17 02, 2016

30 at 30: Best Experiences So Far

By |February 17th, 2016|Categories: Travel, Travel Memories|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |1 Comment

Today is my birthday, and I've hit the "Big 3-0". I wanted to look back at 30 of my favorite travel memories in my life, in no particular order: Fulfilling my dream of going to Egypt, seeing so many amazing tombs and temples Sitting alone in the temples of Abu Simbel and Karnak Climbing into and on top of a pyramid Wandering the Christmas Markets of Munich Seeing the castles of Germany Taking a haunted trolly/walking tour of Boston graveyards. Seeing as many museums as I could in Washington, DC Swimming with sharks in Belize Racing golf-carts on Caye Caulker Making

8 03, 2015

The Sounds that Travel with Us

By |March 8th, 2015|Categories: Travel, Travel Memories|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |0 Comments

BuzzFeed recently had an article about the sounds from Italy that will fill you with Wanderlust. And it reminded me of all the sounds I associate with certain trips. Here are some of my top highlights that will instantly take me back in time: Toronto: Theme from House of Cards Google Play and Amazon had the first episode of House of Cars for free. I figured, sure why not, lets see what the hype is all about. I watched the first episode on my flights out...and got hooked. At night I'd watch House of Card before falling asleep. San Diego:

5 04, 2014

Souvenir Saturday: Shot Glasses

By |April 5th, 2014|Categories: Buying Guide, History, Souvenirs, Travel|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |0 Comments

A Brief Un-History of the Shot Glass Shot Glasses have become a common souvenir staple the world round. It surprised me to learn that there really isn’t any idea on who first created the shot glass and what their initial purpose was for. There are actually so many stories and legends on why they were created and how they got their name, ranging from the plausible to outright legends. What can be said is that in 1940’s the first use of the term “Shot Glass” was printed in the New York Times in reference to a standard measurement of alcohol.

8 03, 2014

Souvenir Saturday: Its Smaller on the Outside

By |March 8th, 2014|Categories: Souvenirs, Travel|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |0 Comments

I was on my last afternoon in Ireland, and had a lot of euro coins left over. Knowing that my bank won't exchange coins, was buying random souvenirs as gifts. One of the last items I bought was a small county flag of Dublin, Ireland. I had seen them around while traveling and they reminded me of the flags of the different contrade of Siena. But when I returned home and open the package, I found that this 7 euro flag, was not a small flag.  But it was actually the size of a traditional flag (about the size of a

22 02, 2014

Souvenir Saturday: Volcano Snow Globe

By |February 22nd, 2014|Categories: Souvenirs, Travel|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |2 Comments

My latest snow globe souvenir is a unique find. While on my last full day in Costa Rica, my group asked our tour leader Randy where the best place to buy souvenirs was. He knew that we would be getting into San Jose really late and since most of us had an early flight the next day would not be able to get anything. So on the way back Randy had the van stop at a large and fancy store. He said it was usually frequented by the all-inclusive hotels and so would have the best selection of souvenirs, however

8 02, 2014

Souvenir Saturday: My First Snow Globe

By |February 8th, 2014|Categories: Souvenirs, Travel|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |0 Comments

As I often travel during the colder, wetter, and snowier months, snow globes make a great souvenir for me to capture the memory of my travel experiences. It was New Year’s Day 2006 and I was standing under the awning of a small little shop right on the edge of Piazza San Marco in Venice, Italy. I was with my mother and we were waiting for my father and little sister to return so we could board the vaporetto back to our hotel. It was alternating between rain and snow that day, and so we ducked into the shop to

25 01, 2014

Souvenir Saturday: A Buying Guide for Snow Globes

By |January 25th, 2014|Categories: Buying Guide, Souvenirs, Travel|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |0 Comments

Last time we talked about the history of snow globes. Today I wanted to share some things to keep in mind when purchasing a snow globe as a souvenir: Glass or Plastic: This is really a personal preference but I find most of the plastic snow globes to appear very tacky, so I prefer glass snow globes. However, glass does pose the challenge of transporting a fragile object during the trip, as well as the flight home. It is a good idea is to ask if the merchant has the original packaging or has a way to wrap up the

11 01, 2014

Souvenir Saturday: A Brief History on Snow Globes

By |January 11th, 2014|Categories: History, Souvenirs, Travel|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |0 Comments

The origins of the snow globe is unknown, however there are records of these items dating back to the mid to late 1800’s in France. It is assumed that snow globes were initially created to replace the glass paperweight. Early snow globes showed miniature Christmas or religious scenes. One of the first “travel” souvenir scenes was that of the Eiffel Tower to commemorate the International Exposition in Paris and the 100 year anniversary of the French Revolution in 1889. Snow Globes became a popular collectable during the Victorian era in England. Erwin Perzy I While a few companies