Kudos to vinolover above! My wife and I collect Christmas ornamants also. It started in the 70s when we lived in Germany. We now find something small to make an ornament out of everywhere we go. Gotta bunch of them now!

Another favorite is the wood carving we bought in Oberammergau in 1971. It was so expensive....$30.00....that we had to think about it and get it on our second trip. I was in the Army and we had no money. We still have that carving proudly displayed in our home. A great memory of Oberammergau and how much $30 meant to us then.

I like to buy everyday objects that I really use. There's the olive-wood kitchen spoon, the grated-cheese holder that restaurants use in Italy, the kitchen towels (regular towels, not "tea towals"). For the kids, we've bought placemats. Easy to transport and scenic!

Yes...what is left over from the 1000€ I picked up about two years ago in Europe when it was pretty much at par with the dollar!

Usually I am far too lazy to buy things while travelling(rooted dislike to carry things around).

But more than 25 years ago, I bought a set of porcelain chopsticks holders in Japan Alps, I still use it now after having moving around half of the world.

A set of Henckels kitchen knives including a chef's knife. We have used them every day for almost 25 years and they look brand new. Wonder how many generations these knives will be passed down within our family. Souvenir of Wurzburg that lasts and lasts.

I always buy a gold charm from each country I visit. Now I have a lovely charm bracelet that brings me joy every time I wear it...and it's also a conversation piece.

Still use my mezza luna from Florence to chop my Italian parsley and garlic for my sauces...going on 20 years.

oooh yes! the curling iron I bought in Paris, which I use when I travel. Forgot about that.

Looking over the things we have bought on our trips and stays in Europe, I find that most of them are for the kitichen. My husband finds it very funny, since I am not the cook in the family- he is. I guess I am just the supply master.

The oldest and most used item is a wooden "butter bowl" we got in Ireland in 1973 for all of one Irish pound. The woman who sold it to me said the Irish used wooden items, where other countries would use pottery, because "Ireland did not have a pottery industry"! I guess she was trying hard to make a sale. It's been on the table ever since.

I noticed Pandashu mentioned she bought the UK version of Monoply with the London streets. You might be interested in a book I got last Feb. in the UK called "Do Not Pass Go" by Tim Moore. He traces the London street names chose and then visits each and every one! Good read.

Judy formerly in Germany

The first time I visited England was in 1994, in the company of my mother, two sisters & brother (we live in the U.S.). One sister brought a converter so she could bring her hair dryer which she said she could not live without. The first time she tried to use it, the thing blew up & went into the trash. Our brother took pity on her and bought her a hair dryer in London for £10 which we all used for the remainder of the trip. I have the English hair dryer now and have taken it with me on three more trips. Next week my niece leaves for a six month study program in Canterbury (and I'm insanely jealous!) so I sent her the very well-traveled English hair dryer. I hope to take it back myself some day too. We've really gotten my brother's £10 worth.

The cheapest: I bought 12 bowls in a small village just outside Oaxaca...they were so pretty the way they were painted I think I paid something like 50 cents for each. I use them for cereal, soup, salads etc...I absolutely love these bowls..
More expensive, but I do use quite often is my Saint-Louis crystal stemware I purchased on my honeymoon.
I do use it when friends come over...why save it...it always reminds me of my honeymoon.

Carolyn, I loved your story about not getting to the lowest price with the vendor at the Acropolis.

My sister once bought some antique plated tin item for $10, but then as she lugged to the other side of the fairground, and thought about it, she started wishing she hadn't bought it. At just that moment, another vendor spontaneously offered her $15 for it. She sold it on the spot, and then remarked to the buyer that she felt a little guilty, because she had just bought it for $5 less on the other side of the fairground.

The vendor was not perturbed by this news, and simply replied, "Congratulations, honey, you're now a dealer. That's how I got into it."

- Larry

My mom acquired a simple wool cape when she first went abroad to Europe; she gave it to me when I declared it was gathering too much mothball dust in the closet. I've used it to stave off MN fall chills ever since. I'm happy to say that in three weeks, the cloak will travel abroad, via my shoulders, for the first time in 27 years :)

I also love buying things when I am travelling.

The things I love most are a real Pashmina I got in London from a wonderful lady who is living in Hampstead (it was a gift from my late mum)-she is advertising in british Vogue and highly recomendable.(Sorry, this looks wrong but my english isn`t as good as it should be.)
As this is bigger and much lighter then the usual stuff I wear it with trousers suits, jeans and also as a blanket in trains and airplanes.
I also love to try out cosmetics and at Harrods I found Laura Mercier and her famous tinted moisturiser (we do not have this brand here) and use it since.

Oh, I also love to buy mints wherever I am travelling. These little boxes are cute little reminders on my trips whenever I reach for the mints.

And I love to buy mugs-I have some very tasteful ones I bought in the china basement at Fortnum&Mason and less tasteful ones, and some from museum shops like The Tate, The Wallace Collection. All my friends have now their "special mug" they want to use when drinking tea or coffee with me.

What I am still looking for is a good bag I can fold and put in my suitcase for all the shopping....

Water misters from Paris. I picked my first one up about 6 years ago, basically what looks like a can of hairspray but filled with water. In the US I can only find them by Evian and for $20. In France they have many brands with different properties that go for as low as 3 Euro. I always pick up a crateload when I'm there and have friends bring them back for me as a souvenir. People think I'm crazy when I pull out one of my cans and spray myself. I may be crazy, but I'm also cool as a cucumber!

I just lost one of my very favorite possessions: Henckels flower scissors that I bought in Lubeck, Germany about ten years ago. They were in a bargain bin outside a housewares shop, and I bought several pairs for a song. I was devastated when they disappeared, but, thanks to globalization, they're available through Chef's Catalogue.

Somehow I'm not sure if that's progress...

My tea bag squeezer - I use it everyday! :D

My tiny, hideous orange hair dryer I bought in Germany on my first trip there in 1992! It has been all over the world and keeps on working. And I'd never be able to forget to pack it, the color is so bright!

My aloha shirts from Hawaii and a perfect wallet from Spain. My souvenirs are typically items that I will use.