Do you buy souvenirs when you’re away on vacation? Do you scour the shops for a special memento to bring home with you? What kind of souvenirs do you buy?
I’ve taken a few special trips so far in my life but I’ll admit to not having had a specific plan for souvenir shopping before I embarked on the trips. I’ve left it to chance.
When my daughter and I went to Greece, for instance, I abandoned myself to the pleasure of shopping without any souvenir plan. Despite that, I made some satisfying choices for my souvenir purchases.
In Crete I bought a beautiful silver ring with the Greek symbol for eternity flanking a blue opal stone which shimmered with the same blue hues as the Greek sea. I love how it feels when I wear it.
Then I did stumble upon a souvenir plan. Each island’s shops sold card decks with photos of the sights on the island. After I bought the first deck in Mykonos I looked for and purchased decks in Crete and Santorini. The fifty-two different photos in each deck transport me to the places we visited on our trip.
On our last day in Athens I fell in love with a soft leather backpack I found in a tiny shop. I asked the salesgirl if it had been made in Greece. She affirmed that it had been made in this shop. I looked over her shoulder to where an older gentleman was watching us, gauging my reaction to what was clearly the product of his craftsmanship.
I buy souvenirs so I can remember fondly the time I spend exploring a faraway and exotic place. Not only do they allow me to bring a piece of the place home with me, they help me remember the way it felt to be there.
Do you collect a certain type of item like spoons, fans, or hats? What kind of souvenirs do you buy?
photo credit: Jepoirrier
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Hey @Lori late to the party. I am not much of a souvenir kinda guy but I do like to try the local foods when I travel and if I can get a recipe that's always a bonus. I do have a thing for ball caps and t-shirts. Boring, I know but I always try to find an article of clothing that is in the region even if it's a cheezy t.
@rdopping @Lori Hi Ralph! Ball caps and t-shirts are boring? :-o I disagree! Managing to get a recipe at a foreign country- inspiring! Tasting the local cuisine is such a huge part of the travel experience.Where have you traveled that you remember most fondly?
@Lori Wow, it's been a while but the best was Spain with France as a close second. There's also FLA but that doesn't count. Too much like home.
Never souvenir shop Lori. Although when I was 8 I did return home with a donkey from Spain, 2 ft tall, loved that donkey, even named in Tony. Sadly he was confiscated the day I needed to go for a tetanus shot, Toni was made with rusty nails and didn't hang together well being ridden down a flight of stairs. Not too much blood but plenty screaming at the time. Ahhh, maybe that's why I don't do souvenirs! :-) RIP Tony.
@Dawn Barclay Yikes Dawn, this is a souvenir nightmare!!! At first I thought you brought home a live donkey (missed the 2 ft tall part!) RIP Tony! LOL
@Lori No 'he' was plastic, metal and rusty nails. Live donkey, that would've been some souvenir! One day I'll tell you about the litter of kittens I did arrive home with (not from Spain though, the farmer along the road!) :-) Love xx
I used to plan my souvenir shopping around the gifts I had planned for others and would often forget to pick something up for myself!I find that I rarely buy souvenirs anymore, but when I do, they are often small and meaningful so that when I pick them up, I too am transported back to that trip - the sounds, the smells, and especially the people!
@Sabrina at MyMiBoSo Hi Sabrina! I too had a list of friends and family I wanted to shop for! It's funny that you mention the smells. Each place has its own specific smell and there's nothing like aroma to capture a memory!
Hi Lori,
It's very rare that we actually go on vacation - but when we do, inevitably we wander somewhere that we find that one "perfect thing" that captures the feeling of the place. For our honeymoon, it was a framed, signed print of a covered bridge in a local artist's studio, On our most recent Bahamas trip, it was a wooden mask of a sea woman that my husband picked out. Actually I'm trying to think if we have been anywhere else in the 17 years we've been together and ummm...wow, I need a vacation!
@Julie | A Clear Sign Hi Julie! "Capturing the feeling of the place" describes well what souvenirs should do! When we were on our honeymoon there were seagulls around the property next door. we ended up finding a unique carved piece of two seagulls sitting on a post - like the ones who were our neighbours! Fun!
Where will your next dream trip take you?
I don't scout for souvenirs but if something attractive and something specific to the place catches my eye, I buy that.
