What's your most creative souvenir?

shhhhhhhhhhhhhh...I once brought back an original Hofbrauehaus glass bier stein.

My favorite souvenir was an unexpected one from a trip to Switzerland several years ago. Even though it was mid-May, it was freezing cold on the shores of Lake Geneva and I was grateful to be wearing my puffy winter vest. When I got back to California I must have packed away the vest without dry cleaning it, because the next time I wore it was months and months later. I reached my hand into one of the pockets and was surprised to pull out a very smooth, flat, reddish stone that fit in my palm. I didn't remember stopping to pick up the pebble, but when I found it I instantly thought of that cold walk around beautiful Lake Geneva. Now at the end of the season I put the pebble back in that pocket before packing away my cold-weather gear, and each winter it makes me smile when I pull it back out. It's a souvenir in the truest (French) sense of the word - an immediate memory-jogger.

We like to buy a few small items on each trip. Something that really reminds us of that country(s) and doesn't take up too much space. The days of buying t-shirts, sweatshirts and beach bags are over for us. We prefer to return with a small personal ornament, sculptor or jewelry that can be easily packed.

I bought a nice piece of jewellery in Brittany last winter. The year before I bought a scarf in Quimper. I bought a pair of earrings in Rome (at the airport), after deciding that I wanted something to remind me of the trip. Small and useful is what I tend to think of.

Jewelry, bandanna/scarf and luggage tags. Little tins of tea and food items. Oh and Evan, I love your town! I was there a couple of years ago and want to return.

A bronze lion with fish doorknocker from Venice backstreet foundry that is signed / engraved by the artist. Since these are hand crafted each face we looked at in the foundry was a little different. It was worth the extra weight in the bagage. We have had many comments on where folks can get one as they have not seen anything like it before in stores. Every year I go back to Europe and bring something for our house, but this one is my favorite so far.

I once smuggled in a huge artichoke from a Paris street market - I sweated a little as I went through customs, lol.

Once in France's Honfleur I saw a vendor by the port selling some sort of shell fish which had a beautiful shell. I bought one and then asked the vendor to please remove and throw away the mussel inside. He said, in French which he assumed I did not understand that Americans were crazy, but he did as I asked and it sits right now on a table in our den where people often ask where I got such a beautiful shell. I'm sure the mussel made a wonderful dinner for the vendor.

my most UNIQUE souvenir is my daughter - she even got a Greek name as result '-)

In Prague last July we marvelled at the cobblestone style sidewalks made from cut squares of granite about 2 1/2" on a side - sometimes laid in patterns. Just as we were checking out to leave I noticed a single cobble laying next to the edge of a building. Maybe it was left over from a repair project - I don't know. That cobble is now in my office. A perfect paperweight. It makes me smile and remember, so it's priceless.

In 2007 I went to the Documenta in Kassel, Germany, an international contemporary art exhibition that is only put on every 5 years. I bought 2 exhibition catalogs there, one for myself and one for my former boss who is an art gallery director. He loved it and it was such a success that I haven't been able to find any comparable souvenirs for him on my subsequent trips (he had to settle for a coffee mug from Amsterdam this year!). Evan - speaking of grocery stores, I see we've both discovered some hidden gems in Europe! :) I really like Ritter Sport (as do my dad and sister). Every time I go to Germany, I buy 15 or 20 bars of it and some Haribo too. There are a lot more Ritter Sport varieties in German grocery stores than in American ones, and the bars are a lot cheaper (85 or 99 eurocents per bar, as compared to $2.50 per bar in the U.S.).

Several years ago I had moved into a new apartment right before I went to Lubeck, so I bought a set of kitchen curtains just like the ones I had admired in my bed and breakfast, on sale at Karstadts! While there, I also bought a really good pair of Josef Seibel walking shoes, which are still my travel shoes. On the less expensive end, I like to buy a distinctive coffee mug from wherever I go, and then use them according to my mood for the day. I also stock up on bath products, especially the Nivea brand, for all my friends.

