How do you best remember your vacations of the past?
 

I've been on 7 European vacations the past 3 years and am wondering how I can best keep these vacations clear in my memory down the road, say 10 or 20 years. Any of you more aged people out there have any tips for me? I mean, I did spend some money on them and would like this money to have been used as an investment in my life, not just an expense.

I've done a lot of traveling in my 47 years, and, although I can't remember where I left my car keys, I do recall each and every trip vividly. Not a problem.

You may forget some of the details. But you never forget the high lights of your trip.

I videotape, take lots of photos and keep a daily journal. That way, years later, I am able to transport myself back to the time and place. I also am able to remember people we met, whose faces I would have long since forgotten.

What we usually do is keep a log and when we get home from a trip we try to write the highlights in the log while it is fresh in our memories. If we should forget something and suddenly remember we go to the log and write it down. We can always remember good or bad resturants only because we take a book of matches with the info on them. <BR> <BR>Trust me, I am not as disciplined as my husband is. He is a boat Captain and that is part of what they were taught to do. It does work if you do it as soon as you get home.

We often buy a piece of art from places we've loved. Nothing really expensive, just something that is representative of the place. We bought a beautiful watercolor of the bullfighting stadium in Ronda while on our honeymoon. It brings back great memories.

I kept a small notebook in my purse and a larger one in the hotel room. Jotted names of restaurants, streets in small notebook then when I got back to my room wrote everything down. Then when I got home transferred everything to a leather journal that I splurged on. That way my trip will stay fresh in my mind forever. It may be anal but I will remember most everything.

Hi Kelly, I agree that a journal is the best way to do things. Also I take the video camera and lots of still photos also. My daughter makes scrapbooks. She took a class to learn and has a great time doing them and they are pretty special.I have been bad for so many years now about not getting photos in my albums. But, I do put in our vacation pictures. Now that we are close to retirement it is fun to do and because it is my hubby and I going and it is special things we share.

I was recently in Positano. I stayed in a charming B&B overlooking the sea. The room was beautiful, high domed ceiling, white walls with yellow floor tiles. I could lie on my bed and look at the sea. <BR>When I got home I really missed the vibrant colours, so...I painted my bathroom walls in a beautiful deep sea blue, white tiles, white vanity etc..now every time I use the loo or bathroom I feel like I am surrounded by the beautiful colours of Positano! <BR>When I am not in my bathroom! I visualise my trips over and over again..good fun when reality of not being on holidays sets in.

I take lots of photos and put each trip's shots in a different album. I used to add detailed captions to each one, but I find less time for that now with a little child in the house. I created a Web site where I put travelogues for trips now. It is partly to share with others of course, but it also makes me write them for myself. I wish I had written them for earlier trips, but I still feel I could go back and do decent ones for most. I also keep travelogues of each trip with our daugther, separate from the others. I have found one of the best ways to keep a place fresh in my mind is to continue to learn about it; that also helps prepare for return visits. For example, after I visited the Yucatan I read several books on the Maya. Not only will your reading be more rewarding since you have first hand experience, but it will make those places mean more to you too. It is just impossible to learn all the details when planning for a trip because you have to spend so much time on all the practical things - airfare, hotels, transportation, picking out what you want to see. After I return, I have more time to learn about details.

I keep a travel journal, each night on the trip, before bed, I sit down and write the days highlights,events,impressions,in the journal, I also save all tickets to plays,postcards,etc.Then of course we take millions of pictures, and those go into albums that are strictly "Trip albums"..it is the best on a grey winter day at home, to go through all the books with memories and pictures!

Like the others, I keep a journal. At the very least each day I jot down the major sights, funny anecdotes,restaurants' names, sometimes even what dishes I ate. <BR>For almost every trip (not so much for short, repeat visits) I make a memory album, more a scrapbook than just a photo album. The journal helps me remember what came after what. I use self-stick clear-plastic photo pockets to hold the photos, but I add postcards, captions, historical details, receipts, small brochures,ticket stubs, etc. <BR>Even for busy people, this can be a wonderful post-trip project to work on during the weeks or months after a trip, and looking at it is a sure-fire pick-me-upper when I need one.

