What's your best trip souvenir?

[Desertbelle]

My favorite souvenir is a new booking with an on-board booking credit.

 

Oh, I really like those too!! :D :D

[WooKeef]

I'd get in trouble if I didn't say my best souvienier from a cuise is my boyfirend, who I met on a Carnival (yes, I know, I didn't pick it) cruise in 2001. That said, I too get Chirstmas ornaments from the ship and from the various ports.

 

With Greece and Turkey as your itinerary, you should have some lovely items to choose from. (Disclaimer: my expereince with these countries is 20 years old.) First, have some baklava -- I actually preferred the Turkish to the Greek. If you need "trinket" gifts, consider some evil eye jewelry in Greece. I also have a lovely pair of heavily embroderied satin slippers that I got in Ankara. I grew out of them fairly quickly, but they still remind me of the market where I got them, feeling overwhelmed by the "exotic" sights and sounds and smells.

 

The slippers sound beautiful! Just wondering where in VA you are. I am a dislocated Virgina girl myself and happened to catch your location. I am from Roanoke.

Woo

[WooKeef]

We're not so much souvenir shoppers, but we will pick up a print from a local artist at times. We have a number of them around the house and it's true, they cost anywhere from $5 - 150 to purchase, then hundreds to frame properly.

 

We have a photo album dedicated to just formal shots from all our cruises, so we usually pick up at least one each cruise. My favorite I have framed over my desk and I can see it while I'm here on CC!

 

I agree, that is a fantatstic idea. The DH and I picked up a beautiful oil painting in London two Thanksgivings ago. Got it in a art show outside of Hyde park! Now it always reminds me of England!

[cusyl]

We collect art from local artists and refrigerator magnets. From our first voyage on the QM2 we have a large litheograph from the ship which can only be purchased onboard.

[cruising*rabbit]

My favorite place to look for souveniers is a local supermarket. Spices, toothpaste, chocolate, coffee or a local favorite are among some of the items I've brought back over the years.

 

I find it fun to check out the different packaging and to find things I've never seen before. I get some useful items, don't spend a lot and as you use them at home it's a great reminder of the trip. Plus, you have the added bonus of usually seeing a part of town off the beaten tourist track.

 

I have also noticed that a lot of markets around the world sell some of the same things you find in stores in the tourist area that you'd be bringing back for friends or family at a much more reasonable price (such as candy).

[WooKeef]

Hi everyone,

I didn't think of this before since I'm not sure this qualifies as a souvenir but I rescued a puppy in Grand Cayman, and Katie became a member of our household for 15 years. I rescued the dog on our cruise

day in Grand Cayman, took it to the local rescue center and then adopted Katie. She definitely was the most expensive item I've ever received from a trip ,and the absolute best.

k.k.

 

Good for you!:D That is a wonderful thing to do for another creature.

What a sweet story.

[Palos Verdes]

Wookef, thank you for the kind invitation to join you. Sounds good. What places interest you? We are reading, watching travel films, and learning from friends who are recent travelers to Greece. Their photos are on a website that we can forward to you--Pompeii and Herculanem, for example. They look professional and make me feel that I am there.:)

How do we email you directly?

Lori and Dennis

[Palos Verdes]

Thank you for the kind invitation to join you. Sounds good. What places interest you? We are reading, watching travel films, and learning from friends who are recent travelers to Greece. Their photos are on a website that we can forward to you--Pompeii and Herculanem, for example. They look professional and make me feel that I am there.:)

How do we email you directly?

Lori and Dennis

[amyr]

Hi everyone,

I didn't think of this before since I'm not sure this qualifies as a souvenir but I rescued a puppy in Grand Cayman, and Katie became a member of our household for 15 years. I rescued the dog on our cruise

day in Grand Cayman, took it to the local rescue center and then adopted Katie. She definitely was the most expensive item I've ever received from a trip ,and the absolute best.

k.k.

 

That's wonderful! How did you get Katie home with you?

[BocaRoo]

... I bought a very, very tiny (2" wide x 2" high), beautifully handwoven basket with a top. The craftsman/womanship is exceptional, especially because it's so tiny. I purchased it at the pier from one of the many vendors right next to the ship - this was before the pier was rebuilt. The basket sits on my dresser, filled with a few tiny shells, where it brings back lovely memories of a wonderful cruise!

[alfiemom]

You've burst my bubble! I thought we had such a novel idea...original art from the places we've visited. Now I find out that quite of few of you do that. We limit the pieces to small things and, yes, they cost to frame. I use only colored metal frames and have hung the pieces around my pantry door. It's great to look at the artwork and remember the trip. We also only get signed pieces. We were outside Hemingway house in Key West and noticed a fellow doing watercolors of the house. He had complete ones and we bought that. In Aurba, we asked the artist, a young man on the pier with his wife and baby, to please sign his work. He seemed a little surprised by that, but gladly did it. May never hear about him again, but it's still signed.

 

Bobbie

[kk99]

Hi,

For those who asked, after I rescued the puppy,and took it to the local Humane Society on Grand Cayman, I gave the director my card and cell phone number and paid for the dog's medical treatment and boarding for the next 30 days. After 30 days passed, and no one had claimed the dog, I flew back to Grand Cayman and picked up the dog who I named Katie, and flew back home with her in first class on frequent flyer miles! There was a fair amount of paperwork to clear her to come into the U.S. but it was all worth it. Definitely one of the best things I ever did. I love hearing about everyone's favorite souvenirs, it will inspire me on my next cruise to find something memorable.

k.k.

[patrickc]

A hand painted sink from Mexico! Too many coronas & next thing you know, am hauling a sink through the streets of Cozumel, wrapped in a flour sack. I also love to pick up shells, stones, sand from any place I visit- and put them in jars/label & keep on my hutch in family room.. I even have sand/rocks from desert & pine cones from different mountains in jars..