I brought back a toothbrush one year. ; ) The handle was a Scotsman in a kilt and the brush was black and was his bear hat. I gave it to my dad. I also buy books. The book that has been the most memorable is A Dance Called America by James Hunter. It the story of the Scottish diaspora to North America. It was fascinating! I recommend it to anyone who has Scottish heritage. Another book that I bought recently was Iain Banks, Raw Spirit. It's about his search for the perfect dram. If you like driving and whisky (not together) it's a great read about Scotland. Pam

I wouldn't call it creative, but my best souvenir was a ring I bought on my first European trip, in Italy. Now 16 years later I still have happy memories every time I wear my "Italian ring." Also, every time I use an umbrella I bought out of necessity in Germany, I have good memories of that trip. Things that can be used or worn seem to work better for me than knick-knacks!

So many homes in the English countryside have plaques on the house with the name of the house/cottage that the owner has given their residence. My husband & I bought one in a small town in the Yorkshire Dales. It has been on our house for the last 10 years. We also manage to bring home a small stone pebble from various locations we have visited.

Rudy, are 'we' going to find a receipt for that stein?!?.........There's something on the tip of my tongue; until I remember what it is...We like a certain housewares store in Bruges, so we have a collection of cheese knives, very-long-handled spoons for getting the last bits of mayo/ketchup/whatever out of tall jars, jelly spoons that rest on the rim of the jelly jar, slotted olive spoons, coffee spoons - for ground coffee and for stirring sugar, spreaders, OH and how could I forget our Wine Weenies?!? (OK - how to explain?!?) They are glass bottle stoppers - it sorta resembles a large, old-style metal syringe in that you hold it like a syringe - there's a 'thingy' (like the plunger) that you press with your thumb that, ummmm, 'elongates' (giggle) the rubber stopper part that fits into the bottle...When you release your thumb, the rubber stopper re-expands, thus creating a tight seal in the neck of the bottle. Wow, now THAT was a clear description...Anyhoo, my entire family loves them; we buy more each time we go! So, basically, utilitarian things that we use at least one of every single day. And yes, I remember the circumstances of each purchase every single time I use something...THAT'S the point! That, and they're darn handy things to have around.

My husband brings home a stone from every country we visit for the fish! He puts them in the aquarium.

My favorite comes from Rome, it's a bottle opener with the Pope's image on it, affectionaly called "The Popener". It's like having "Il Papa" himself open your beer for you. Bought my first one almost 10 years ago and no trip to Rome is complete without picking up several more for friends and family as they make perfect little gifts. They used to be very hard to find but they've gotten very popular over the past few years and now you can find them in many souvenir shops around the Vatican, they cost between 3-5 euros each. If you want to see what they look like, just Google "Popener", plenty of pictures will come up.

Okay, now I have to start planning a trip to Rome JUST so I can buy a Popener. That's the best laugh I've gotten all week! I'll have to bring some back for the whole family, so I'll have to remember to pack another bag inside my suitcase!

While in Rome 2 friends of mine picked up a 2009 Priests of Rome Calendar, featuring the hottest male preists, with photos taken in a Firefighter calendar style. Everyone loved it. I keep my souviners small, I keep a ziploc bag that I save ticket stubs, metro tickets, beer coasters etc. I have a corkboard at home hanging above me desk and I add to it my favourite items each time I get back. Takes up little room and costs no extra money. Many tickets, especially to museaums have beautiful pictures on them of some of the pieces in the museaum.

I buy a lot of musical instruments, tin-whistle from Ireland, recorder from Japan, chanter from Scotland, didgeredoo(?) from Australia (that I can recall right now). I guess those are creative.................... The gift I'm most proud of (thoughtful, compact and relatively cheap) was Venetian Glass Rosary beads for my Catholic MIL purchased at Duomo San Marco................. As for unique, I could add a tuft of sheep's wool collected from a shrub at the Hill of Tara, a cut piece of dried peat found on the Ring of Kerry and a piece of stone chiseled off the Salisbury Cathedral by a stone mason who was working there replacing some worn stones...........I always keep some local money too. French, Belgian, German, Netherlands and Austrian, among others, that have now transitioned to the Euro and can no longer be found.

I've found my favorite souvenir to be very useful. It's a small red market basket - the largest size that I could fit into my carry on suitcase! It was inexpensive and came from the Friday market in Cassis.