If I'm traveling with others, I never keep a journal (I'd rather drink wine and tell lies than go off by myself to write in a journal); on my own, I do keep a journal. So, I remember my trips because 1)the other girls remind me or 2)I kept a journal. <BR> <BR>I also take zillions of pictures; most of them aren't Ansel Adams, but they do remind me of what I saw and did. <BR> <BR>I keep EVERYTHING from a trip: tickets, receipts, matchbooks, brochures...and they go in the photo album with the pictures. If the album is the kind with pockets, I try to write on the back of the photo pertinent details. If I use the old-fashioned scrapbook kind, then I write under/around/over each picture.

With no videos, photos or journal I keep memories, which come back if I revisit (ah, but I live in London) or if a place is in the newspapers. I've thought of Mashad, Herat, Quetta, Kabul and Peshawar a good deal recently, with happy memories of each. <BR> <BR>Films aren't such good reminders, as few of them represent the geography of the place. "Indiana Jones" mis-reports Venice, and "From Russia with Love" has Istanbul wrong. <BR> <BR>Ben Haines

Many photos, post cards, bits of paper, ect. go in to my scrapbook/photo album. But for the last 13 years we take a samll tape recorder. Durring the day we capture street sound, the clip clop of the Horse Guard, waiters and waitresses introducing themselves and the place we are lunch. At the end of the day we recap what, where, why and how.

We too put together a scrap book for each trip. We keep all ticket stubs, brochures, match books, any and all things that have any relevance to the trip. We always make sure to get some photos of our rental cars (when we use one) and of all hotels we stay in (both exterior and interior including lobby, rooms, etc). We take tons of pictures, and always carry two cameras (the point and shoot type with built in zoom lens), one with color film the other with black and white. We like the small cameras since they are unobtrusive and easy to stick in pocket or purse. We also pick up a nice selection of post cards at each place we go. Finally, we keep all transport doucments. When we return home we organize all of this into a scrap book in the order of the trip, make a cover page with trip date, name, and have a very nice record of the trip. This is also good when sharing the trip with family and friends as it brings back very clearly all of the details.

I keep a journal and takes lots of photos. In fact, I have many of my journals posted on line at my website www.appleberryroad.com. My photos are currently not online as I am working on my website. <BR> <BR>The hard part is actually writing the journal. During the trip I usually keep notes for the day. When I get home I try to write the journal as soon as possible. I am currently working on a journal from a trip to London last weekend. But I still have a journal to write from a 10-trip to Scotland (arriving back Sept. 11). Because of those events I just haven't been in the mood to write. <BR> <BR>Anyway, check out my website if you are interested.

Generally my wife keeps the journal and I take the photos. When we get home she makes a new scrapbook for each trip. The scrapbooks contains all sorts of stuff...train tickets, tube passes, receipts, brochures, a sample menu, clippings, maps, etc. (She is really into scrapbooking. The scrapbook can take a couple of months to finish. In addition to taking the photos I also update the web page. (Shameless plug... www.iconnect.net/home/rsumners ) <BR>I often wish I had taken more photos during some of my early trips. My first trip to Europe was in 1968 and I barely remember most of it, even though I'm not senile yet. I have no photos of the trips to Germany, Belgium, Italy, Norway or the refits in Scotland. I think the combination of photos and journals would be great to remember the trips of 30 or 40 or 50 years ago.

I do all of the above except write it down while there. I'm taking a small recorder this trip and when something strikes me, I'll put it on tape. I haven't done this before, but, really dislike writing at night after a long day out. <BR>I'll see how it goes and let you know if it turns into a chore, becomes an obligation (camcorders?), or if I like it. Then we'll see just how long it takes to transcribe it! ;)

My husband and I also keep a log when <BR>traveling. However, for me to remember <BR>our trips is to walk in our rec room. <BR>I have posters from every trip we've <BR>taken and the room is looking like a <BR>travel agency....but I love it....I can <BR>glance around and immediately be taken <BR>back to anywhere I've been.