Travel Souvenirs: Where to Find The Best Mementos
If you are anything like me you love bringing back travel souvenirs as a reminder of your travels.
There’s something special about being able to bring a little bit of your trip home with you but I find it difficult to come up with good souvenir ideas for my husband and daughter.
To be honest, we all know that we can do better than tequila shot glasses, right? While sometimes a t-shirt is appropriate, other times it’s simply another thing that you’ll never use again once you get home.
I love to splurge on travel souvenirs for my family especially if I am traveling solo so let’s get right to the point here are 20 of my favorite travel souvenirs for your daughter, mom, or wife that she will absolutely love from Spain, Paris, South Africa and beyond.
Best Souvenir Ideas for your Next Vacation
Mexico City
Turquoise jewelry In Mexico, turquoise is as sought-over today as it was during the Aztec Empire. You can buy the blue-green mineral at most markets in Mexico City, but we’ve scored some of our most prized turquoises finds at Lagunilla, the vast flea market located about ten blocks from the city’s main plaza.
Chocolate Because most of Mexico’s chocolate is consumed as hot cocoa, most of the chocolate you’ll find in stores comes in thick blocks similar to that used in baking. We’re still nibbling away at the delicious chili-dusted slab we bought at Le Caméléon, an artisanal chocolate shop in Marché Dumas.
Decorative pillows Designer Maggie Galton works with traditional craftsmen and communities throughout Mexico to create one-of-a-kind interior goods. She sells ornate clay bowls, shawls, and lacquer trays, but it’s her huipil-inspired pillows that we’re most lusting after. Find her goods at Onora, the designer’s boutique in the city’s Polanco district.
Coffee Mexico is one of the world’s greatest coffee producers, so you’d be remiss not to pick up a bag of aromatic beans before jetting home. We love the smooth rich brew from Café Passmar, a coffee shop located within a traditional market in Mexico City.
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Marrakech
Kilim boots Kilim boots have become a footwear favorite among celebrities Kate Moss, Rihanna and Sienna Miller. Be sure to buy your hand-stitched pair a size down, as the leather will stretch over time.
Wedding blankets Moroccan wedding blankets or handira are prized for their sumptuous white wool or cotton fabric and shimmering sequin detailing. Buy yours at the Medina of Marrakech, where a blanket will cost you only $150, versus the $1,000 you can expect to pay back home.
Spices On your shopping list: cayenne, turmeric, saffron, cumin and popular spice blend, ras al hanout. A heaping bag will cost you as little at 20 cents, so be sure to stock up on all your favorites. Jetsetter tip: double bag the spices so they don’t explode in your suitcase.
Moroccan slippers Ranging from just five to ten dollars a piece, the quality of leather used in Moroccan slippers varies from place to place, so make sure to take your time to really shop around.
Lanterns There’s nothing like an intricate hand-crafted lantern to transport you back to your sultry nights in Morocco.
Paris
Maison Kitsune iPhone case Buy this trés chic iPhone case at Maison Kitsune’s sun-drenched store in Paris’ trendy Upper Marais district.
Letterpress de Paris stationery You could send a postcard. Or, you could pick up beautiful stationery from Letterpress de Paris, a French printing company that collaborates with illustrators, graphic designers, and street artists to create gorgeous hand-crafted paper goods.
Frédéric Malle perfume Sure, Chanel no. 5 will always be a French beauty staple. But this scent from master perfumer Frédéric Malle combines notes of sandalwood, vanilla and jasmine in a distinctively sensual blend that’s unlike anything you’ll find at Sephora.
Ladurée macarons Most people think crepes or croissants when talk turns to French confections. But these jewel-colored, ganache-filled macarons from famed French patisserie Ladurée have been around for just as long—1862, in fact. Bite into one and you’ll understand why.
La Maison du Savon de Marseille soap When the French lather up, they reach for this luxurious olive oil soap from La Maison du Savon de Marseille.
Maison Kitsune Cropped Sweater This striped sailor top exemplifies the cool-girl insouciance for which French brand Maison Kitsune is best known. Pair it with jeans and a neck scarf to channel your inner Bardot.
Spain
A Bottle of Vermouth de Reus
This fortified wine is undergoing something of a revival in Barcelona, where it’s served in hip bars and restaurants across the city. The home of vermouth in Spain is the Catalan town of Reus, where some of the oldest producers in the country are still in operation today.
Jamón Ibérico
Perhaps the most famous of Spanish foods, Jamón Ibérico is the finest of cured hams and is especially appreciated when it is bellota, meaning that the pigs have been fed on acorns, giving the meat a distinctive nutty flavor. If you’re thinking of purchasing a whole ham, consider a paleta, the front leg of the pig – smaller and easier to pack than a hind leg.
Espadrilles
These traditional cloth shoes originate from the region of the Pyrenees, between Spain and France, where they have been worn by locals for centuries. Today, local designers have revisited the class espadrille and there are many modern colors and motifs available for your more fashion-conscious friends.
Price: from €10
Where: Lluís Manuel store in Barcelona
A bottle of Jerez
Dry, medium, sweet… Spanish sherry comes in a variety of different flavors that work perfectly either as an aperitif (offer a dry manzanilla with some salty almonds) or with dessert (a syrupy Pedro Ximénez goes down like a treat with some chocolate). Only sherry made in the region around Jerez de la Frontera can carry the official D.O. Jerez appellation.
Price: from €8 a bottle
Where: Lavinia
A pestle and mortar
This simple cooking instrument has been used in kitchens for centuries and here in Spain it is an essential tool for any chef. Used for more than just grinding spices, in Spain a pestle and mortar serves to prepare a number of condiments and sauces, not least the famous aioli.
Price: from €10
Where: any ferretería in Spain or online
South Africa
Rooibos (Red Bush) Tea
No visit to South Africa would be complete without enjoying the country’s most popular herbal tea – Rooibos. Rooibos tea, often called Red Bush tea, is harvested from a broom-like plant that grows among South Africa’s fynbos. The tea is indigenous to South Africa and only grows in the lush valleys of the Cederberg mountains in the Western Cape.
Rooibos tea offers a distinct, naturally crisp and earthy flavor and is also caffeine-free and packed with antioxidants. Besides its great taste, drinking rooibos (allegedly) has several excellent health benefits. Not only is it believed to improve skin, bone, and heart health, but to also remove toxins and improve your immune system.
Wine from the Cape Wine Route
The Cape Wine Route is a popular and well established tourist attraction in the Western Cape region of South Africa. Historic towns originally established by European colonial settlers make new world wines using grapes from transplanted old world varieties as well as newer strains developed in South Africa.
Nearest to Cape Town are the vineyards and wineries of Constantia, but if you have time go further afield it’s well worth exploring towns such as Franschhoek, Helderberg, The Little Karoo and Stellenbosch, to name just a few. There are many, many wineries to visit, from large and well known ones such as Boschendal Wine Estate, Franschhoek Cellars Wine Estate, and Rust en Vrede, to many smaller or lesser known producers.
Art from the FNB Art Fair
DO YOU NEED TRAVEL INSURANCE?
YES! Travel Insurance is important no matter where you are traveling because accidents happen and you should always travel with insurance.
I got extremely sick in the Czech Republic and that was the one time I decided to forego travel insurance I racked up thousands of dollars in medical bills and they wanted their money before I would even be seen by the ER Doctors.
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ADDITIONAL ARTICLES
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