When I woke up this morning I shuffled over to my computer and as part of my morning ritual logged into my Facebook account. After 7-8 hours offline (aka “sleep”) reconnecting to the world via my various social media accounts has taken precedence over such basics as brushing my teeth or brewing a cup of coffee (though in my case it would be popping open a can of Diet Coke).  Bleary-eyed, I glanced to my right and noticed a few new additions to the wall next to our computer.

My Partner F had taped up several of the postcards we had mailed ourselves from our recent trip to Europe.  I was about to wake him up for a lecture on the possibly permanent damage he had done to the paint finish when I stopped myself.  The postcards sparked a wave of memories ….

… Of how Vacanze Romane (Roman Holiday) was the movie playing on the flight over …

… Of buying the set of vintage Italian postcards at the San Lorenzo market in Florence right after we had each purchased our leather “man purses” (which have yet to see the light of day on the streets of Chicago) …

… Of how we rerouted our return home from Italy via London so we could attend the David Bowie show at the V&A … and how we spent a good 45 minutes sitting at the center of the exhibit immersing ourselves in the artist’s music as we watched concert footage of him through the years on giant video screens …

… And buying the following card:

Just so we could mail it home with a Doctor Who stamp.

Our trip has been well documented with photos from our iPhones.  We updated family and friends in real time on our travels via Facebook.  We’ve left quite a few digital footprints over the course of our journey.  However, those little postcards we mailed home to ourselves sparked more memories than all of those electronic media combined.  The postcards represent a very tangible link to the great times we had on vacation.  The very act of putting pen to paper created a physical link back to those moments we were recording.

Writing postcards is definitely Old School.  However, those cards from each of our trips are our most treasured vacation souvenirs.  They all communicate the same warm message and elicit the same nostalgic feeling… “Wish we were there.”