[tg_lindo]

I'm with cruising*rabbit on this one. Grocery stores are fascinating! (I like to cook)

I was so sad in Aruba because all the Dutch cheeses were so tempting, but I had no idea how I'd get them home w/o refrigeration.

In Hawaii, I got a pack of "ogo" seaweed, a critical component of "ahi poke." The security guard would not let me bring it back onto Infinty because it was classified as "raw or unprocessed food" and therefore against the rules.

In Barbados, the foil pouches of Bajan seasonings made for some exotic grilled fish and chicken dinners back home. And Bajan hot sauce (includes mustard and scotch bonnet chiles... 5 alarms!!) is unique.

Antigua had curry powders and masalas from Trinidad and jerk paste from Jamaica - all brands I have not seen in the US.

The most exotic find was the "green fairy"....in St Maartin.... bottles of the notorious liquor absinthe from France and Czech Republic. It's not illegal to possess it in the US, it just cannot be sold in the US.

[Chorts]

My favorite is an ulu knife and pasta paws from Ketchikan. I use them all the time. I just love the ulu knife. My daughter in law told me I had to go back to Alaska because she wanted some pasta paws. Little does she know that I brought her and DD each a set of pasta paws and an ulu knife to use as a stocking stuffer for Christmas.

I also have a pair of lounging pajamas from St Thomas that I wear every night after my shower. I would have to say that these three items are my favorites.

[Shirley and Les]

The small piece of "pod bearing" that a ship mechanic crafted into a necklace "charm" for my wife has special memories for us about our "mechanical problem delays" cruise. :p :p :p
[B][SIZE=3][COLOR=red]HEY, it's a joke!!![/COLOR][/SIZE][/B]
Les

[dmarch@islc.net]

My small Zebra skin we purchased threw a licensed dealer in Africa. I love to tell lies when company comes over (and the wife is in another room) about how we got it. My fav is that we met this bold little Zebra that would actually let you pet him. Some of the people in our party named him George. I couldn't figure out why my wife was seemingly measuring George while everyone else was busy petting and feeding him, not until I overheard her tell the bushman "kill it and send me the skin". People that don't know us well actually believe it. They look at my wife funny for the rest of the night.

[Andros]

My favorite souvenir was the salt crystal lamp I got in Alicante, Spain. Found it at the open market downstairs in the back corner at an herbal remedy stand. The glowing light attracted my attention and I had to have one:rolleyes: . I got one of the smaller sized ones for about 25 euros. They had larger ones and they went up to 50-60 euros. It came with a european plug which allowed me to use it on the ship. When I got home, a simple change of the cord and light from a Christmas decoration worked perfect(like you use for a window candle or house village!). I love to turn it on and just remember what a great time we had on our Transatlantic crossing!

[Longboysfan]

The people I meet on the ship.

The memory cuboard get's fuller and fuller with each trip.

[Blazerboy]

Gee, Longboysfan, I read through all the pages wondering if I'd be the one to post that, but ya' just beat me to it.:)

Yes, we collect the Christmas ornaments, sometimes a magnet, ALWAYS some gourmet products (tg_lindo, if you're in Scotland, look for jars of Banana Chutney! YUM!!! - figures it'd be another foodie from the Bay Area that talked about food souvenirs...)

But our favorite thing to collect is friends...we've gotten such cute ones over the years...no two alike! We tried to keep them at home with us, but realized they'd be happier if we set them free to roam (cruise!) in the wild...but we must have bonded, because they always return to cruise with us, the little darlings...;)

But if we keep this up, they're going to have to make larger tables in the dining room!!!!!:eek:

Andrew

[golfnkitties]

Longboysfan and Blazerboy, you both hit the nail on the head ! We hope to join the ranks of Blazerboys friends in 78 days!:D ~~~ We started on our first cruise with cat figurines, cat magnets, etc. and also the important one, a gold bracelet for me!;) I now am up to 17 and will look for 18th in Hawaii in October ! Can't lift my arms anymore, so went to ankles for a bit.:o:o Memories come back with each bracelet, and we relive laughs often. :)

[cat616]

I always look for handcrafts or artwork made in the country we are visiting.

I love my Father Frost bought from a street vendor in St. Petersburgh, Russia.

My DH's "Silly Hat" bought from the artist/street vendor in Helsinki always makes us laugh.

I am really looking forward to finding some nice new pieces to add to our collection on our upcoming Panama Canal cruise.

I like the idea of collecting the Boarding Pictures in one album.

Happy Travels

Cindy

[Oakman]

Went into a jewelry store in Santorini. The salesman asked us if we saw anything we liked. We said"yes,as a matter of fact ,we love the light fixture that you chose for the store. He said "if you like it, you may have it. He packed it up, charged us a very minimum $50.00, and we were on our way. He even e-mailed us on our return to see how it looked in our home-Beautiful, by the way!

[luv2travell]

i collect gold charms in every country,post card,paper [FONT=Arial]currencies,magnet,mugs,ornaments:) :p [/FONT]

[adegner]

WOW! This is a great thread. Some of my favorite's:

Greece: Evil Eye Jewelry (I agree - that was cool!)
Pompei: Reproduction painting of a wall mural in Pompeii.
Italy: A small bottle of Olive Oil and some HUGE Lemons (I ate the lemons on the ship but I still have the bottle of Olive Oil)
Mexico: A small statue of a skeleton riding a horse that is rearing (the horse is also a skeleton)
London: A very old Wegewood teapot that I purchased on Portobello Rd's flee market.
Alaska: A seal skin thimble for sewing.