shirlgirl98

On my first trip to Europe in 1990 I bought two terry cloth robes in Paris (2nd day of a 17 day trip) because they were about $12.00 each. My traveling companion, this being her 9th trip, said, "Boy, I bet you can't get those back in the states." I still laugh thinking about hauling those bulky robes through Switzerland, Italy and Germany for the next two weeks!

scatcat

I bought a set of enamelware canisters and
3 other pieces of French enamelware at the Paris flea market. That was on the third day of a 15 day trip. By the time I got back to the states, I could match another body builder lifting weights- at least with my right arm.

lucy_d

On my first trip to Paris, I spent over an hour in a shop carefully selecting a dozen or so glass Christmas ornaments for myself, my mother and sisters. I packed them with painstaking care and thought I had purchased the most beautiful treasures ever. At home a week later, I saw all the same ornaments at Pier One Imports and felt like a complete idiot!

Also, upon someone else's recommendation, and because they were cheap and looked interesting, I bought three candle holders at the salt mines in Krakow last summer. They have almost completely melted. Don't buy merchandise made of salt unless you intend to cook with it.

cls2paris

A friend asked me to pick him up a set of metal bocce balls. I foolishly said yes. Not only did a spend way too much time trying to find them, they were heavy. And I had just one bag so I had to carry them. I got stopped at security, for some reason, I guess it looked suspicious that I had packed a box containing metal balls.

Daneille

a trip to Murano years ago and on a very strict budget I bought what I thought was a Venetian Glass perfume bottle (there was no way the salesman was going to tell me otherwise), I painstainkingly carried it throughout the rest of my trip only to arrive home and find the exact same thing in many local gift shops and made in Egypt AND cheaper than I'd paid in Venice. They're everywhere - you probably know what I'm talking about. Anyway it smashed to smithereens about a year later and the only thing I lamented was the money I'd spent on it in the first place.

laclaire

When I was living in spain for the first time, I discovered "lactovit" soap. It is a liquid soap that smells like the first morning on earth and I love it. So, I took a bottle home and put it in the bathroom I shared with my mother. She fell in love and ever since then, every single time I come home she says "Oh, bring Lactovit" as if the bottle didn't weigh a ton (it seems to only come in family size) and the cap weren't prone to coming off (it has on 2 occasions). I hate carrying it!

Neopolitan

Two large bottles of really fine olive oil from a Tuscan shop -- pretty expensive but had a wonderful taste. About a month after I got home I found the same exact bottles of the same brand in my upscale market at home -- at a lot less money than I paid in Tuscany!

1travelbug

My coworker asked if I'd bring back some Branson Pickles from London (she grew up there). Of course, it was my first trip so I said yes, not really thinking about the fact that I was backpacking AND the pickles were in a glass jar AND that London was the first leg of a 10-day trip...lucky for the pickles, they made through London, Paris, Barcelona and Newark unscathed.

Turns out, you can get the darn things in the states in select stores that cater to British tastes.

Needless to say, since then I've avoided any requests from the states for "special" souvenirs to avoid being in such a pickle again. Ugh...bad pun but had to do it. Sorry folks...it's late...

Christina

cigalechanta

we were staying one year in a remote village in the Auvergne. It had one food shop and it had one of those ceramic heads of Pierrot that has french popular lollypops stuck in holes.
I asked the lady if I could buy the display head, lollypops and all.
I brought the purchase and only when I was home did I notice Pierrot was made in china. But still it sits on my bookcase reminding me of this village where we have stayed twice through the years.

1travelbug

But were those lollies good anyway, chigale (I'll bet they were...)?

1travelbug

Oops, I mean "cigale"...again, it's late...

cigalechanta

Yes, I ate all of them except for a few that visitors enjoyed(sheepishly)

StCirq

I brought back about two dozen beautiful Limoges porcelaine doorknobs, intending to replace all the doorknobs in my house with them...only to find they were of course metric-sized and would not fit. Still have them...anyone want them?

Marsha

A pair of sexy, blue, spike-heeled sandals! At twenty, I thought they were wonderful. Of course, I couldn't really walk in them. I think I wore them twice.

katt58

My mother-in-law bought a jar of pickled herring and then left it in the back window of our rental car in July. Now that was an interesting odor. The thought of it still makes me a bit nauseous.

nukesafe

There was my English bride ----

shirlgirl98

StCirq, have you thought about mounting some of those Limoges door knobs on a board to create a beautiful rack to hang coats, bags, hats, etc. on?

Lynn_Gibson

I bought a fountain (a rather small one) in Rousillon for my patio. I had to purchase a suitcase to haul it home in (was too nervous about it breaking to have it shipped) and then proceeded to gingerly carry it on the train from Avignon back to Paris and on the plane home to California. Of course, when I got home, I realized I couldn't plug it in...wrong voltage.

However, I did get it fixed so that I could use it and am enjoying it now (I can hear the fountain from my office).

LoveItaly

St Cirq, shirlgirl's suggestion for your beautiful Limoge doorknobs is a fantastic idea!! You could even use some for towels in the bathroom etc. Or for hanging a teatowel in your kitchen etc. etc.