What do you bring home?

When you bring souvenirs back from your travels, what do you bring?

Is it the miniature version of the iconic building wherever you’ve been, the Eiffel tower, the Colosseum or the Sydney Harbour Bridge? Or maybe it’s the Gondola from Venice or the tartan kilt from Scotland.

Or do you collect spoons from all the places you’ve visited?

I’ve done all of the above in my many years of travel, but it got to a point when I had to consider why I needed all of those souvenirs. I’ve got the photos and the memories and really, how much space do I have left in my cupboards, because, let’s face it, that’s where they all end up.

I think I figured this out a few years ago, somewhere around the time I actually got rid of a lot of those souvenirs that I’d had for thirty years. It’s really difficult sometimes to stop yourself buying the cute and the memorable but I do try to be a little more discerning now in what I buy overseas.

So, you may ask, what do I bring home from my travels now, apart from the credit card bill that is.

There are two things that I have a real weakness for and do tend to buy while I’m away – pens and clothes!!

I cannot resist buying pens, and, let’s face it for someone who writes, they do come in awfully handy. They’re also easy to pack and don’t weigh much and they’re cheap, which is a huge bonus. The one by my side at the moment was bought in Florence and has Leonardo Da Vinci’s sketches wound around it, another one on my desk came from the Pinctada Hotel in Broome …. Hmmmm …. Didn’t say I always bought them. Then there’s one from Rome, one from the British Museum and the Golliwog one I bought in the Lake District.

As for clothes, they are definately not cheap, but they are definitely a weakness of mine. But when people admire something I’m wearing and I say ‘oh yes, bought that in Paris,’ it sort of makes me feel a little bit … mmmm …. you know what I mean….

Here’s some of my favourites, what are your favourite souvenirs?

My all time favourite – bought in Florence

And the bag it came in – couldn’t resist!

A bit of colour from Rivett & Blair in Melbourne

From Poppi Red in Hawkeshead – a beautiful villahe in the Lake District.

And the leather jacket from Naf Naf in Paris