It's ridiculously easy to spend your life savings in a Copenhagen design shop. We somehow managed to exercise restraint by choosing a few select stores and keeping things small-scale.
All in Souvenirs
Ecuadorian carvings and alpaca soap
Here are some things of beauty we brought back from Ecuador to give away or (greedily) keep for ourselves.
Rooster, Portugal
The legend of the Rooster of Barcelos tells the story of a dead rooster's miraculous intervention in proving the innocence of a man sentenced to death. The rooster has since become the unofficial symbol of Portugal.
Panamanian crafts & chocolate
I spent a few weeks traipsing through the jungle and island hopping in Panama and Costa Rica, with only a backpack (and a fiend). Needless to say, spare room was scarce, but this stuff really was worth cramming in there.
Japanese washi tape & whiskey
I could have packed a shipping container full of beautiful objects we saw in Japan, but alas, I was sensible and brought back just a few gems.
What do you collect?
My father spent much of his life traveling. On his first solo trip in the 60s, he found himself in a youth hostel, in Lausanne, Switzerland. On the dirty floor, near his cot he spotted a small plastic figurine.
Map Wrap
Wouldn't that be the perfect introduction to a new city? A great map and a sugar high to keep you walking.
A what? A postcard?
I can't remember the last time I recieved one. Perhaps it's been 10 years, maybe more...?
Black Madonna, Spain
"On a rugged carved mountain not far from Barcelona lies one of the most popular destinations of the Catalan region and Spain: the statue of the Black Madonna."
Che Guevara, Cuba
"The Argentine guerrilla and modern Cuba’s co-founding father has been fashioned into a hipster icon."
Ex-Yu Sweets
A round-up of desserts from my childhood in Serbia. I can still get my hands on a few of them, and often just the crinkling of the wrapper is enough to trigger a flood of memories.
Sheep, birds & other Icelandic creatures
From cozy to creepy—reminders of a wondrous trip to Iceland
Greek olives & controversial coffee
This is pretty much the best smelling travel loot to date. Yum.
Totem, Canada
“The poles serve a purpose: that of telling stories and relaying histories. Traditionally, the cedar poles would be open to the elements and slowly return to the earth over time.”
Easter Processioner, Spain
"One of the most striking, and perhaps most eerie, spectacles of the festival are the Nazarenos (based on the people of Nazareth, as the name suggests) in their tall, pointy hats and matching robes..."
Viking, Iceland
“It is better to live on the sea and let other men raise your crops and cook your meals. A house smells of smoke, a ship smells of frolic. From a house you see a sooty roof, from a ship you see Valhalla.”
Parrot, Costa Rica
“Costa Rica is the greenest and happiest country in the world, according to a new list that ranks nations by combining measures of their ecological footprint with the happiness of their citizens.”
Minotaur, Greece
“Some modern mythologists regard the Minotaur as a solar personification and a Minoan adaptation of the Baal-Moloch of the Phoenicians. The slaying of the Minotaur by Theseus in that case indicates the breaking of Athenian tributary relations with Minoan Crete.”
Saint Nicholas, Switzerland
“Many of the churches devoted to the saint were those established at market squares by Russian merchants, sea-farers and those who traveled by land, venerating the wonderworker Nicholas as a protector of all those journeying on dry land and sea.”