"Ah, madame. You buy the coat, we will guarantee that it arrives" he said. Apparently they made a leather pillow with a false double lining and the coat squished inside. "And if you want baby snow leopard, I can get it for you," he said.
I think there was a tremble in my voice when I asked, "And how many baby snow leopards would it take?"
Twenty five," he said. At this point I could have strangled him. I was civilized enough to say, "I don't want any of them. Where I live we do not like to see animals killed to make coats."
These days it's hard to find a genuine souvenir made locally and not in China, isn't it?
Unfortunately the small town of Castellina in Chianti has very little in the way of shops. One rather lovely and very expensive clothing store, some good wine stores and a Saturday market where last time I found a gorgeous pink leather purse. This time I'll look for one in another color when we go to the market later today. Apart from those it's salami or cheeses (which unfortunately we can't bring into the States--do you remember Lucille Ball trying to bring back the big sausage disguised as a baby?) Last time we brought back some amazing balsamic vinegar that cost more than a good wine. But you only need a couple of drops at a time.
I think I've passed the stage of bringing back souvenirs like ashtrays painted with donkeys/silk scarves with St. Peters on them. We already have too much stuff. So what I've been doing for many years now is finding a unique little box and bringing back to add to my box collection. Alas the glass topped table is horribly full and I may have to weed out the less interesting boxes. I put a slip of paper in each saying where I bought it, in case I forget.
Apart from that my big collection is of dolls from all over the world. My father used to go to Germany and Sweden on business all the time and my aunt was an intrepid world traveler and they both brought me back dolls each time so I have this wonderful collection. But no room for any more.
So what do you bring back when you travel? Do you love shopping in markets and little alleyways? Any adventures to relate
JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING; I always seem to bring back a cold. Badum-BOOM! Thanks, I'll be here all week. Seriously, I bring back books, because I always go books shopping when I travel (most of which is for work, so at least the book stores are convenient.) I also like pieces of jewelry (nothing too expensive) and have some lovely Mexican silver things. On our Christmas trip to Hawai'i, I got earrings. (Side note: I'm so grateful we got to see Kilauea and the Volcano National Park visitor's center before it all explodes/gets covered in ash.)
I have a friend who does scarves, not the kitschy type, but real scarves she finds at local stores. And of course, when my kids were little, there were the inevitable gifts from every book tour they weren't invited on. BTW, the smartest souvenir trick I ever heard was from a mom whose family went to Disney once every few years. She would pick up Disney merchandise at yard sales and Goodwill, stash it all away and then pull it out during the trip to short-circuit her kids whining for pricey on-site toys!
LUCY BURDETTE: We are trying to schlep things out of the house, rather than bring things in. But I do like to find Christmas presents, and books for our grandchildren. In India, we saw amazing fabrics and I so wanted a sari. But I knew I would never wear it. I did buy a few scarves instead, and I hope to figure out how to wear them!
INGRID THOFT: I love to bring something home that I can display in our home—something that will remind us of the trip every time we see it. We managed to bring hand painted plates back from turkey (in one piece!) and cloisonné from China. A gorgeous hand-stitched pillow with an Aboriginal design was my find in Sydney, and I look seeing in it my office when I’m writing. In Granada, Spain, I found a ceramic pomegranate, the official symbol of the city, and just a month ago, I purchased a beautiful piece of hand painted Navajo pottery. Bookmarks are my other souvenir of choice. They’re inexpensive and easy to pack and lovely reminders of far flung destinations.
JENN McKINLAY: LOL, Julia! If I can leave the plague and pestilence behind on a trip, I call it a win! I'm not much of a souvenir gal but my mom has always collected refrigerator magnets from every place she's traveled and somewhere in my twenties, I started to do the same. So, a magnet is a must. And then it's whatever the place is known for like a small glass object from Milan or maple syrup from Vermont, you know, that sort of thing. If it's consumable all the better, so it won't cause clutter. And Rhys, I loved the I Love Lucy sausage-baby episode!!!
HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: OH, Rhys, Castellina! I love that town and when we were there, I sent back hand-painted ceramic house numbers. I wanted to get the whole deal, 19 River Street, but the numbers were SO expensive, I settled for just 1 and 9. :-) I am a big big sucker for scarves. (Which at least are light and flat.) When we went to the Palio in Siena, each contrade had a silk scarf with their emblem and colors. That was a DISASTER of a spree, but I still wear the scarves. And t-shirts, oh my dear, I cannot resist, and HOW MANY t-shirts can one person have? (Don't answer.) I was at the AWP conference recently, and bought one that says: USE YOUR WORDS. How could I not? But again, light and flat. And they don't melt or break.
HALLIE EPHRON: I travel light, so my criteria for what I can bring home is: small, flat. So YES on scarves! And tiles. I have a handprinted tile from Mexico, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Great Britain, Italy, Morocco... My dining room has a plate rail all the way 'round where I display them. No ore room now, so no more tiles. China is a great place for scarves, and I brought one back from our trip to Alaska, too.
But the souvenirs have to find me, because I really hate to use my time traveling to shop. I did make an exception in Tuscany for the aMAZing leather goods. There's nothing like them here in the States. Nothing affordable, that is.
DEBORAH CROMBIE: : I don't generally shop for souvenirs, especially in the UK. I don't want to add anything heavy to my suitcase, or more stuff to my already cluttered house. But sometimes irresistible things present themselves, like this painting I bought on my recent visit to Eureka Springs, Arkansas for a book festival. My last night I had dinner with friends at an Italian restaurant in town. Artwork by the restaurant's hostess, Teresa Pelliccio, was displayed on the dining room walls, and I fell in love with this little piece--enough so that I hand carried it home on the plane, AND found a place to hang it!
So who is a collector? What do you bring back when you travel?