@Rachna Hi Rachna! Welcome to Life, for instance! That's a plan in itself: something attractive and specific to the place. Where have you traveled? What's your most valued souvenir?
No souvenirs, thank you! But I love to buy locally produced food: honey, olive oil, wine, cheese. Ah, I forgot the walking stick I bought for my mom last time I was in England. The story of transporting it around England and on the flight back home would make for a wonderful post.
And going to the local markets and starting a conversation with a vendour followed by hours of endless bartering will eventually lead to buying stuff I do not really want, but I cherish the stories and the pictures taken!
@Late_Bloomers Well that's a heck of a way to get a great photo and to have an 'excuse' to make a purchase! @bdorman264 too buys food when he travels. I buy food too, but I EAT it! ;-) I never really thought of bringing some home, though the olive oil in Greece was so inexpensive I really wanted to!
That walking stick sounds interesting. Did I miss the post? Tell that story!!!
@Lori @bdorman264 You are so spot on, except when you are landed with an absolutely ridiculous hat - and that was in India, so I had to bring it back home on the plane!
When I travel around in Europe it is mostly done by driving so I can buy lots of food and take it home.
The walking stick post? Still in the making ... due to constipation there is a major delay!
@Lori Oh, dear, LOL, this reminds me of some years back in the English countryside when all the older people would load their plates with prunes at breakfast time and I could not figure why!
@Late_Bloomers @bdorman264 Ahhh It must be so nice to live so near to so many wonderful destinations! Keep on telling the stories (am repeating myself? ;-) Listening to you tell them is like having a window seat in your car.
P.S. Prunes, my friend, prunes LOL
I like to buy clothes whenever I travel. That way, I actually get utility out of my souvenirs instead of them just sitting in my closet. Plus, it's always fun whenever someone compliments what I'm wearing and I can respond "Thanks! I got it in Dubai/Copenhagen/Wherever." Great conversation starter!
@AdamBritten Hi Adam! Do you travel with a relatively empty suitcase and buy your clothes away? For that matter, you could buy a suitcase away! :-) I imagine they would be conversation-starters! It must feel good to wear them too!
Great post, Lori! When I'm traveling, I usually keep my eye out for souvenirs that fall into these categories: a) something that is beautiful and useful (like the leather backpack you found); b) something that is beautiful, unique, and probably can't be found elsewhere (like the ring you mentioned); c) something that will remind me of this place forever; and d) something that a loved one will appreciate and enjoy. I usually don't ever buy the gimmicky or "touristy" souvenirs...I'd much rather hunt around and find something that will fall into my categories. Usually, I stumble upon them when I'm not even really looking! It's always a wonderful discovery, and just adds to my memories of the trip.
@annedreshfield Hi Anne! It sounds like you have thought this out! The first big souvenir I bought on my first big trip was a couple of carved pewter goblets in Germany. They were beautiful and useful, unique, something that reminds me of the trip forever and a second one so my [then] future husband could enjoy them with me. I don't go in for the touristy things either, unless you count the card decks in that category. They really were the best and cheapest way to get 52 photos of the places! ;-)
Have you ever bought one souvenir that filled all four requirements? Do you have your next trip in sight? Where will you go?
@Lori Hmm...good question! I can't thin of anything off the top of my head that fulfills all four requirements, but there are things the fulfill a couple! I usually know that's happening when I buy something for a friend while traveling...and then want it for myself so badly that I buy another one! :) My next trip will be to Hawai'i this winter. I can't wait!
@annedreshfield Hawaii! That sounds like fun!
I have nothing in particular planned.... but yes, I do end up buying a postcard of every place I go to. Also, I have a thing for handmade colorful items. So basically, it is anything that catches my eye. Also, my professor accompanied us to a college trip and she said that once you buy something made by the local people there then it ends up being special somehow.
@Hajra Handmade AND colorful! Yes! Do you enjoy the shopping when traveling? Where will your next trip take you?
@Lori I do enjoy shopping when travelling. But then the luggage limitations makes me think so much more! :) But yes, I make sure I end up buying something!
I just took a trip to India recently, went for my friends wedding and then I visited Oman.... so no trip for sometime now!
@Lori Oh yes it was! And we drove all the way to Oman....so it was even more wonderful! :)
@Hajra Right - you had the trip to India! Nice! Oman must have been amazing to see! Looking at Google images makes me want to go there!
