Christmas meetup in Genoa (Liguria), Italy, 17-18 December 2022

[stefbot75]

CITY/REGION: genova, liguria, italy
MEETUP PLACE: genova brignole railway station
DATE: 17-18 december
TIME: first day 10-17, second day 15-18
MEETUP PLAN: as this year genoa will be european capital of christmas, exceptionally for this christmas meetup we decided to try a 2-days meetup to give more postcrossers the chance to reach us on sunday if they can’t on saturday

saturday 17th december: we will meet at the main entry of genova brignole railway station at 10 o’clock and we will have a nice walk to the philatelic mail office in via dante 4B to visit the exhibition of christmas postcards that some postcrossers set up free entry

Postcrossing and Christmas postcards on show at Genoa central mail office

In the past year the employees of the philatelic office at Genoa central mail office have become a key figure in our postcrossing meetups, since after each of them we arrive at the office with some hundred postcards to be sent. And last September they suggested Stefano (@stefbot75 ) and me to organize a small exhibition of postcards featuring ships and lighthouses, and use some of the boards of the exhibition to display meetup postcards and explain how Postcrossing works. The exhibition was a …

there will be the opportunity to get a special cancellation mark dedicated to postcrossing, kindly offered by “associazione filatelica numismatica la lanterna” and it will be possibile to buy stamps, maximum cards and other postal products the philatelic mail office usually sells
then we will reach this pizzeria at 13 o’clock:

Zena Zuena Focacceria Pizzeria Genova

here in via cesarea 78R (not far from brignole railway station) we will have our lunch and spend the rest of the afternoon signing the meetup postcards

sunday 18th december: on this second day there is a different location for our meetup, we will meet at 15 o’clock at brignole railway station to go again to zena zuena in via cesarea 78, where we will taste their cakes with tea or coffee during the hours we will spend together in signing the meetup postcards of the postcrossers who couldn’t join us on saturday

saturday is the day when more postcrossers will probably participate, some of us can’t be there both days, but anyway if you want to join us, please let us know which day it is more comfortable for you, thank you

the meetup postcard is a creation of @Iside82 and special thanks to @paulo for your approval
if you can’t join us we are ready to swap

in the following weeks there will be a preview of the exhibition and of the special cancellation mark that will be available for some weeks after the opening of the exhibition and it will appear on the postcards we will leave at the philatelic mail office on monday 19th december.

[mikebond]

I hope I can come this time. If I do, I will probably stay in Genoa for a couple of nights.

[sherrydarling]

sicuramente la domenica non posso. Forse invece riesco a fare una scappata al sabato

[Melody1]

See you soon on Saturday 17th!

[Vitality]

Hi, friends)
I would like to swap))
I can offer this girl (meetup 24 December)

Or any card here

[991 new items · Album by Natalia Kulipanova] Swap

[stefbot75]

@Vitality hello natalia i like your meetup postcard 24.12 we can swap again, i have your address

[Vitality]

Thank you Stefano) I’m glad to swap again) see you soon!

[Iside82]

It is now official, we are going to have the special cancellation mark for the meetup!

[mikebond]

Thank you, @Iside82 and @stefbot75, for organising this great meeting!
The Christmas postcard exhibition at Genoa’s philatelic bureau was amazing, and I hope it will bring many new people to join Postcrossing.

We had a blast at the restaurant, where we had lunch but, most importantly, signed tons of meeting cards. Some postcards got lost, then magically reappeared!
I received many more gifts than I expected (and way more than I had brought myself). But the most precious gift was talking to, and laughing with, so many people, known or not.

Time flew so fast that we forgot to take a photo of the whole group. Here are some of us at the end of the meeting:

It’s great to see that COVID-19 couldn’t kill Postcrossing meetings and the joy of sharing a day with friends and with strangers who will become friends.
Thank you all for the great time we shared today.
I already look forward to my next meeting in Genoa or elsewhere in Italy.

[Diau836]

Elogio del Meetup
Ad una settimana ed un giorno da Natale
mi ritrovo a notare quanto vale
dei Postcrosser a Genova l’incontro
e a fare un po’ di confronto
tra la pazienza di centinaia di cartoline firmare
e la frenesia del centro nel venire e andare,
l’accuratezza di scegliere un francobollo
e i migliaia giù per via XX a rompicollo,
l’insensata corsa agli ultimi acquisti
e la generosità gratuita di altri come me collezionisti,
sentire pura accoglienza
in un mondo dove domina la diffidenza.
Così mi ritrovo a Stefano e Irene1 e tutti voi ringraziare,
per questo mio primo Meetup, giorno davvero incorniciare,
come avviene in una cartolina,
dove la realtà con la fantasia strettamente confina.

[mikebond]

Bravo, Davide! Una volta scrivevo anch’io dei bei resoconti post-meeting, poi la vena poetica si è esaurita. È stato bello conoscerti e spero che ci siano presto altre occasioni!

[postbert2022]

Grazie ragazzi per la giornata veramente divertente!
E’ stato meraviglioso conoscervi tutti e grazie per i bellissimi regalini!
Special thanks to Stefano ed Irene 1
Alla prossima!

[stefbot75]

ciao mario, è stato un piacere conoscerti, a presto, tanti auguri

[Stevyy]

Mille grazie, @stefbot75, and thank you to all who signed the card for me from this meetup. Hope you had a good time.

May your 2023 be a wonderful one. Happy postcrossing, S.

[Robin67]

@Paola Thank you very much for your super meeting card with special stamp and the super postmark.