picture in the card represents just that, with all those ships.

Cape Town is the oldest city in South Africa. And is a quite warm one too. I checked the temperatures table on it's wiki page and it's hot almost all year long. Ufffff




For more info check it's wiki page here.

50 Cities of the World #35 Cairo

Welcome to Cairo!

We continue to travel through Egypt, the land of sand and pyramids, and now we arrive at its capital.

And just let us look at this beauty old-school Cairo without the wild construction that we have nowadays...

You can see some Mosques which I'm not sure which one is each between Alabaster Mosque, Mosque and Madrassa (school) of Sultan Hassan or even Al-Azhar Mosque...Two of the three.

The card back states it's the largest city in Africa. Not sure if it still is for the continent but it seems it still is the largest in the Middle East and the Arab world.

Of course what is represented in the card is the English Empire Cairo, now back to their own, including some of their relics taken from Egypt long ago.

Since the previous post was about Alexandria I link here to a little article about Cairo vs Alexandria: A guide to Egypt’s two largest cities

Alexandria for the Library and Cairo for the Museum. Two great places to visit.



For Cairo wiki page visit here.

50 Cities of the World #34 Alexandria

Welcome to Alexandria, one of those mythical cities. Well... at least if you dream of great libraries full of books and lighthouses.

You can see back there, between the "34" and "Alexandria" the famous Lighthouse. Was expecting it to be front row but the card looks nice this way too. You can picture people on the street and those typical buildings.

As said in the card back, Alexandria was the centre of the intellectual life back then and because of its location in the Nile delta part of Egypt it was also the location to be if you wanted to feel you were in Venice from time-to-time.

Alexandria is one of those cities so full of history and stories that an entire set could be dedicated to it, with cards for every thing that surrounds the city aura.


Check Alexandria wiki page here.

50 Cities of the World #33 Tokio

Welcome to Tokio!, our 33rd stop.

I know the card scan got a bit dark but I hope you can see it well.

Funny that the buildings look, not as the traditional type, but quite the occidental type. This representation is probably from a time when foreign nations were there (imposing their will...I know that well since my own country did that...)

Notice the little detail of the rickshaw driver running while pulling it. I searched the net and accordingly to wiki in Japanese they are called jinrikisha.

Like the card back state, Tokio inhabitants like to keep-up with the latest fashion and industry from west. But I must say, that I envy and admire how they can mix old traditions with ultra-modern stuff and make it all harmonize together.

Tokio still is Japan's capital. But before Tokio it was Kyoto.

I've seen enough animes and read equal number of mangas to think of Tokio and its Topkio Tower. It's like the Eiffel Tower in France. It's a landmark where lots of things happen. (at least in fantasy stories)



I'd love to visit Japan. Not only Tokio but other main cities or simple towns. I just don't know if I would survive just eating nigiris, temakis or makis...because that's what we eat here in west. But they have so much more!


Visit Tokio wiki page here.

50 Cities of the World #32 Canton

China is big...that kind of big only surpassed by huge-big Russia. And that's why we keep on travelling through China to visit one more city.

This time we visit Canton, which is better known as Guangzhou.

I've always heard talking about Canton as a region in China not a city, and here's why:

"The English name "Canton" derived from Portuguese Cantão[28] or Cidade de Cantão,[29] a muddling of dialectical pronunciations of "Guangdong"[30][31] (e.g., Hakka Kóng-tûng). Although it originally and chiefly applied to the walled city, it was occasionally used in English in reference to Guangdong by mistake."

Because we were everywhere in the world lol

Seeing the card picture and reading the description something is off. Because the card back talks about a great wall around the city but it is not pictured in the figure. You can only see rustic buildings and those characteristic sail boats. But it seems quite a view.



Visit the city's wiki page here.

50 Cities of the World #31 Hong Kong

Lets visit an other great city of the world.

Today we stop at Hong Kong.

And you can see in the card picture the western construction on the riverbank.

Because as stated in the card back, Hong Kong used to be a British colony, returned to China back in 1997.

It has a special statute that makes Hong Kong a Special Administrative Region and not quite a part of China like the rest.

But one thing didn't change. The importance of Hong Kong location. It's "one of the most significant financial centres and trade ports in the world".

Like previous city Pekin, search for Hong Kong skyline and you'll be overwhelmed...



Visit Hong Kong's wiki page here.

50 Cities of the World #30 Pekin

Almost done with the Cities of the World collection. 20 more to go!

Today we're visiting Pekin. Which is obvious Beijing.

It seems Beijing is the mandarin word, and Pekin the romanization of it. In Portuguese we still say the romanization form of it 'Pequim'.

Pekin was, and still is, China capital. And it is like one of the most populated cities in the world, their airport is like one of the busiest in the world, not even talking about their underground system!

And even if Pekin is one of the oldest cities in the world, it got quite the modernized capital to represent a country like China. But I think they still keep the old-district with more historical buildings and stuff. I think Asian people tend to admire and preserve better their past and their history than us...They manage to incorporate both old and new like it's the perfect puzzle. That's one of the things I truly admire in them.

