Help. I am meeting distant relatives for the first time in rural greece. I would like to bring a small gift to help break the ice, but I don't know what to bring? It must be light and inexpensive. Are postcards showing Mt. St. Helens volcano and my hometown area tacky?

yes, that would be tacky. don't bring me a picture of your volcano. <BR> <BR>on the other hand, a nice bottle of wine, or liquour would be appreciated.

<BR>How about a stomach pump?

Arrin, <BR> <BR>Pictures are nice to show, to give them an idea of where you live, but not as a welcome gift. <BR> <BR>I would bring a nice bottle of wine and chocolates. I'm not even talking Godiva here. I go to Greece every summer to play and visit relatives, and they love chocolates...Cadbury, Hershey, etc. <BR> <BR>dee.

When we went to Greece last October, I wanted to bring a gift for the wonderful people who had helped us with our charter and one for the skipper of the boat.. (since our lives were "in his hands" I thought it better to be safe then sorry) I ended up getting a nice piece of Native American jewelry for the lady and since we live in Hollywood, a sort of funny Hollywood tourist T shirt which our captain surprised us by wearing everyday... so often that his collegues started referring to him as Capitainya Hollywood! They both seemed genuinely happy with their gifts.

I like the jewelry and T-shirt idea. Might be boring but we were very successful with bringing baseball caps.