Souvenirs that you enjoy over the years

[Lsbcal]

I'm not one for bringing back a lot of stuff on trips but it is fun to find things that I frequently use. My favorite thing to bring back is a mug for coffee or tea. Here is one we picked up in The De Young Museum in San Francisco at an art exhibit featuring The Girl With a Pearl Earring:

What other fun or useful finds did you pick up?

 

[travelover]

I bought this in a gas station in Mexico.

 

[Nemo2]

Bought this at a roadside market in rural South Africa in early 1983 - it's still my favorite.

 

[Koolau]

I have a paper-weight on my desk that I've had for almost 50 years. It's a chunk of metal (actually a push rod assembly) torn from a Lycoming aircraft engine. I was flying the aircraft when the engine self destructed. The push rod assembly was one of the pieces laying in the bottom of the crank case (it was too big to fall through the fresh hole in the bottom - there was no top of the engine remaining.) I guess I keep it as a memento as well as reminders of my mortality and also the blessing of life. YMMV

 

[Big_Hitter]

there was a bar in houston called the velvet elvis lol!

 

[MRG]

I collected, among many other worthless items, a bent railroad spike. I was talking to a woman who ran a very fast track development project that I had been on. I saw this spike on her desk maybe 15 years later and asked about it.

She was surprised I didn't remember it. I had given her the spike instead of a written weekly status report. She said I told her that the system we were building was much like the spike, serviceable but it had some pretty big cosmetic issues that we needed to address!

 

[Souschef]

This is one of our favorites. After a disastrous kayak adventure with DW and myself paddling, we could not go straight up the river.
We found this carving at a gift shop on Kauai. It reflected how we felt after the trip

 

[kcowan]

I bought a portrait of a monk made with inlaid wood pieces stained different colours. When I returned for Europe (it was purchased in Italy), I gave it to Mom. Dad kept it on the LR wall after Mom died. When the estate was dispensed with, I kept it and still have it (52 years later).

 

[MRG]

I have a paper-weight on my desk that I've had for almost 50 years. It's a chunk of metal (actually a push rod assembly) torn from a Lycoming aircraft engine. I was flying the aircraft when the engine self destructed. The push rod assembly was one of the pieces laying in the bottom of the crank case (it was too big to fall through the fresh hole in the bottom - there was no top of the engine remaining.) I guess I keep it as a memento as well as reminders of my mortality and also the blessing of life. YMMV

Great story thanks.

My best friends dad spent his post WWII career building those engines. Thanks for triggering a great memory of a really good man.

 

[athena53]

Jewelry. I buy a piece on nearly every major trip. Sometimes it's modest- maybe a gold charm for my charm bracelet. I've spent more in India, where the gold is 22K, workmanship is exquisite and the markup over the meltdown value of the gold is reasonable. I don't mess with large diamonds and other high-ticket items that are hard to value- I buy pieces where the value is mostly the metal and I feel that I can trust the merchant's claim that the metal is what they say it is. So far, no unhappy surprises.

 

[ABQ2015]

I buy a souvenir magnet on each vacation so have a refrigerator covered with magnets. When I look at one, it gives me fond memories of past travels.

 

[braumeister]

Lederhosen I bought on my first trip to Germany at a little shop near Neuschwanstein castle. Just slightly large on me at the time but now a perfect fit. I still wear them occasionally.

 

[MBAustin]

I used to buy coffee mugs but ended up with too many, although I do still have a couple that are favorites. Now I try to get a Christmas ornament at least once per trip. Decorating (and undecorating) the trees each year is a nice trip down memory lane.

 

[HFWR]

https://youtu.be/fZE4IqeXnT8

 

[Souschef]

I buy a souvenir magnet on each vacation so have a refrigerator covered with magnets. When I look at one, it gives me fond memories of past travels.

Please believe me-I am not trying to brag This picture was taken a while ago. We now have a black refrigerator and the magnets are to the bottom of the refrigerator door

 

[happy2bretired]

 

[Beldar]

View attachment 25336

I like the Ampelmann


_B

 

[DrRoy]

A piece of sandstone from Kanab, Utah. Fantastic art from nature.
.

 

[athena53]

I have a great collection of magnets but whatever the content of the stainless steel refrigerator in the house DH and I bough in 2015, magnets won't stick to it. :-(

 

[happy2bretired]

I like the Ampelmann





_B

Me too!

 

[Moemg]

I bring home Christmas ornaments and when we put up the tree I relive many fun trips .

 

[braumeister]

Ah, the bombilla is a great memory. Still have access to some yerba mate?

 

[Teacher Terry]

I used to buy souvenirs and then realized that many ended up at Goodwill a few years later. That is when my Aunt suggested I buy refrigerator magnets and I do. They stick to my stainless steel fridge.

 

[happy2bretired]

Ah, the bombilla is a great memory. Still have access to some yerba mate?

I've never used one, mines too pretty to use. My son-in-law is Brazilian and he drinks his tea the Brazilian way in the summer. Sure glad I bought it. Brings a smile to my face.

 

[braumeister]

I've never used one, mines too pretty to use. My son-in-law is Brazilian and he drinks his tea the Brazilian way in the summer. Sure glad I bought it. Brings a smile to my face.

Seriously, give it a try. They're meant to be used. As long as you're not overly sensitive to caffeine, it's an experience you ought to have.

I have several friends who are gaúchos (native to southern Brazil) and they introduced me to mate a long time ago. Takes a bit of getting used to, but very comforting.