About the industry examples the Emperor giving the subjects...LOL that is so funny! When I read something like this I always tend to imagine how would these people feel if they could travel in time and see how far we've come.


If you search for 'Beijing skyline' and compare to the picture in this card...WOW

See Pekin's wiki page here.

50 Cities of the World #29 Madras

And since I still have to connect my scanner back after I moved in I'm going with the scans I already have.

And this brings us all here again, to one more City of the World. And I assure you I might know a city name but get the country wrong, but here I'm all in the dark.

I truly had to search Google in search of this almighty Madras place.

From the card back it looks like a State City of some sort...but from what state!?

And I can now tell you it's a city in India. And it's now named Chennai.

From it's wiki page I got this:

"The name Madras originated even before the British presence was established in India. The origin of the name is unclear; one suggestion of several is that it may have originated from a Portuguese phrase mãe de Deus, which means "mother of God", due to Portuguese influence on the port city, specifically referring to a Church of St. Mary"

But as stated in the same paragraph there's no sure the name was already used before European people arrived there and if so, maybe it has other origin.

India is a nice place to get lost if they are changing their cities names so often...

And like said in the card back it is known for the University, which is still known by the Madras name.

There is also a National Art Gallery. Looks interesting!



For more info about Madras visit its wiki page.

50 Cities of the World #28 Bombay

Lets get our bags ready and visit an other City of the World.

Today we go to Bombay.

And yes, that is a name no longer in use, since 1995 the city is known as Mumbai. Around here we call it both ways and we all get it. It's in India.

You can see a large street in the card picture with few people around. But I cannot picture India with so few people and so large streets.

Accordingly with Wikipedia Bombay "It is the most populous city in India with an estimated city population of 18.4 million".

So...can you picture that!?

Here in Portugal we go between 10/11 million people in the whole country!

This are numbers I cannot imagine...

The card back talks about where the city is located, to the SE end of the island giving the city a terrific spot to have a crowded harbour.

Accordingly with Wiki again, the city is like a group of "seven islands" and you know, if you get ships coming and going with trade business is only normal that the city "has the highest number of millionaires and billionaires among all cities in India". I bet all these millionaires and billionaires have their richness came from other businesses, but maybe the harbour was a great start to it. Including getting those trade lines with West Europe long time ago.


The Bombay city has such a rich history that I'd be here writing a huge post before I could talk about all things.

So I leave you with a link to a specific part of the city's history that are connected to Portugal: History of Bombay under Portuguese rule (1534–1661)



You can also check the city wiki page here

50 Cities of the World #24 Christiania

So, after noticing in my cards list that I don't know the difference between numbers 24 and 27 I'm here now to give all the credit to the real #24 card in this set.

Christiania.

I don't have a clue where this is.

But after turning the card I find out it's in Norway. Even more the 'modern capital' of Norway.

And if you are wondering (I know you are! So don't make that face), yep...this is the previous name for Oslo.

Now we are talking!

Funny to see that one (or the) highlights  in the back is the University, the free University, with, look at this!, 50 professors and over 1'000 students! I bet that for the time it was massive!

I'd love to visit Nordic Countries but it's so cold up there! Brrrrrrr just imagining that in mid Summer they have an average of 23ºC (around 73.4F says google) it gives me the chills...

But it is a beautiful place, by the photos I've seen.




So if you want to know more about Christiania, nowadays, Oslo, visit its wiki page here and then go there and visit the city in person.

Just be careful of the icebergs...oh wait!

50 Cities of the World #27 Calcutta

For this one I had to search Google for sure. I don't know that much about India.

That's why I didn't know that Calcutta (which is the name we still use here too) has changed to Kolkata.

It used to be, like others, part of the English Empire. But like stated here in the card back, it was and still is a commercial centre.

It is located on the east bank of the Hooghly river. And we all know how a river is a great mean-to-an-end when we're talking about commerce.

When I picture Calcutta I picture roads where you can't put an other car. But looking at the card it seems so peaceful, with the river and the little boats.




For more info, here the wiki page.



ETA: I must have been sleepwalking when I did this post because this card is #27 and not #24 lol So I'm moving this post to it's place and will be posting the one and true #24 card!

50 Cities of the World #26 Jerusalem

I didn't planed to show this card at this time of the year but it was a funny surprise when I uploaded the image.

I think this is probably one of those cities that you can't say you never heard of before.

It is the centre of the religious world. It is located on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains and it's one of the oldest cities in the world. Even with all the fights and almost complete destructions it still stands.

Both Israel and Palestine declares Jerusalem as their capital. So no wonder we'll keep on hearing about it...

Like the card back states, Jerusalem might fire your theological history interest but even only from a pure-historical point of view is so rich that you'd like to visit.

I think the representation in the picture is the Temple Mount. Which was and still is - besides the Western Wall, the Kotel (that is probably that wall there in the picture too) - one of the most symbolic places in Jerusalem.



For more on Jerusalem info visit its wiki page.

