I recently saw something about souvenirs that people collect, and it reminded me of the ceramic mugs and cups that I’ve collected from different countries over the years. I now have them hanging on the wall and stacked on shelves in my kitchen, and some of them I use regularly. They bring back memories of places I’ve visited. This started in 1996 when I bought this mug at a tiny shop in Fiesole, near Florence, Italy. After using it every day for many years, it’s now cracked and chipped, but I still use it every morning to measure the perfect amount of water for my coffee.
Here are a few others (and the places I bought them):
From Sao Paulo, Brazil
From the Czech Republic
From Krakow, Poland
From Florence, Italy. I love these colors.
From a little shop in Olomouc, the Czech Republic
I love the colors of this one from Brazil.
From a tiny ceramics factory in Moravia, the Czech Republic
From Indonesia
From England (London and Leeds)
Not all of them have survived over the years. This is an old favorite from Granada, Spain.
What kinds of things do you like to take home from places you visit? Or do you choose not to buy souvenirs?
Cool mugs/cups!
For souveniers, we usually get fridge magnets and/or white coffee mugs (only white – you have to draw the line somewhere!).
But really we prefer to get a local specialty if possible (ie. leather goods in Argentina (awesome), glass lamps in Turkey, etc).
Thanks, Adam! I agree about the local specialty. There’s no better souvenir than something that really speaks of the place you visit. The glass lamps sound awesome. These comments have made me think of doing another post about my other souvenirs because I have a lot of other kinds, too.
I also love cups! It’s fun to serve coffee or tea in cups that have meaning. I have them from Barbados, Prague, Brazil (a gift from you & Joao), Castle Howard (York, England), San Francisco, and Salida, CO (Absolute Bikes). I used to have a lot more, but they’ve disappeared over the years.
I also have other pottery from places I’ve visited like Cornwall and Barbados. I used to have a beautiful little pitcher from Florence, but it broke during a move. I have a lot Quimper pottery that reminds me of a wonderful trip to France.
Magnets make fun space-saving souvenirs. I can usually find one that is unique or has an image on it that is a fond memory. And, I was just remembering a tiny souvenir that we brought you from Venice 33 years ago (that you still have) the blue glass turtle
I like all kinds of pottery, too. I wish now I had gotten more things when I had the chance. And I agree about the magnets, but they can kind of get out of control on the fridge
I love the mug from Indonesia – it’s beautiful! I used to collect snow globes until I couldn’t bring them in my carry-on luggage anymore. More recently, I’ve been collecting little ceramic owls – and my jumping pictures…those are by far my favorite souvenir.
Your jumping pictures are the best! So creative and fun. I didn’t know you couldn’t bring snowglobes in carry-ons anymore.
i think this may be my favorite post yet! i learned something new about you, the photos are great and i get to think about all my trips and what i brought home with me.
i love the first mug from florence and i love the stripey one as well.
we don’t have a particular collection from our travels. we usually buy something very small and packable.
-wooden spoons from victoria, bc
-unframed prints from paris and vancouver bc
-post cards and books from london
-tank tops and thai fisherman pants from bangkok
everytime i use one of these items i remember where we bought it and spend some time thinking about the trip.
mostly we take lots and lots of really crappy photos.
Thanks Tami! I’m glad you liked it. Yes, I take lots of photos, many of them crappy, too. I also like to get stuff that’s small and packable– magnets, jewelry, and other little things. I actually stopped buying the ceramic mugs because I have so many, but I’m tempted now after this post to add a couple new ones to the collection (and maybe finally get rid of the ones that have broken, *sniff sniff*).
Wow! These are gorgeous and what a great idea for a souvenir since you make use of them and enjoy them each and every morning – love it!
Thanks, Shannon! You’re right– it’s great when it’s something you can use.
This is interesting. I just started buying coffee cups everywhere I travel. And I don’t even drink coffee!
However, the souvenirs I like the most are small hand painted plates from Hungary and Portugal as well as a canvas painting of Rab, Croatia.