What’s your favourite souvenir?

I am enjoying reading this thread.

On my first trip to Europe as a 19 y/o I bought a charm bracelet and collected a charm from each country I visited. I still have that bracelet.
On later trips I would buy a doll, small plate or something relating to each country. These are happily displayed in my wall unit.
We also collect fridge magnets, and I must confess to some very nice earrings in my later years of travels.

All these "things" bring back countless lovely memories

You just reminded me of my gold nugget made into a charm that I got in Whitehorse Alaska back in 1997.

And my Eiffel Tower charm that hubby found when we got lost in Paris, ended up in what we think was the red light district and found a wonderful jeweller with charms much nicer/better quality & weight than the tourist spots... and the Tiffany charm from their NY 5th Avenue store. Im sure there are more memories but I havent looked at the bracelet for a couple of years.
 
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I collect Christmas ornaments, fridge magnets, and often photos of the places we visit. Not enough of those photos are up on our walls, though. Really need to turn the wall next to our internal stairs into a photo/picture wall.
 
I have a collection of fridge magnets - small, inexpensive, easy to carry, not too fragile - and every time I go to the fridge I'm reminded of many of the places I've been lucky enough to go to :)
Yes!! That's exactly what my kids and I decided would be our "thing" - for exactly the same reasons. I have a few more than what's on the photo but they need a little bit of repair - a bit of superglue to put the magnet back on etc. One of my faves is the Scottish Bagpipe one we got from Edinburgh - it's obviously our family tartan and at one time it used to play Scottish Soldier tune 😏 I did have more from places we have visited in Australia but I learned the hard way that some of them should not be thrown in the sink to soak when they need a clean :oops:PXL_20210729_024950950.jpg
 
I like these - from where did they fall into your luggage?!
The little dishes fell in on a QF J flight to London with Mr Seat0A a couple of years back. They were used to serve smoked almonds with a pre-flight champagne (oh those were the golden days!), which gave me ideas. They have since been used to serve antipasti to Mr Seat 0A and me all over the world and at home too. Also good for holding used teabags.

The cute little jug accompanied my pot of tea in the OOL QP many years ago.

The large spoon at the back was a total accident. I used it to take some medicine during a flight to Japan a couple of years ago, and somehow it ended up in my amenities bag. It's not even a nice spoon, but I did make good use of it on the trip to avoid adding to the pile of plastic cough that one generates all over Japan without even trying.

The strange shaped spoon in the middle was swiped from the OW business lounge in Rome FCO when flying J on BA to London to connect to the Middle East in 2017. This was a pure fit of impotent lounge rage as it was the worst lounge I have ever been in. Filthy stained carpets with cigarette holes and scorch marks. Filthy torn upholstery on the chairs. Smelly, dirty toilets with several out of order. A half platter of limp and dried out sandwiches was the only food. No alcohol except beer. No tea and only instant coffee (machine for "real" coffee out of order). So yes I swiped the spoons! I also complained to BA who advised that the lounge was closing in 4 weeks to be replaced by a new, fabulous one. Not happy Jan! However, it is a pretty useless spoon given the odd shape, and only really good for spooning coffee froth (ironically). However, I make myself use it often, just to appreciate how good the QF lounges really are.

The tiny spoon in the front (looks bigger than it really is in this photo) is a beautiful thing. Feels smooth and lovely on your tongue and is just right for a dainty morsel of something sweet. I don't remember where I got it, but this one, I love. Pretty sure it is a QF offering.
 
Thankyou
The little dishes fell in on a QF J flight to London with Mr Seat0A a couple of years back. They were used to serve smoked almonds with a pre-flight champagne (oh those were the golden days!), which gave me ideas. They have since been used to serve antipasti to Mr Seat 0A and me all over the world and at home too. Also good for holding used teabags.

The cute little jug accompanied my pot of tea in the OOL QP many years ago.

The large spoon at the back was a total accident. I used it to take some medicine during a flight to Japan a couple of years ago, and somehow it ended up in my amenities bag. It's not even a nice spoon, but I did make good use of it on the trip to avoid adding to the pile of plastic cough that one generates all over Japan without even trying.

The strange shaped spoon in the middle was swiped from the OW business lounge in Rome FCO when flying J on BA to London to connect to the Middle East in 2017. This was a pure fit of impotent lounge rage as it was the worst lounge I have ever been in. Filthy stained carpets with cigarette holes and scorch marks. Filthy torn upholstery on the chairs. Smelly, dirty toilets with several out of order. A half platter of limp and dried out sandwiches was the only food. No alcohol except beer. No tea and only instant coffee (machine for "real" coffee out of order). So yes I swiped the spoons! I also complained to BA who advised that the lounge was closing in 4 weeks to be replaced by a new, fabulous one. Not happy Jan! However, it is a pretty useless spoon given the odd shape, and only really good for spooning coffee froth (ironically). However, I make myself use it often, just to appreciate how good the QF lounges really are.