50 Cities of the World #25 Stockholm

Look who is still alive! Yeahhhhhhh me!

Real Life got really real (ohhh my!) and I bought a house and so 'time' to run the blog is even lesser than before. That and money to pay absurd shipping costs to buy cards from USA...

But I haven't forgotten you all. Even more after the Cubs win the WS after 108 years!

You know that was the glitch that made your t.r.u.m.p. thing happen, don't you? ;)

But!!! Forget about that and lets travel to Stockholm.

You see, Stockholm is the capital of Sweeden. The land of the almighty ABBA that shown that there is life after the Eurovision Song Contest.

It's also located on more than one island. It's like a huge Bridge Town.

Yep. It's beautiful but it is also quite cold. But even I, that runs from the cold like it's hell (yeah...I had to make that pun), I'd like to visit.




Here. Check the city wiki page to know more.



PS: We're also in the middle of the cards set. Hurray! 25 more cities of the world to visit.

50 Cities of the World #23 Copenhagen

 Welcome to Copenhagen!

Since I've been a bit off the blog you might think I've been truly traveling around and going to all this terrific cities but no.

Real life kind of sucks sometimes...

So! Today we're at Copenhagen! And that's all that matters!

I kinda picture the card image been 'taken' at the end of evening, when the Sun is setting.

The picture just gives me those sunset vibes.

As you know, Copenhagen is the capital of Denmark.

But what I didn't know was the library info. I don't know nowadays how many volumes one of those few big libraries have, but back then, having around 250'000 volumes was massive!

I'd be proud if I as them.

I know that with internet we have so much in so little space but...nothing wins over a book.

I have this thing for coast cities (I live in one so...) so I know I'd love to know Copenhagen.

Sure, right now when I hear or talk about Copenhagen all I remember is that the 'Barden Bellas won the Worlds at Copenhagen'. I'm off to listen to Pitch Perfect OST.



But don't forget to check Copenhagen wiki page.

50 Cities of the World #22 Amsterdam

I can see all those tulips from here!

Welcome to Amsterdam!

I never get it right. Should I say Holland or Netherlands!? I just know they are the 'Mechanical Orange' in what concerns their football (soccer) team.

Amsterdam is their capital. And the name have its origin on the river that baths the city, the river Amstel.

Like stated on the card back, Amsterdam is full of bridges. You can almost play the "Seven Bridges of Königsberg" there, if you have your legs ready to run through the 300 bridges they have.

But I bet you know Amsterdam more for other reasons.. ;)



Here the wiki page.

50 Cities of the World #21 Athens

And if I intended to do this on purpose I couldn't.

With all that is going on in Europe and specially in Greece I could not have a better card to display.

And so we travel to the birth place of 'δημοκρατία - di̱mokratía' - Democracy.

Not only Greece is reach of mythology and great monuments but they are really important for the thoughts and civic rights we know and live with. (well...the majority of us...)

On the picture you can see the great Acropolis of Athens with the Parthenon. Probably one of the best known places to go and visit in the capital of Greece.

Yeah..it is in ruins, like the card back state, but you got say that they are ruins but with style!

I know you can see the swag of those monuments from afar!

Athens use to be the center of a great world. Time changes a lot of things...But still, for all it represents you got to go there and visit the city!

You have great Mediterranean weather, people, sites and food.

And you have Zeus to punish you if you don't go there!




For more Athens info visit the city's wiki page.

50 Cities of the World #20 Constantinople

Real Life is getting too much real but lets keep traveling.

Today is Constantinople we'll meet.

Hope you're all aware of the figure of Constantine The Great. (Constantine the film is quite cool too!)

It was him the responsible for Constantinople foundation. The capital of Roman Empire and the greatest European city at the time. Now known as Istanbul, modern Turkish capital.

It had many names before:  Byzantium, Nova Roma, Istanbul (now)...

We can consider Constantinople a city of the world. It used to converge there in ancient times.

Nowadays it's a city converging the West and East worlds. Quite the boiling point in many things but also a great place to go to see ancient history.



Check more on Constantinople in it's wiki page.

50 Cities of the World #19 Lisbon - Revisited

I started this thread of posts long ago with #19.

You see, some keep the best to the end I simply start with it.

So. Since I already posted about Lisbon I only revisiting it.

The card shows one of the main places in the city, the square in downtown know as Terreiro do Paço, where people would gather, many centuries ago, to watch the sailors depart to discover new worlds.

Unfortunately the only way we discover new worlds nowadays is by emigrating to other countries...and we are emigrating a lot again...

By train, airplane, boat...all roads come to Lisbon (I know the saying it's about Rome but let it be people).

You got to visit one of the best places in the capital which is Parque das Nações (Nations Park). Every day I stop there and see so many tourists! It's quite enjoyable to get to see all those cultures around there.
The '98 World Expo was there and we did a terrific job transforming the area into one of the most busy and lively areas in Lisbon.

Just a few pictures...

If they would make a new set of these cards maybe one of these pictures would make it into the card.



Ahhhhhh And don't forget to visit Benfica stadium too ;)