Selfie stick, Squishy splatt toy and Lighted whirly slingshot thing?

We enjoy watching the guys with the lighted whirly slingshot thingies. Daughter knows better than to ask for one.

As for the mini Eiffel Towers . . . we are at 39 (not all purchased in Paris. Thanks, Pier 1) with the coolest being thick cardboard ones from BHV which we papier-mâchéed (obligatory Seinfeld reference) ourselves.

I suppose one has to experience life in the home countries of those salesmen before judging but I expect they are better off in Europe even if it doesn't appear that way to an observer.

I wouldn't touch a selfie stick with a 10 foot stick (pun intended). I've never been in Europe with kids so not interested in squishy splatt toys or lighted whirly slingshots. I do however bring my adult daughter little kitschy souvenirs from every country I visit - mini Eiffel Tower was tops on her list, along with mini Roman Colosseum.

AKA - the things that annoyed me around every corner when in Rome ;)

Years ago we brought back "Popeners", bottle openers with a medallion of Pope John Paul ll as part of the handle. Do they still sell them near the Vatican? (With Pope Francis, of course)

Saw all three of the title items being offered in China with the selfie sticks big. It's an interesting manifestation of capitalism in both Europe and China. The lighted whirly sling shot things were only 3 for 10 RMN (< $2USD) in Guilin.

Selfie sticks I find annoying and narcissistic. They were very popular in Germany with Asians. The other 2, I don't know what they are.

Ah, what a great thread!

The best tacky souvenir I bought was bought in threes! I bought three See You Jimmy Hats for my 7, 8, and 9 year-old nephews and niece. They loved them. Here's a definition if you're wondering. And, if after reading that you have the urge to buy one for your dearest 9 year-old here's a link to amazon.

My room, who lived in Germany for many years, says that her best souvenir was an umbrella that had pictures of the older buildings in town. When Benedict was declared Pope, they added his waving figure in front of the cathedral. (He was born there.) She wishes she had that version.

Pam

My daughter is convinced she needs a selfie stick for our trip. So far I've diverted that convo. Saw A LOT of them on my recent cruise though.

You can see them in NYC.... Much better to get strange hat. :)

In 1981 we bought a Royal Wedding Rubik's Cube.

Glow-in-the-dark Notre Dame de la Garde bought in Marseille. She's still glowing.

During a summer spent working near Naples our daughter bought a light switch of the David statue with the switch being in the obvious male anatomical area.

ME ME ME. I bought a tiny gold-colored Eiffel key ring last month and it's been hanging on the zipper of my day bag - every day I'm reminded of my visit. Bought it from a Parisian with a stall along the Seine. Bought the Squishy Splat toy from an Italian lad in Sicily for a friend with several little kids - they loved it. Bought the lighted whirly slingshot thing for the young grandson of a very good friend, he played with it as long as it lasted . . . bought that one at Trocadero from one of the illegals (he may have been in France legally, but the vending was illegal). No Pope or Jesus for this Jewish kid, though, so I guess I won't win the contest.

Kevin, I'm with you. All those selfie-carrying tourists annoy me too. How egotistical do you have to be to need that many photos of yourself? And so many angle the camera so they are obviously not even getting the scenery in!

I bought a Union Jack fridge magnet, with the queen's face on it. It's badly painted, and the queen looks more like Linda Blair in "The Exorcist."

Do David boxer shorts count? I have to admit that we had fun buying those for our (adult) boys.

In Madrid, in the Plaza Mayor, they sell these little things you put in your mouth that give you a buzzy, cartoon voice. Didn't investigate them.

Ah, I forgot about the Scottish Toothbrush. The handle was a soldier in a kilt and the brush part was the bearskin hat that UK soldiers wear! It still sits in my mother's guest bathroom! I found it irresistible.

The last time I was in Italy, I bought a rosary at the Vatican with a picture of John Paul II on the box. One of my friends asked for a rosary from the Vatican. Even though I'm Jewish I bought one for myself. It was a unique souvenir. The rosary is supposedly made of rose petals. Every so often I take the lid off to smell it and after 14 years it still smells like roses!

And I admit the first time I saw a selfie stick in person was at Nordstrom Rack here; they sell them. My sister and I will have plenty of opportunities in London to make fun of people using them. Three years ago when I was last in Europe, I was annoyed by people taking pictures of famous paintings, sites, etc. with their iPads. It seemed so pretentious - just use a camera or even your phone!

Not European, but the gift shop at the Cathedral of Our Lady of The Angels in Los Angeles has action figures of many saints that appear to be from the same manufacturers as Barbie and The Incredible Hulk -- the figures come with distinctive costumes and carry their associated magical wands and weapons, and the boxes describe each saint's secret origin story, super power, and who their fan base is -- patron saint of sailors or people with intestinal disorders or healthcare workers, etc. The Roman Empire comes off as though it was KAOS and Church seems like the Justice League -- with the gospel authors as The Fantastic Four.