Evan - I brought back a divot from the 18th fairway of the Old Course in St Andrews.

My favorite souvenir was a gift from my brother[INVALID]a keychain of Tin Tin's dog Snowy from Belgium. I've been using the keychain for about 5 years now. If it ever wears out, I don't know what I'll do!

I pack several 3X5 envelopes and as I travel around I pick a flower, or leaf or feather and put it in one of the envelopes, mark the envelope with the date and place then press it in a guide book secured with a thick rubber band. Later the item will go into the photo album of that particular trip. I will also collect wool off of fence an occasionally hairs from a horses tail ( also from a fence). One year tho, I brought back my carry-on full with Hob-Nobs.

[not terribly unique, but...] I also have a shadow box FULL of foreign (= European) beer coasters hanging on the wall. Easily 150-200 count. Plus gallon-sized ziploc bags FULL of more of them. Don't judge us.

I bring back things like olive oil, vinegar etc. But as far as most creative and what brings fondest memories. I did that after we got back. I assume many if not most of you do also. I organized the photos and videos into DVD movies. With titles and appropriate music. I have the sound of the accordion player and singer on the gondola in Venice. A choir practicing. Those great street musicians in Florence. The sounds of the Trevi Fountain and the fountain of the 4 rivers. Even the bells of the Duomo, and the sound of footsteps in San Gimignano. Along with the videos and photos. Even video of the food. And when I have one of those "wish I were there" moments. I pop one of the movies in my computer or DVD Player. (I get those moments often.) I took a photo course recently, my instructor mentioned an on line publisher; where you can set up photos in a hard or soft bound book. I may start adding memories that way also. I do lapidary work as a hobby. Someone mentioned, bringing back rocks. Did you have any problem in customs. Have a great day everyone.

Oh, my, I have to have a "Popener." It would go so well with my collection of beer coasters. I augmented the collection this summer with a "special World Cup edition" Heineken coaster. ; ) Pam

I buy art posters from museums of a painting I like and with the museum name displayed somewhere on the poster. I have a huge 14 by 8 wall in my foyer. I hope to have it filled someday like an art gallery with my collection of posters. And the wall's a constant reminder of good times.

We usually opt for bringing back Christmas tree ornaments from our trip. However, one of my fondest mementos is a receipt from a parking ticket I paid in Rothenburg o.d. Tauber. I think the clerk in the rathaus found it amusing when an American tourist with a poor command of the German language appeared to pay the ticket. It took some convincing that I really wanted to pay the ticket.

When our children were very little my husband started bring them back stones or pebbles from all of his business trips. It then turned into a family tradition so we have pebbles from all of our travels. And when our daughter did a semester abroad in Spain, everywhere she travelled she picked up a stone or pebble and gave a collection to her dad upon her return.

I also kept the keychain from the Renault we leased and use it at home. Useful, invokes memories and I didn't spend anything (except the cost of the lease) for it.

Two more that always bring back fond memories: bookmarks and letter openers...

Eileen:..great idea with the beer coasters!...We too have lots hanging around. Some are actually used as coasters and others are really handy as drawer stuffers and shims to level furniture. I may even try to "tile" a small floor with them. Dan: I too have a small collection of DVDs made from pictures/video files from trips. I use ProShow Producer and it's great to use. My pictures of meals/snacks that we have had to graffiti and everyday life can be quite entertaining. We subject friends and family to these evenings (willing or not) but we ease the pain with appropriate ethnic meals and drinks.

Rudy, have you been to my house ;-) Coasters also make great dusty stacks on your desk - try it! And if my new kitten finds them, she WILL tile my floor with them...She's awfully precious, but.........busy (looking frazzled).

Rudy. In Venice, it dawned on me to use the video option on our point and shoot. After that I had to get a small video camera. I've used Windows Movie Maker but at present I mainly use AVS Video Editor. Recently found Movavi for when I forgot to adjust the white balance. And Goldwave for much of the audio work. When my sister in law learned what I did. She sat down and watched all of it. Something like 6 hours. But she said it brought back a lot of good memories of her own trips. If there was a way to preserve the smells and taste.

