Postcards back home

Italy might not be slow, but your postcard may never arrive. I mailed postcards from Rome, Florence, and Orvieto. The first 2 showed up, the ones from Orvieto never did. If you will be in Rome, mail your postcards from the Vatican post office for a much better chance at them actually going where you intend.

Postcards aren't as cheap as they used to be. A postcard sent to USA from Germany will cost you 1.00 Euro.

At least with Germany, however, they probably won't lose your card!

Haha...well I guess I'll give it a whirl, but warn my folks that we might just be home well before the postcard arrives, if it ever does!

Is there anyway to pre-purchase postage? I'm not sure finding a post office in Paris, Toulouse or Rome (other than the Vatican) will be all that easy. I'd like to mail them from Paris, since that's day 3 thru 6 of the trip.

Chris,

I always send postcards home and to the USA. As posted earlier they're not as cheap as in the old days. Last summer of 2009 I sent postcards to the USA from 4 countries: England--62 pence, Germany--1 Euro (as already posted), France--90 cents, Austria--1,40 Euro. Even within EU the price isn't uniform...this was a surprise to me, especially the price the Austrians charge for Mit Flugpost, as they say. Count on 4-5 days for the postcards to get here, at the earliest, and if you mail them in the morning.

Can't say about Italy, but what I have heard agrees with the posts here. If you're mailing from Germany, France, Austria, England, the cards will reach home. All my cards arrived, always,... and I send lots of them!!

I always send postcards -- lots of them -- even to myself! You can buy postage almost any gift shop, TI, or convenience store. If you send a postcard within a couple of days of arrival, your parents should receive within a week. It does depend on the country and it is usually faster from a city than from a small town/village. Each country has their own stamps so don't buy a lot of stamps in one country if you are moving on to another country. Postcards are one of my favorite trip souvenirs. Have the kids send on to themselves and have it when they get home. AS someone mentioned, psottcards are not cheap --- minimum euro with postage. Print out some address labels to the people you want to send to -- easier for postal officials to read. Use a regular ball point pen.

Thanks for the ideas everyone

Audrey I LOVE the idea of having the kids send them back home to themselves! kind of like journal entry to read at home & scrapbooking those postcards is right up my alley.

Thanks for the tip on where to buy postage, if I can buy it in a shop rather than locate a post office, I think I'll be fine.

I always do the preprinted labels - just one less thing mom has to remember to pack is the address book!

If you're in Rome it's advised to send your postcards from the Vatican. The post office is to the left as you face St. Peter's from the square.

I'd like to mount a friendly challenge to the answer from Peter of York, PA. Unless something has changed, I believe the Vatican Post Office is to the RIGHT (north) as you're facing the basilica.

Also, you don't need to find a P.O. to buy stamps. My experince is that most shops will sell you stamps when they sell you the postcards. Just point to the upper right corner and say "Stampi....per Stati Uniti, per favore?" or whatever's appropriate. :)

Chris,

One other place on where to buy stamps in Paris and in France: if you see a store with this TABAK sign, not only does it sell smokes, postcards, newpapers, etc. but also stamps (timbres), but whether have the 90 cent ones depends. But ask!!

Chris,
My wife and I write post cards back from every place we go and they are really fun souvenirs. If you are going to Paris and the Louvre there is a post office in the underground entrance. We bought postcards at the gift shop and postage at their post office. There are yellow boxes all over France on the sides of buildings that are drop points. We got ours 5 days after we mailed them. Mailed some from the Vatican and they took a little longer but got to their destination. We didn't mail any in Italy since we had heard it wasn't reliable. If you get a chance read Rick Steve's Postcards from Europe Book about his different adventures. Good Luck and have fun.

Audrey, I also do the pre-printed labels. That way I don't miss someone. When the labels are gone, it means all my cards have been sent!

Chris,
My wife and I always sends postcards to my sisters kids whenever we travel. I'm not quite sure why I started this tradition, but I know that my nieces and nephew really look forward to and enjoy these little pieces of our trips. So far they have all made it through.(Austria, Germany, England, Canada, & many places around the US.

Thanks all - some really fantastic ideas - I thought this was a silly question, but decides to ask it anyway - I'm so glad I did!