The tiny spoon in the front (looks bigger than it really is in this photo) is a beautiful thing. Feels smooth and lovely on your tongue and is just right for a dainty morsel of something sweet. I don't remember where I got it, but this one, I love. Pretty sure it is a QF offering.
…what a wonderful set of stories Seat0A all remembered by these little items… your story about Rome airport lounge reinforces my theory that the the worst experiences make for the best stories!
 
I usually try to to buy something special from each country I visit, a painting, glass or pottery for example. It would be very difficult to pick a favourite because they all stir great memories.
One that I suppose is a bit more sentimental is a painting of the Canadian Rockies, which was the view from the staffroom window of the school where I spent a year on exchange. It was painted especially for me by one of the very talented office ladies and was my farewell gift from the staff.
 
My souvenirs have tended to me people oriented... takes me back to the place and time and people in question. The oldest is a signed champagne cork from 1985 saved and protected in a clear camera film case from the time when in Portugal on the Algarve. Others have been small personal items that I have swapped or exchanged with a traveller or a person in a foreign land as a token in the spur of the moment.
 
Not exactly on topic, but related, so hope this post is OK. Please skip if you are not interested in my little reminiscence.

Back in 2004, the Seat family took a trip to Europe. We spent Christmas in the beautiful town of Salzburg in Austria. On Christmas Day, we planned a long hike around the Festung area to enjoy the spectacular scenery and crisp sunny cold weather, as well as tire out Seat Son (then aged 13) and Seat Daughter (aged 17). However, I was a bit stressed about food options, knowing that most of the town was closed for quite strict Christmas observance. We did not have refrigeration in our room so I wasn't able to lay in much by way of advance provisions.

However, we were staying in a great local pension style hotel, that provided a massive all you can eat European style breakfast which included eggs in every mode of cooking, three types of ham, salami, other cold cuts of meat, yoghurt, fruit, muesli, and copious breads of various styles and densities with plenty of butter and delicious jams and honey. So, as you now all know my slight klepto tendencies, I solved the lunch issue with a large handbag and some serviettes concealing that I had made a round of cheese and ham/salami bread rolls for the whole family. Plus I added a couple of hard boiled eggs and some fruit to serve as our Christmas lunch. I did this so stealthily, that the children did not notice.

As our day progressed, along came the inevitable teenage cry of "I'm hungry mum! When's lunch?" They were totally mortified when I produced the picnic I had so carefully and lovingly constructed from our breakfast, to which I added a couple of boxes of the famous Mozartkugel chocolates, a large packet of chips and a small bottle of wine I had purchased a couple of days before (and yes we even let the children have a sip - you know what they say about "being in Rome" - they were quite thrilled at that). As to the food however, Seat Daughter actually refused to eat it for at least an hour, until her hunger trumped her principles. Seat Son grumbled, but being a 13 year old boy, his principles were more easily overcome! We actually had a very beautiful lunch, high in the hills overlooking the town, basking in the sun and just enjoying the peace and quiet in nature. Really memorable.

For years after, they joked/complained about the "most pov Christmas lunch ever, prepared by our mother THE THIEF", and suggested that I was a terrible, terrible mother - but you know, needs must, right?

However, fast forward 10 years or so until they were impoverished uni students/early career workers, with not too much money, doing their own travels - guess how they sourced most of their lunches??

Fast forward another 5 years or so until the recent past, when they have again resumed travelling with the parents - and now it is them who suggest that we should "make Christmas lunch" whenever there is a generous buffet on tap. My turn to be mortified.

I love this memory, because I learned the trick from my own very practical mother whilst making our first overseas trip to UK and Europe in 1975! I realise that other people probably do the same, but it feels to me like I have passed on a family travel tradition.
 
Not exactly on topic, but related, so hope this post is OK. Please skip if you are not interested in my little reminiscence.

Back in 2004, the Seat family took a trip to Europe. We spent Christmas in the beautiful town of Salzburg in Austria. On Christmas Day, we planned a long hike around the Festung area to enjoy the spectacular scenery and crisp sunny cold weather, as well as tire out Seat Son (then aged 13) and Seat Daughter (aged 17). However, I was a bit stressed about food options, knowing that most of the town was closed for quite strict Christmas observance. We did not have refrigeration in our room so I wasn't able to lay in much by way of advance provisions.

