What do you bring back as a reminder?
 

We also bring something back from our trips to Europe to decorate our house with. For example, last fall we bought a chandelier in Venice. We have many pictures, coasters, etc. from all over Europe. These items always bring back memories. What do you bring home?

Fabric, picture frames, photo albums and scrapbooks, ashtrays, salt & pepper shakers, calendars. None of it gets saved for best; everything's out all the time and gets used.

Pictures; guides to the various churches, museums, and galleries that I visit; tea from London; wine from Italy; holy water from the Middle East.

Dish towels, guest bath towels, salad tongs, picture frames, article of clothing...all to used daily....as a daily reminder.

What you bring back does not necessarily have to be something tangeable. Bringing back a good story to tell about some special act of kindness or goodwill shown will last forever and will also strengthen a bond that is hopefully being forged by Americans and the French. Enjoy Paris-you will!

I brought back a gondolier from Venice. He whined a bit when I put him in my duffel bag, but had no problems getting through customs on the way home. <BR>We let him paddle around our pool singing "O Sole Mio." Great for barbeques with the neighbors and it always brings back fond memories of our trip.

Prints. I'd love to be able to afford some really good art, but...my tastes are way too expensive for my pocketbook. One of the most fun things I brought back from our April trip was an inflatable Eiffel tower. It is about 2 feet tall, clear plastic with silver and black "grid work." I found it in the Marais at a funny little shop (great place to by stuff for teenage girls) called WHY? It was about 7Euros.<BR>Wish I'd bought several as everyone loves it (mine is in my office at work.)<BR>

A gravid uterus, on one occasion.<BR>

something from the room.

One category of souvenirs I really like is small artworks by local artists. Favorites for are a watercolor of the Duomo in sunset by an artist who dashes them off while sitting outside Ufizzi in Florence, and a etching of a canal scene purchased from a kiosk on Amsterdam's Museumplein. Inexpensive and easy to pack ($10 for the art, but $40+ to frame it when I get home, alas).<BR>I also try to pick up a small item that will work as a Christmas tree ornament. That way I get to put my travel treasures on display for a few weeks each year -- better than having stuff out to dust all the time or packing away and never looking at them.

We purchase small items that are not necessarily Christmas ornaments, but that do look great on the tree. It is always fun to bring them out.<BR><BR>My wife has also been purchasing coasters and place mats from different areas. They are flat and easy to pack and we use them daily.<BR><BR>I take a lot of pictures of unusual signs we find in Europe. Put them all together in a collage and they have some great memories.<BR><BR>Smoker men in Germany! We have about 15 of the things now and they are fun to collect....one per trip.<BR><BR>Purchased a horse that is used on the side of the gondolas in Venice. We found the shop that made them and purchased one just like a gondola owner would. Looks great in the bookshelf.<BR><BR>Many times the small, unique, inexpensive things are the most fun. We still wish we had started a collection of cheap tourist plates from various areas when we were first in Europe 30 years ago. They would be funny now.

A small milk pitcher from Ireland, as well as a Belleek birthday box, a Wedgewood saucer from England, a sweater from Scotland, batiste handerchiefs from Switzerland and Austria, chocolate from everywhere.

My wife brings back one coffee cup from each city we visit.<BR><BR>We then have coffee each morning on the patio and reminisce about each of the places we have been based upon which coffee cup that we are drinking from.<BR><BR>Brings back a lot of memories, over and over again!<BR><BR>US

We usually buy one special souvenir in each country...something for the house that we wanted anyway, but that is very characteristic of that place to remind us of the trip. Twice, we have purchased small framed mosaic pictures in Florence. The technique is called "pietra dura" which I believe originated with the Medici's so it's a really Florentine souvenir.<BR><BR>Also, brought back a Deruta ceramic mantel clock.<BR><BR>From Ireland, Waterford crystal. From England, a Wedgewood clock and nice woolen sweaters. Also, a plate purchased at the Portobello Road market just to remind me of Hugh Grant in the movie "Notting Hill" (just kidding!). From France,a bit of Limoge china. <BR><BR>I don't usually bother with foodstuffs for myself but do bring teas, cookies, olive oils, etc. as gifts.

I too like to bring back soemthing to be used as a Christmas ornament: a camel from Giza, A Murano Santa Claus on a gondola, a streetcar from San Francisco, a lighthouse from the Maritime provinces. Some places like Hawaii sell Christmas ornamnet mementos.<BR><BR>I used to buy paintings "aquarelles" but my walls became too full and the custom frames became very expensive.<BR><BR>Tania

I was in the military stationed in Schweinfurt Germany in 1972. My wife and I went to Oktoberfest where it was fashonable to try and sneak out of the tents with souvenir liter mugs. A couple of guys from my unit did this and were quite proud. Not to be out done I left the tent with a wooden chair with HB (Hofbrau) carved in it. This chair proudly sits in my home today still "on loan" from the Hofbrau tent in Munich. Regards - Tom

Just starting out in our adventures around the world, my husband and I don't have a lot of money. We're lucky to have enough to get back home much less bring half the country with us. The one sourvenir we ALWAYS buy is a unique, or culturally native, picture frame. When we get home, we put one of the many pictures we took while in the specific place. It's a great way to display our pictures and still have sometime tangible.<BR>

Something to remind me of the area. For example, Paris equals shopping so Longchamps, Hermes, makeup, perfume, ticky tacky eiffel towers, pictures from the booksellers by the river. Nice and Provence equal cooking so herbs, olive oil, fabric. Italy equals food and shopping so shoes, leather goods, wine etc.

