Paradores de Turismo de España, branded as Paradores, is a Spanish state-owned chain of luxury hotels that are usually located in historic buildings or in nature areas with a special appeal. Its first parador was inaugurated on 9 October 1928 in Navarredonda de Gredos (Ávila). As of 2023, it operates ninety-seven paradores in Spain and one in Portugal, with 5,986 rooms in total. Every parador has its own restaurant offering the regional gastronomy of its area.
The ONCE is a Spanish foundation founded on 13 December 1938, to raise funds to provide services for the blind and people with serious visual impairment. Although ONCE now has several gaming products available, their traditional product and one of the most visible aspects of ONCE is the charity lottery ticket known throughout Spain as the Cupón. Sales of this lottery product are the main source of income for ONCE and can carry huge tax-exempt cash prizes. The draw has different tickets for different days of the week, a special weekend ticket as well as special tickets with higher prizes. The basic graphic designs on the cupón is the same every day, but the theme changes to correspond to current events. For example, when the Euro became legal tender, or cultural references such as national or local monuments.
Traveler's collection.
Postcard published by Comercial Escudo de Oro / Ediciones Fisa, Barcelona, Nº 4818 (1969).
The Hotel Europa, located in the historic center of Granollers, was built in 1923 as an extension of the historic Fonda Europa, a modest hotel with food service founded in 1771, which began operating as a restaurant in 1854. It was also a famous center of cultural and political gatherings from the second half of the 19th century to the first decades of the 20th century.
Traveler's collection.
Postcard.
The Penang Hill Railway was opened on 21 October 1923 after the failure of a previous attempt, built between 1901 and 1905, but did not work due to technical faults. It has a length of 1,996 meters (6,549 ft) and connects Air Itam, on the outskirts of the city of Pulau Pinang (former Georgetown, during British colonization) with Penang Hill, at an altitude of 833 m (2,733 ft). Until 2010, the Penang Hills Funicular Railway had two independent sections due to the difference in gradient between the lower and upper section, and passengers were required to change trains at the middle station. The first carriages were wooden with defined first and second class compartments in each one. The four carriages were in use on the railway for over 50 years until they were retired in 1977 and replaced with new carriages which had fans and automatic sliding doors.
Thanks to Marian K.
