California Souveneirs
 

My husband and I will be leaving (finally!!) for our trip to CA on Satruday morning. We will start in San Diego and make our way up to San Francisco over 2 weeks. We will be going to Tijuana for a few hours, San Diego, Santa Barbara, Palm Springs, Monterrey and San Francisco. Are there any special souveneirs I should look out for? I would like something that is typical of California or Mexico. Is there anything I should stay away from?
Any other words of wisdom would be appreciated!

I always bring back sourdough bread from San Francisco. It's always a hit with my friends.

Wine always makes a good souvenier from CA, just be sure it's packaged well so it isn't likely to break.

I like to purchase wine openers or other paraphernalia from the wineries I visit....they always have the winery name or logo....and they are small.

There are kinds of Mexican artifacts. You'll just see them everywhere when you go to Tijuana. It's up to you to decide what is useful or artistic. There's a lot of nice silver, but shop carefully.

If you like maritime stuff- check out San Diego Maritime Museum's gift shop!

I love my Mexican blanket that I bought 10 years ago in Tijuana. They start at $30 but you if you are good you can get them down to $10!

Is sour dough bread really only available in San Francisco?

Be careful with Mexican pottery...especially if you intend to eat off of it. It MUST be lead free if you intend to place food on it. And unfortunately, if you ask if it is lead free...they will say yes just to make a sale. I'd stick to decorative pieces only to be safe.

Hope this helps...
Debi

Not to be a killjoy but I really suggest skipping Tijuana. We decided to check it out two summers ago and it was really awful. If the street hawkers have their way the souveneir will be Viagra! I have been there before several years before this trip and it has gotten really bad. I saw a few decent shops with craft items I liked but the prices were about what you could find then for in San Diego. We took a bus from the US to Mexico which was worth the money for the time we saved crossing the border back into the US. If you feel like you must go, don't drive your car. The border crossing time must have been at least an hour the day we went.

Would also suggest skipping Tijuana. Not much there to see.

Right. Tijuana isn't nice at all. You can still find Mexican artifacts in California if you want them.

If you are expecting TJ to be like Cancun then you will be very sad.

If you want to experience a VERY different culture than what is only 2 miles away in San Diego then TJ can be a very fun day trip.

Beggers, hasslers, poor kids selling gum, fun shops with stuff made in China, donkeys painted to look like zebras, lots of guys trying to get you into their store. That about sums up TJ. We enjoy going there once every few years.

Do not drive. Park on the US side and take bus or walk over.

could i be the first person with wine on their minds?? ;-) in santa barbara and san francsico areas...i would hit the wineries and have stuff shipped home! love california, enjoy.

Sorry otto, I was the first with wine on the mind, but our great minds were working together. But your idea for shipping it is better than my idea for carrying it home. :-)

THanks for all of the suggestions. I am thinking wine will be a great souveneir. Also, the bread would be unique and probably unexpected!
In regards to silver, how do I know if it is real? What kind of marking should I look for?
The advice for the pottery is great; I was going to get my mom some but know they will only be for decoration!

Be careful with Mexican blankets. A friend bought one at a cruiseport and her cabin was thereafter infested with bugs who had been living in the blanket. If you buy one, bring a ziploc bag to store it in till you can get it home and check it out.

Don't buy Mexican silver. If you insist, sterling should legally be marked 925 on the back somewhere. Good luck finding that in TJ.

Thanks for the advice, Alice! Maybe I will find something else...

Sourdough bread is pretty common throughout California, not sure about other places. I do not particularly care for sourdough and sometimes it seems like you can't walk down the street without tripping over a loaf.

San Fran Christmas tree ornaments of cable cars.

San Diego Seaport Village has alot of nice tourist shops. I like nice picture postcards or small watercolor painitings of a distinguishing feature of the area.

Sometimes I buy picture calenders of the are for next year.

Santa Barbara has nice shops & farmers market where I have bought some nice things. Occasionally I have seen nice winery T shirts, or aprons or ball caps...I have seen some beautiful carbed wood and glass wine glases...

San Francisco sourdough is special. It's the recipe, the particular humidity in the air, the ovens. As one who left the Bay Area 30 years ago, I know, there's nothing like it. There is a bread company in Truckee that bakes sourdough and other breads and they are really good...the best around here, but they don't compare to San Franciso bread...or the Sonoma Bakery. My friends always bring me some when the come to visit. If you are going to be on the road some days, the bread would not be a good gift. It will get stale and it will turn into a rock. I find that if I get to it right away, wrap it well and freeze it, I can dampen the crust, put it in the oven and it's really good, but still not the same a purchased fresh daily.

From SF, I always bring back Sees lollipops or Mrs. Sees chocolates. Wine is a great choice but can be heavy if you're flying. You might want to see about having it sent.

>>i would hit the wineries and have stuff shipped home!<<

Out of curiosity: Has the policy changed according to which it appears to have been unlawful for the wineries to ship their products?
I was told last year that they could not even do intra-state shipping due to state legislation. I could not believe it in the first place anyway.

I agree with purchasing the blankets in Tijuana. We purchased a couple of them over 25 years ago, and it still looks like new.

Years ago, someone brought back a sourdough "starter" kit that you used at home to make your own sourdough. Why not look for one of those?

p_m, ha! i guess i overlooked your post. i would practically go to california just to stock up on wine!
hsv...very good question. i'm in new york, and there were always problems with shipping the wine into new york, although i think that just changed. i'm sure it depends on the state. kerry...perhaps just hit a few wineries website's before you go tomorrow, or just ask when you are there. i've carried wine home from paris and europe several times as well by myself, and never had too much of a problem.