At night at Christmastime in Rome in 2012, we knew we were approaching a piazza whenever we saw blue lights drifting downwards, as that's where the glowing slingshot flying toys were being offered for sale. In front of the Pantheon one evening, one little kid was bawling, as his mother picked up the pieces of his (presumably just purchased) still-glowing-but-broken toy.

I have a pope snow globe collection that I add to whenever I am in Italy. I have a glow in the dark ghost figurine from a cathedral in Paris- but I embarrassed to say I don't remember which one. I have a David magnet (that came with magnet clothes so you can dress him). And for the grand finale, I have purchased one of the lighted whirly things for my nephew.

My tour members bought whirly slingshots for "kids at home" and convinced me to try one. It takes practice to do it without hurting yourself.

I prefer to collect shot glasses, but only if sold inside a church at the official church gift shop (easier to find in Britain than Italy).

How about the souvenir we couldn't find? My husband looked high and low all over London in every tourist shop we walked by for a Queen bobble head. Never did find one or any thing close. We guessed that maybe it would be an insult to the Royals to sell tackie replicas of the Queen.

When visiting a plaza in the early morning it is fun to count the whirly slingshot thingies that landed in the fountain.

I don't think anyone has mentioned a Manneken Pis corkscrew from Brussels! Maybe they don't make them any more, I got mine in the 70's.

In San Marino I bought a tiny snow globe, tacky as the place itself and practically the actual size. Duty-free, too.

My husband looked high and low all over London in every tourist shop we walked by for a Queen bobble head. Never did find one or any thing close. <

Karen, I've just returned from Belgium and Germany where I saw little, solar-activated Waving Queens (that sideways, from-the-wrist thing she does) in a few shop windows. They were just a howl: I very nearly forked over the euros for one of them! There was a Waving Mona Lisa too.

"I saw little, solar-activated Waving Queens (that sideways, from-the-wrist thing she does) in a few shop windows. They were just a howl: I very nearly forked over the euros for one of them! There was a Waving Mona Lisa too."

These are available in tacky tourist shops here in the US too, saw both the Queen and Mona at a shop in Depot Bay Oregon. Probably available online from Amazon or ebay also. You just wouldn't be able to say you bought it ' over there'.

You just wouldn't be able to say you bought it ' over there'.

Aw darn; what fun would THAT be? :O)

Oh dear, I have to say I have a lot of those things. Popeners, Eiffel Tower key chain (but I like the idea of using it for something other than a keychain, not fun to sit on in my back pocket), David boxers, magnetic David with clothes, squishy ball for grandsons.

But my favorite is Ampelmann souvenirs. He is the walking man (green) or stopping man (red) that is on the crossing signs in Berlin. I have a few of those....bookmarks, towels.

We went to Rome recently and I'll bet I had 100 people asking me to buy a selfie stick. I said no thank you literally 100 times. Finally our last night in Rome we went to the Colosseum to see it lit up at night and guess what my husband buys??? You got it, a selfie stick! Crazy. We also bought those light up whirly slingshot thingys for our grandsons (3 of them plus an extra for my husband to play with). Last year we bought the splatt toy. We bought little pendants at the Vatican gift shop with the Pope on them for our Catholic friends and a small Holy Family nativity. So we are guilty on all counts. LOL

Wow Diana...I think you are in the lead!

Yeah we pretty much did them all. LOL

Probably available online from Amazon or ebay also. You just wouldn't be able to say you bought it ' over there'.

When we were in Munich I went online and ordered a Bayern München scarf over eBay. I still feel that I can tell people "I bought it in Munich"! :-)

I picked up a new BMW - a white one - at BMW Welt.

(It's about two inches long and sits on the bookshelf next to the red Fiat 500 I bought in Rome the year before.)

:D

Agreed, Nicole.

It's one of the things I most disliked about Barcelona, especially on Las Ramblas--being accosted every few steps by one of those annoying things, especially the noisemaker ones. Ugh.

"Hard to imagine that people will risk their lives immigrating to Europe to sell this stuff."

I supposed it's the same thing that drove thousands of immigrants in the late 1800s to travel to the US and then sell oranges and apple from a pushcart. It's the next generation that will reap the rewards when they open their high-end boutiques.

Sorry I missed those slingshots and squishy things in Russia last year. Perhaps Putin doesn't allow them in. But I did pick up more than my fair share of tacky refrigerator magnets. You know those little things that don't weigh much and take up no space at all?? HA!!! I brought back 53 of them and they do add up in weight and cubic inches.

(That was the last time I will bring back a little gift for all my coworkers and neighbors).