Travel Souvenirs- what great things to bring from a trip!

Sep 26, 2006
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I love to travel and enjoy to bring home things that will remind me on my time abroad. So I thought it would be fun to collect tips on what to bring home from different locations. Let me start:

I generally like to buy little things as they do not weight much and can be a cute reminder to put in your purse or on your desk.
From museums I like to bring pencils and coffee mugs- I love to write and whenever I take a pencil I am reminded on a trip.

London: I love to buy coffee mugs at Fortnum and Mason as they do have a great selection there. I also love the scarf department- scarves are a great gift for loved ones as well. And of course the food hall is great for souvenirs.
Hatchards- a wonderful old bookshop which sells many special editions and is a far cry from the typical high street bookstore.
The V&A museum has wonderful gifts (how about a pair of nice earrings) that are affordable and wonderful books and greeting cards as well.
Topshop is a very stylish clothes shop, Kate Moss is doing collections for them! And the best is that it is affordable!

Munich: Go to Dalmayer for wonderfully packet food- the coffee is famous. Great for clothes is Beck am Rathauseck- it is a whole departmentstore with a great selection of papers and pens and cosmetics as well.
If you have small feet try Tretter- they have a good selection on nice but affordable shoes in smalles sizes!
 
I travel so much that I can't buy "stuff" anymore - my apartment is bursting already. So other than shopping for bags, I like to visit grocery stores when I travel. It's always interesting to see the similarities and differences in supermarkets around the world. Plus, I'm a foodie, so I like opening up my kitchen cabinets and seeing foods from around the world. I've brought home...

Tea, wine gums and chocolate from the U.K.
Mustard and tapenade from France
Saffron from Spain
Chocolate from Belgium
Olive oil, aged balsamic vinegar and dried mushrooms from Italy
Chocolate flakes from Holland
Cadbury Koalas from Australia
Spices from Israel and Dubai
Dates from Oman
XO sauce from Hong Kong

And probably plenty of other foods I can't remember anymore.

I'm also big on visiting drugstores and my bathroom is full of products from Boots and Monoprix. And when I run out of something, it means I have to think about going back for more!
 
When we went on all our trips this year (Berlin, Paris, Italy, Switzerland and Germany) we really tried to get things for our house. In Paris and Italy we bought water colors or oil paintings from artists on the street. (We don't get them with a frame, so the artist just rolls them up and they're easy to fit in the suitcase). They might not be great art, but we love them, they were affordable, and they will always remind us of our traves when we look at them.

We haven't been married too long, and neither of us had a lot of house decor, so that's what we mainly focus on when we travel. Other than that, we see what each location has to offer and try to get some staples that are known to be good in that area.
 
We only really went on one trip this year, but we brought back from Ecuador:

T-shirts (a few people requested these)
A gorgeous framed painting of the Las Penas (my BF's brother is an artist)
Leather belts (for BF) and purses (for me)
Tagua nut jewelry (for me)
Other little knicknacks, such as games, cards, etc.
 
Regardless of what I bring back, at minimum I will get a magnet from where I've been. That way I can see a nice summary of my travels every time I go to the kitchen. :biggrin:.
 
I get a charm for my bracelet from each vacation I take. The last time we were in Europe I was succesful at getting a charm from everyplace we visited excpet Istanbul.

Each time I have been to Venice I also have come home with a painting.
 
I like to buy foodstuff and toiletries, so supermarkets and pharmacies are my favorite place to shop for souvenirs. I also like to buy artwork from street artists...when I get home, I have it professionally framed.

London - I always go to Boots, Tesco and Fortnum & Mason
Mexico - great for pottery and textiles
Brazil - great for coffee, wine, shoes
 
I always try to get a tea towel from every country. I decided a while back that I wanted souvenirs that I could always use. I also get a sticker to stick on an old travel trunk that we have.

The mother of an ex-boyfriend had a collection of souvenir spoons and she had them all in a small silver bowl that she would place on the table when she served coffee or tea to guests. Great for dinner conversation :smile:
 
Jewelry... Over the past 10 - 12 years, I've made it a point to always bring back a jewelry piece or two as a souvenir from the countries that I've visited. Each time that I wear the piece, it brings back fond memories of that country and the cities that I visited.