However, we were staying in a great local pension style hotel, that provided a massive all you can eat European style breakfast which included eggs in every mode of cooking, three types of ham, salami, other cold cuts of meat, yoghurt, fruit, muesli, and copious breads of various styles and densities with plenty of butter and delicious jams and honey. So, as you now all know my slight klepto tendencies, I solved the lunch issue with a large handbag and some serviettes concealing that I had made a round of cheese and ham/salami bread rolls for the whole family. Plus I added a couple of hard boiled eggs and some fruit to serve as our Christmas lunch. I did this so stealthily, that the children did not notice.

As our day progressed, along came the inevitable teenage cry of "I'm hungry mum! When's lunch?" They were totally mortified when I produced the picnic I had so carefully and lovingly constructed from our breakfast, to which I added a couple of boxes of the famous Mozartkugel chocolates, a large packet of chips and a small bottle of wine I had purchased a couple of days before (and yes we even let the children have a sip - you know what they say about "being in Rome" - they were quite thrilled at that). As to the food however, Seat Daughter actually refused to eat it for at least an hour, until her hunger trumped her principles. Seat Son grumbled, but being a 13 year old boy, his principles were more easily overcome! We actually had a very beautiful lunch, high in the hills overlooking the town, basking in the sun and just enjoying the peace and quiet in nature. Really memorable.

For years after, they joked/complained about the "most pov Christmas lunch ever, prepared by our mother THE THIEF", and suggested that I was a terrible, terrible mother - but you know, needs must, right?

However, fast forward 10 years or so until they were impoverished uni students/early career workers, with not too much money, doing their own travels - guess how they sourced most of their lunches??

Fast forward another 5 years or so until the recent past, when they have again resumed travelling with the parents - and now it is them who suggest that we should "make Christmas lunch" whenever there is a generous buffet on tap. My turn to be mortified.

I love this memory, because I learned the trick from my own very practical mother whilst making our first overseas trip to UK and Europe in 1975! I realise that other people probably do the same, but it feels to me like I have passed on a family travel tradition.

When I was backpacking around Europe in the early 80s and the B&B provided a very substantial breakfast, I always made an extra sandwich for later
 
I have one each TAA and Ansett teaspoons somewhere, back when economy got metal cutlery, back pre pilot's lockout.

collect blankets these days, have a nice collection from all classes of travel. I was a bit worried about having a hand cut off when travelling with Etihad, but risked it. :eek: ;)
 
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Not exactly on topic, but related, so hope this post is OK. Please skip if you are not interested in my little reminiscence.

Back in 2004, the Seat family took a trip to Europe. We spent Christmas in the beautiful town of Salzburg in Austria. On Christmas Day, we planned a long hike around the Festung area to enjoy the spectacular scenery and crisp sunny cold weather, as well as tire out Seat Son (then aged 13) and Seat Daughter (aged 17). However, I was a bit stressed about food options, knowing that most of the town was closed for quite strict Christmas observance. We did not have refrigeration in our room so I wasn't able to lay in much by way of advance provisions.

However, we were staying in a great local pension style hotel, that provided a massive all you can eat European style breakfast which included eggs in every mode of cooking, three types of ham, salami, other cold cuts of meat, yoghurt, fruit, muesli, and copious breads of various styles and densities with plenty of butter and delicious jams and honey. So, as you now all know my slight klepto tendencies, I solved the lunch issue with a large handbag and some serviettes concealing that I had made a round of cheese and ham/salami bread rolls for the whole family. Plus I added a couple of hard boiled eggs and some fruit to serve as our Christmas lunch. I did this so stealthily, that the children did not notice.

As our day progressed, along came the inevitable teenage cry of "I'm hungry mum! When's lunch?" They were totally mortified when I produced the picnic I had so carefully and lovingly constructed from our breakfast, to which I added a couple of boxes of the famous Mozartkugel chocolates, a large packet of chips and a small bottle of wine I had purchased a couple of days before (and yes we even let the children have a sip - you know what they say about "being in Rome" - they were quite thrilled at that). As to the food however, Seat Daughter actually refused to eat it for at least an hour, until her hunger trumped her principles. Seat Son grumbled, but being a 13 year old boy, his principles were more easily overcome! We actually had a very beautiful lunch, high in the hills overlooking the town, basking in the sun and just enjoying the peace and quiet in nature. Really memorable.

For years after, they joked/complained about the "most pov Christmas lunch ever, prepared by our mother THE THIEF", and suggested that I was a terrible, terrible mother - but you know, needs must, right?

However, fast forward 10 years or so until they were impoverished uni students/early career workers, with not too much money, doing their own travels - guess how they sourced most of their lunches??