I always try to find a quite ridiculous and fun trinket like my Pope Snowglobe from Rome. And I always buy a piece of jewelry that is I find unique. necklaces and earrings are the usual finds.

I've got coffee mugs (one each) from Portugal, the Czech Republic and Ireland. I've got crystal wineglasses from the Czech Republic and Ireland. And some teak bowls from Thailand. Also, a ring from Thailand, one from Greece, and one from the Czech Republic. So...I guess I always get things i could use in the kitchen, or things i can wear. And everything's small enough to stuff in my suitcase.<BR><BR>Betsy - a Pope snowglobe? THAT is hilarious. My boyfriend wanted me to get him a Stonehenge snowglobe when I visited England, but alas, there were none.

Stationary and pens from the hotel rooms.

Masks. We have traveled often in Mexico and South America, and use the masks as a decorating scheme; we're planning on one from Venice this trip.

A poster for whatever the "Special exibit" is at the big museum in town. Has the city and year, and hopefully reminds you of something you saw that was special at that museum.

Depends on the trip. We went for our 20th anniversary at the same time as we took our 3 teens for 3 weeks. Twentieth anniversary is the china anniversary so they helped us pick out a set of china at Villeroy&Bosch in Paris. We love it.

I collect blue jugs - so always pick up a piece of local pottery if I can. Also try and always get a piece of art, preferably a watercolour. Nothing precious, just something that when my husband and I look at it, it brings back memories. And I always pick up a little something that I can use/make into a Christmas tree ornament. After 20 some years of travelling we have a wonderful collection. My husband also collects Carrig ware pottery fr. Ireland so we are always on the lookout for that, Torquay pottery for my mother, and Cornishware for my sister. When we started picking up pieces they were dirt cheap, now they are getting a bit harder to find. My one regret is not picking up pieces of Clarice Cliff pottery when it was going for a pound or so.

You have given me some new ideas. One cheap thing we collect in Southern Europe are the cardboard beermats. We have a basket full of them that we use at home. I usually write the place and date on the mat. It helps bring back memories. We also usually buy one of the little ceramic coasters with the different towns pictured on the coaster.

and it's a good thing, too, gretchen--god knows you can't get villeroy & boch (not bosch) in the US, right? and it's more convenient to ship it from europe than buy it here, anyway...

Not that I planned to, but I'm acquiring a small collection of facecloths -- bought in Dublin, Paris, and Amsterdam--since moderate hotels and B&Bs only have them about half the time. Now when a facecloth at home begins to look a bit threadbare, I toss it in my suitcase (though I rather like shopping in the local equivalent of Kmart in other countries).

a bad case of crabs...

I look for playing cards and book markers. The cards in Italy are so well made that they last for years...

My grandmother showed this thread to my grandfather and he replied, deadpan, "a piece of German shrapnel."<BR>A reminder of how easy we have it now days, and how ultimately unimportant some of our complaints are. Thanks, gramps.

ttt

for the places I tend too travel too and activiteis I do.. bringing my self home is enough.. <BR><BR>I like bringing back basically what would be called trash. for instance empty packets of strange potato chips like TOMATO PUFFS from Syria.. or place mats from SANTAS hamberger joint in bangkok. which has a picture of Santa claus hurling a smiling baby.. <BR><BR>I'm all about the stories as well..

A refridgerator magnet ( I was stymied in Turkey---I couldn't find one in five days of travel!). Also, something that is unique to the country (as another poster suggested)---this year it was an Irish Linen tablecloth in Ireland.

I brought back 2 web addresses from Ireland and revive the beautiful memories of my trip almost every day.www.rte.ie has 4 radio channels and I am listening to classical music on one of them,Lyric FM, as I write this.Sometimes too I read The Irish Times on www.ireland.com

That's an easy one for me. Aside from little momentos (sp?), scarves from France, tea from England, crystal from Prague, my favorite thing to bring back is food! I literally load up a shopping bag full of stuff! Coffee, tea, dried beans, cookies, fancy and unusual seasonings and spices, of course lots of chocolate! Having lots of little dry goods on hand to use to cook meals brings back many fond memories from the places we travelled. I also try to bring back cookbooks. <BR>Carol

Pint glasses from all the dodgy pubs, clubs and bars I've been to over Eastern Europe.

CamCorder Videotapes.<BR><BR>Why? In a word: sounds. The organ at Sacre Couer. Crashing surf at Amalfi. That bobbing-cork boat trip to Capri. Thunder and lightning at Assisi. Gondoliers chatting up customers. An amazing rendition of Bach's Brandenburg performed on a souped-up accordion in the caverns of the Lausanne hauptbanhof. <BR><BR>The combination of images and sounds recreate that singular presence that still pictures hint at and postcards totally lack.<BR><BR>

charms for my bracelet...i love to wear it...

On a recent trip to Paris I fell in love with BHV -- only bought a couple of tea towels and small baking dish, but it could have been worse if they had had 14 of the door knobs I wanted for my kitchen ;)