When I moved to Paris in 2012, I loved the idea of writing letters to my friends and family back in Texas. I sent maybe one or two before Olivia and I became friends over a spontaneous weekend trip to Florence, planned just a few days after we met* in France. After walking down the endless steps from the top of the Duomo, we decided to give our burning calves a break by browsing through some goofy touristy postcard stalls and having a gelato snack. I wasn't very excited about anything until she thrust a card in my face: it was a close up detail of the Statue of David's most prominent feature. I knew I had to send it to a friend — it was too good to pass up. But Olivia grabbed a handful of them — and a bunch of vintage-looking ones of important sites throughout Florence — and explained that while it's always good to send a postcard, they're also great to keep for yourself. Postcards can remind you of the personality of a place, what artworks you saw, or just the goofy moment a new friend made you crack up in a postcard store in a foreign city. Here are some of the best postcards we've collected through the years from vacations, art shows, antique stores, and good old snail mail.
-Emily