Fast forward another 5 years or so until the recent past, when they have again resumed travelling with the parents - and now it is them who suggest that we should "make Christmas lunch" whenever there is a generous buffet on tap. My turn to be mortified.

I love this memory, because I learned the trick from my own very practical mother whilst making our first overseas trip to UK and Europe in 1975! I realise that other people probably do the same, but it feels to me like I have passed on a family travel tradition.
Brilliant !!
This kind of story brings a smile to my face … sullen children who hate to be embarrassed by mother who befriends all front line staff with endless small talk only to accept that room upgrade to a suite with champagne and specialty food platter was actually worth the grovelling…secreting food into handbags for the days travel…those were the days
 
I have one each TAA and Ansett teaspoons somewhere, back when economy got metal cutlery, back pre pilot's lockout.

collect blankets these days, have a nice collection from all classes of travel. I was a bit worried about having a hand cut off when travelling with Etihad, but risked it. :eek: ;)
….blankets - very interesting and I like it…the beauty of those massive seats up the front is that all manner of things can be squashed into backs etc. I have to admit I have about 50 toothpaste/toothbrush sets and those excellent small foldable brushes from SQ live in every handbag…
 
Not exactly on topic, but related, so hope this post is OK. Please skip if you are not interested in my little reminiscence.

Back in 2004, the Seat family took a trip to Europe. We spent Christmas in the beautiful town of Salzburg in Austria. On Christmas Day, we planned a long hike around the Festung area to enjoy the spectacular scenery and crisp sunny cold weather, as well as tire out Seat Son (then aged 13) and Seat Daughter (aged 17). However, I was a bit stressed about food options, knowing that most of the town was closed for quite strict Christmas observance. We did not have refrigeration in our room so I wasn't able to lay in much by way of advance provisions.

However, we were staying in a great local pension style hotel, that provided a massive all you can eat European style breakfast which included eggs in every mode of cooking, three types of ham, salami, other cold cuts of meat, yoghurt, fruit, muesli, and copious breads of various styles and densities with plenty of butter and delicious jams and honey. So, as you now all know my slight klepto tendencies, I solved the lunch issue with a large handbag and some serviettes concealing that I had made a round of cheese and ham/salami bread rolls for the whole family. Plus I added a couple of hard boiled eggs and some fruit to serve as our Christmas lunch. I did this so stealthily, that the children did not notice.

As our day progressed, along came the inevitable teenage cry of "I'm hungry mum! When's lunch?" They were totally mortified when I produced the picnic I had so carefully and lovingly constructed from our breakfast, to which I added a couple of boxes of the famous Mozartkugel chocolates, a large packet of chips and a small bottle of wine I had purchased a couple of days before (and yes we even let the children have a sip - you know what they say about "being in Rome" - they were quite thrilled at that). As to the food however, Seat Daughter actually refused to eat it for at least an hour, until her hunger trumped her principles. Seat Son grumbled, but being a 13 year old boy, his principles were more easily overcome! We actually had a very beautiful lunch, high in the hills overlooking the town, basking in the sun and just enjoying the peace and quiet in nature. Really memorable.

For years after, they joked/complained about the "most pov Christmas lunch ever, prepared by our mother THE THIEF", and suggested that I was a terrible, terrible mother - but you know, needs must, right?

However, fast forward 10 years or so until they were impoverished uni students/early career workers, with not too much money, doing their own travels - guess how they sourced most of their lunches??

Fast forward another 5 years or so until the recent past, when they have again resumed travelling with the parents - and now it is them who suggest that we should "make Christmas lunch" whenever there is a generous buffet on tap. My turn to be mortified.

I love this memory, because I learned the trick from my own very practical mother whilst making our first overseas trip to UK and Europe in 1975! I realise that other people probably do the same, but it feels to me like I have passed on a family travel tradition.
It's called character building. Your children will thank you eventually.
 
It's called character building. Your children will thank you eventually.
Well now they are 34 and 30, and it has already happened. And they are expert travellers, Seat Son in particular. This year alone he has visited Georgia, Ukraine (specifically to go to Chernobyl), Uzbekistan, Slovenia, Croatia, Germany and Greece. My daughter is a mother herself. It’s the circle of life isn’t it!
 
Highly specific to Japan but I have kikichoko (tasting cups) from every sake brewery I have visited in Japan, plus a bunch from tasting events as well. (Technically a few are masu boxes)

The missing two are Iinuma Honke in Chiba and tedirigawa in ishikawa. The first because it was the first brewery I visited and I wasn’t collecting cups then, I do have an apron though. Tedorigawa isn’t really set up for visitors and they were very surprised to see anyone turn up on the doorstep, despite being featured in a Netflix documentary, they were able to sell me some bottles, though.
 

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