World on my postcards

 California is the largest and most important wine region in the United States. Occupying the southern two-thirds of the country's west coast (Oregon and Washington make up the rest), it spans almost ten degrees of latitude and 850 miles (1370km) of coastline.

  Romania's collection of castles and fortresses perhaps best illustrates the rich medieval heritage of the country. While castles built from the 14th to the 18th centuries are strong and austere fortresses built mainly for defense against invaders, those erected beginning in the late 1800s are imposing and luxurious. The most popular include the 14th century Corvin Castle, built on the site of a former Roman camp, the elegant 19th century Peles Castle with its 160 rooms filled with priceless European art and, of course, the Bran Castle, built in the mid-1300s and legendary home to Bram Stoker's Count Dracula. 

Hunedoara is a city in Hunedoara County, Transylvania, Romania. It is located in southwestern Transylvania near the Poiana Ruscă Mountains, and administers five villages: Boş, Groş, Hăşdat, Peştişu Mare and Răcăştia.

The Festival of Pacific Arts, or FESTPAC is a traveling festival hosted every four years by a different country in Oceania . It was conceived by the Pacific Community  as a means to stem erosion of traditional cultural practices by sharing and exchanging culture at each festival.

Guinea-Bissau is a tropical country on West Africa’s Atlantic coast that’s known for national parks and wildlife. The forested, sparsely populated Bijagós archipelago is a protected biosphere reserve. Its main island, Bubaque, forms part of the Orango Islands National Park, a habitat for saltwater hippos. On the mainland, the capital, Bissau, is a port with Portuguese colonial buildings in its old city center.

The Dominican Republic is a Caribbean nation that shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti to the west. It's known for its beaches, resorts and golfing. Its terrain comprises rainforest, savannah and highlands, including Pico Duarte, the Caribbean’s tallest mountain. Capital city Santo Domingo has Spanish landmarks like the Gothic Catedral Primada de America dating back 5 centuries in its Zona Colonial district.

Mauritania lies across one of the great trans-Saharan trade routes. For over 500 years, to 1674 when the Arabs defeated them, the Almoravid Dynasty controlled the trade in gold, slaves and salt.

 Hammamet is a town in Tunisia. Thanks to its beaches it is a popular destination for swimming and water sports. It is the first tourist destination in Tunisia.

Matmata is a small Berber speaking town in southern Tunisia. Some of the local Berber residents live in traditional underground "troglodyte" structures. In 2004 it had a population of 2,116.

  Kota Pontianak is the capital of the Indonesian province of West Kalimantan, founded by Syarif Abdurrahman Alkadrie as a capital of Sultanate of Kadriyah in 23 Oktober 1771 / 24 Rajab 1181 Hijriah.

  Semur-en-Auxois is a commune of the Côte-d'Or department in eastern France. The engineer Edmé Régnier L'Aîné and the Encyclopédiste Philippe Guéneau de Montbeillard were born in Semur-en-Auxois.

Salzburg is an Austrian city on the border of Germany, with views of the Eastern Alps. The city is divided by the Salzach River, with medieval and baroque buildings of the pedestrian Altstadt (Old City) on its left bank, facing the 19th-century Neustadt (New City) on its right. The Altstadt birthplace of famed composer Mozart is preserved as a museum displaying his childhood instruments.

The Residence of Bukovinian and Dalmatian Metropolitans in Chernivtsi, Ukraine was built between the years 1864 - 1882 to the designs of the Czech architect, Josef Hlávka. The Residence, whose buildings are now part of Chernivtsi University, was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2011.

This magnificent Crimean estate was once a playground of the Russian elite.   Built between 1828 and 1848, this magical palace near the town of Alupka has enchanted visitors for almost 200 years.

Devon is a county in southwest England. It encompasses sandy beaches, fossil cliffs, medieval towns and moorland national parks. The English Riviera is a series of picturesque, south-coast harbour towns including Torquay, Paignton and Brixham. The South West Coast Path follows the coastline, taking in the towering cliffs of the northern Exmoor Coast and rock formations on the fossil-rich southern Jurassic Coast.

Port Lockroy is a natural harbour on the north-western shore of Wiencke Island in Palmer Archipelago in front of Antarctic Peninsula.

The Free State  is a province of South Africa. Its capital is Bloemfontein, which is also South Africa's judicial capital. Its historical origins lie in the Orange Free State Boer republic and later Orange Free State Province. The majority of the population are black Africans who speak Sotho as a first language. The vast majority of white people in the Free State are Afrikaans-speaking. In 1880 the white population made up 45.7% of the total population.

Orient Beach is the most developed, the most popular and the busiest beach on the island, probably the most famous beach in the entire Caribbean. The beach is reputed as much for its natural beauty and setting as it is for being the island´s foremost swimsuit optional beach.