Keepsakes and Mementos From Places You've Traveled

Or, in other words, souvenirs. I'm not talking about hats and t-shirts though. My wife and I like to take something interesting home with us every time we visit a new city or country, something that reminds us of our time spent there.

I'm sure we're not the only ones so post your own mementos from places your visited, as well as any backstory behind the item. Think of this thread as another way to humble-brag about your own travels.

I'll start:

This is something we bought in Strasbourg, France. These types of half-timbered houses are very typical in Strasbourg and the Alsace region. Given the history of the area, the architecture, cuisine, and local dialect is closer to that of neighboring Germany than what one might consider typically 'French'.

These miniature, ceramic half-timbered houses can be found in gift shops all around the historic part of Strasbourg. We spent the better part of 2 hours going from store to store until we finally found the 'perfect' one.




- Brovsko

Despite living abroad and traveling quite a bit, I was never big on keepsakes from my travels. I did pick up some North Korean money while living in Seoul though:



I also always bring back (and my mother-in-law ships to me) large quantities of these Starbucks Double-Shots, which taste much better than the American equivalent:

@Claghorn - good stuff. how do the packages of Starbucks Double-Shots manage to clear U.S. customs? Have you ever run into issues?

Since Claghorn was the first to reply and because he's a Texan, this post is dedicated to him.

This is something we picked up at the Mexic-Arte Museum in Austin. Mexican painted skulls and skull drawings are quite common but I've never seen any as ornate and well-made as the ones at the Mexic-Arte Museum gift shop. Mind you, I've also never been to Mexico.

A traditional part of Día de los Muertos, these skulls (or Calaveras) are meant to honor, celebrate, and remember friends and family members who have passed away and to overcome the fear of death.







During our trip to Texas, my wife and I also visited wine country and stopped in Fredericksburg for a tasting at Fiesta Winery. We picked up a few bottles but those were gone pretty quickly. The only thing that remains are the glasses.




- Brovsko

When we travel we look for flea markets and try to come home with interesting small antiques. I have picked up vintage flags, whistles, small antique tools, posters, cuff links, religious and military items, medals, artwork, etc.

From Mexico we seem to bring back interesting shaped or etched glassware that we use to serve specific cocktails or refreshments. We also get handpainted tiles,bowls and wooden trays which are very practical.

For a few years it was "how big of a sea shell can we buy". Of course you have to carry it on the plane which is a pain. Fortunately we have plenty of coral and shells now

From when I worked for the Santa Fe Railway and spent six out of every seven days (most weeks) on the train, one of the little wrapped bars of Pullman Company soap that were on the sinks in all Pullman cars. The Pullman Company ceased operations on December 31st, 1968. A few years later, on April 30th, 1971, railroad passenger service in the United States ended, as did our jobs.



For those who have never seen a real American passenger train, here's a picture I took in 1963 of one of the Pullman Porters on the eastbound Chief talking to some kids on the platform at (as it was called in those days) Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal.

The idea of a momento is nice but the challenge is to not clutter up your house with stuff. I've known a few who try to stick to a theme - pebbles, cut crystal figures/animals etc but identifying which relates to which holiday or trying to find your 10th cut crystal that signifies Paris (but not another french city) causes problems if places become your goto location for long weekends etc.

Many of my cufflinks have been bought on holiday, but thats more a sign of my issue of remembering to pack them than an intentional buying them as keepsakes.

Most the rest would be random one off pieces, like during our last trip to Rome the store assistant in Chanel overheard my wife saying she collects minature perfumes (but maybe not her complaining that Chanel doesnt make normal minatures that contain the cheaper eau de toilette etc) and came back and gave her a 1ml minature in display case... a free gift is certainly an improvement on the normal being followed by store security. In Kenya we traded a Nivana t-shirt and some batteries for a small stool that looked ancient but we fell in love with, probably a birthing chair or some other nasty story but the age/wear fits in perfectly in our house so ignorance is bliss

My wallet is from Singapore. My desert boots are from Lisbon. My corkscrew is from Madrid. My hammock is from Rio de Janeiro. My trainers are from Cairo. My coffee tin and cups are from Zanzibar. My gloves are from Milan. My belt is from New York. My ps is from the Charvet shop in Paris. My tweed jacket is from Cheltenham.

I avoid souvenirs per se, but I do love to buy everyday things while away on a trip so that I can reminisce on a daily basis.



Veremund said:

I do love to buy everyday things while away on a trip so that I can reminisce on a daily basis.

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When we were last in London we found a truly unique wool/cashmere throw (in a hunting shop) that we keep on our leather sofa in the den. My wife uses it almost daily now and regularly comments on what an enjoyable purchase it has been.

We shop a lot when we travel, especially in quirky and out-of-the-way stores, markets and workshops. We live by the mantra that if we see something special and if we have a place for it, we buy it. We don't go crazy for expensive things, just things we would never find on-line or in the US (which is getting harder to do!).

Roycru said:

From when I worked for the Santa Fe Railway and spent six out of every seven days (most weeks) on the train, one of the little wrapped bars of Pullman Company soap that were on the sinks in all Pullman cars. The Pullman Company ceased operations on December 31st, 1968. A few years later, on April 30th, 1971, railroad passenger service in the United States ended, as did our jobs.



For those who have never seen a real American passenger train, here's a picture I took in 1963 of one of the Pullman Porters on the eastbound Chief talking to some kids on the platform at (as it was called in those days) Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal.

Click to expand...

Truly fascinating post. I love seeing photos and items from that age.

Brovsko said:

Or, in other words, souvenirs. I'm not talking about hats [...]

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Well, you’re getting one anyway. This is Style Forum, after all …

A straw boater, souvenir from the 100th Bloomsday celebration, Dublin, June 16, 2004.



The association of the boater with Joyce is well known, and there are a number of iconic photographs of him wearing one. But why “Denny”? Because the Irish meat vendor Denny produces sausages mentioned by Leopold Bloom in the fourth chapter of Ulysses :

from Episode 4 – (“Calypso”)

“He stood by the nextdoor girl at the counter. Would she buy it too, calling the items from a slip in her hand. Chapped: washing soda. And a pound and a half of Denny's sausages. His eyes rested on her vigorous hips. Woods his name is. Wonder what he does. Wife is oldfish. New blood. No followers allowed. Strong pair of arms. Whacking a carpet on the clothesline. She does whack it, by George. The way her crooked skirt swings at each whack. The ferreteyed porkbutcher folded the sausages he had snipped off with blotchy fingers, sausagepink. Sound meat there like a stallfed heifer.”

As a very clever advertising ploy Denny gave them away in the hundreds (thousands?) on Bloomsday morning for the centenary. Here’s mine in situ, as I was resting on the stoop of a beautiful Georgian home on North Great Georges Street, down the block from the Joyce Centre, June 16, 2004.




Cheers,

Ac

For a video from a more recent Bloomsday with more than a few boaters:
http://jamesjoyce.ie/bloomsday/