I love the handmade items too. I always try to find something that wouldn't be available any where else. While in Portugal and Greece I picked up pottery and now in Hawaii I'm obsessed with ceramic turtles... all made by local artists. I rarely end up keeping my souvenirs though because there is always one more person I wished I had bought for so I end up gifting away everything I bring home!
@blisshabits Hi Kathy! You've been to Greece! I'd love to go to Portugal - it's on my list. Yes, something exclusively available in a place is the best kind of souvenir! Definitely something made there. I ended up doing what you said - giving away more than I'd planned. Everyone got gifts from Greece that Christmas. Making them Christmas gifts helped justified the amount I spent :-o
You're in Hawaii now - on vacation? I wish I could see those ceramic turtles...
@Lori I am in Hawaii for a 5 week stay... we're contemplating a future move here so were testing it out! I'll take some photos once I settle on the turtles that win a ride home in my suitcase!!
Portugal is fabulous! Less touristy then many other places and the food is marvelous!!! Do go if you can!
@blisshabits That's quite a move, I bet! Not like just moving over to a different state!
Portugal just moved higher up on my list! :-)
My hubby is a photographer, and I've found that having his images as the artwork in our home take me back to that time and place in an instant.
@kathy116 Hi Kathy! Have you met @Ellen Berg - she has a photographer husband and framed photos in her home too! (Why didn't I think of that!?)The photos sure do bring the memories back, don't they!/ ~ sigh ! ~ Where will your next trip take you? Do you ever buy personal items?
Welcome to Life, for instance Kathy! :-)
Love this, Lori! I have a beautiful handmade leather purse I purchased in Costa Rica and a handwoven table runner from Guatemala, but the souvenir I collect most often is photographs. My hubby is a photographer, and I've found that having his images as the artwork in our home take me back to that time and place in an instant. With anything, though, I want to capture the spirit of the place and people.
@Ellen Berg Hi Ellen! Don't you just love the handcrafted items!? I love wearing my backpack as a purse (large purses just happen to be in style now - yay!) It's often that someone comments on either the ring or the back pack. Maybe it's my special attachment to them?
Do you frame your husband's photos of your trips? That would bring it all back!
Welcome to Life,for instance Ellen!
@Lori Yes! Handcrafted is the best. I always get compliments on my purse.
And yes, we frame the photos. Hubby sets up a booth at the local art fair too, so during the rest of the year I can rotate things in and out to suit my mood. :)
@Ellen Berg I like the way you write Ellen; a soulfulness".You make me want to go there! I've never been to Latin America.
@Lori I'm dying to go back to Latin America. I'd love to go to Columbia or Nicaragua...there's a soulfulness to Central and South America that I love.
@Ellen Berg Where will your next big trip take you Ellen?
Hi Lori, nice post. Through the years while traveling across Canada and around the world with the military I had collected a number of things. It really was getting to be too much and the souvenirs served no practical service anymore. One day I just pitched everything to the garbage or to a Good Will program. I actually felt relieved to get rid of the clutter. I do have many pictures that I have taken during my visits and memories to last a life time.
@JimK Hi Jim! I'm sure it felt good to clutter-clear things which had no meaning for you any longer. You raise a good point: should souvenirs be decorative or have a practical use. I'd never throw out my pewter goblets from Germany or my ring from Greece! I know you're a photographer and pictures count but what will you do for your next trip? To souvenir or not to souvenir....
@Lori @JimK Like everything in life, I believe if it's useful, meaningful or treasured, it's a keeper. Otherwise, I'm the Master of Purging:)
@Lori @JimK woot woot!
@KDillabough @JimK The Master of Purging and the Queen of Uni-tasking! LOL
I haven't been on a trip in forever! But if I went I'd be on the lookout for anything with frogs for my mo, socks for a friend of mine, or anything else that would add to someone's collection of stuff. It's fun to find out if someone's interested in something.
I'd collect pictures of new people and a notebook of memories. That's it!
Meant to say "my mom"!! Ha!
@CrossBetsy I was wondering who your "mo" was ;-) What do you mean by pictures of new people Betsy?
@CrossBetsy I bet those are interesting pictures Betsy! Do you ever blog about this? I'd love to see some!
@Lori conversation
@Lori I'd take pictures of people I'd meet and talk to. That's fun. The person on the plane, the tour guide, the waiter, anybody with whom I had an interesting converstaion.