It's not very creative but I like to pick up refrigerator magnets. I love seeing them everyday, a daily reminder of great places I've been to. I do need to remember to pick up a Popener when I visit Rome for the first time...in 28 days!

Just a quick word of warning about the Popeners - most of them break pretty easily so be really careful if you use them for their "intended" purpose. I've probably broken 3 or 4 over the years.

Speaking of Popeners, just found out that my neighbor's going to Rome next month. I'm getting my Popener!!!!

I also always look for something I can hang on my Christmas tree, not necessarily an ornament, but something representative of the trip. It's so much fun decorating the tree each year and reliving all our wonderful vacation memories.

CDs of local music! On our trip to Prague, our local guide began humming the tune to "Ma Vlast (My Country). We bought the CD played by the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra and each time we listen, we are back in Prague overlooking the Vltava River. We've also bought CDs of a harpist playing in a small Italian village and some Irish music being played during breakfast at a B and B in Ireland. CDs take up no space in your suitcase but can be enjoyed for many years.

I do CD's too. I load them into itunes and I get very pleasant vacation surprises when I'm shuffling. ; ) BTW a lot of times if you get folk or world music the album art isn't in iTunes. But, if you google the CD you can usually find it on the label website or the artist's website. That way you have a visual memory too. Pam

We got married in London- so my wife's (English ) wedding ring is 20 carat gold, different color than American 18K. Every now and then a jeweller or whatever will comment on the ring. Also i suppose i am my (American) wife's souvenir. Beer coasters are more useful however

Brought back a leaf from the tree that grows beside St. Basil's Cathedral in Red Square. Pressed it in a book and framed it.

OOH!!! In Prague we attended a concert by the Czech Guitar Duo...NOT a particularly fantastic name, but to the point. They are a great husband-and-wife duo that plays classical guitar - old Renaissance music, flamenco. They give concerts nearly every night. They are soooo good that we went to their concerts 2 nights in a row (one night, classical and one night, flamenco - WOW!) We have all 3 of their CDs - I listen to them ALL OF THE TIME! It's my 'adult lullaby' music for airplane rides, too. I had to order one of the CDs from I-don't-know-where-but-over-'there' just to have it. It took about 9 months for it to arrive...Because they're usually impossible to find online, I've made copies for my in-laws and they LOVE their music, too! I just knew I was forgetting something in my previous long-winded post............If you hear and like a performer of any kind - fancy concert hall or subway busker - BUY THE STOOOPID CD!!! I've read a few posts from people on the Helpline who deeply regret having NOT purchased the CD...they thought they'd get it tomorrow, etc. (why I only bought 2 of the 3 while I was there...heel-of-hand smacks forehead) These CDs have truly enriched my life..[although I REALLY like my 1-liter With Pewter Lid ceramic beer stein from Augustiner in Salzburg ;-)]

And another thing...As I was putting my edelweiss headband on yesterday, I thought 'I have to add this to the RS "Souvenir" post! Actually, I bought a couple of square scarves - about 12"-15" square - on my first trip [and brought home a bunch for my female relatives - lightweight, pack very easily, were cheap (but don't look it)]. Mine have a bit of a sheen to them so they look a little nicer than a cotton bandana-type finish. I typically roll mine diagonally into a 'rope' and tie that around my head like a headband...Everytime I wear them I remember where I was when I bought them, the nice man behind the cash register, etc. Just what you want a souvenir to be. I was thinking that next time I'm going to look for the same type thing in cotton or a blend and use them for napkins. Not fancy linen or lace, but good ol' cheap (even tourist-tacky!) cotton scarves. Eiffel Tower, David (woo-hoo!), edelweiss, all 9,349 beers of Belgium...they'd make great napkins for us.

Basel, Switzerland 1987. My husband and I were window shopping and saw two lovely thin gold bands that we decided we wanted to buy. When we went into the shop we were told that these were "friendship" rings. We decided that was exactly what we wanted. We bought the rings and had them engraved with each other's name and the date 17/7/87. We still wear them as our "friendship" rings.

I'm with Evan on the grocery store souvenirs! My friends love to get honey from France...Acacia blossom and I buy it in the grocery store...cheap!

I like to buy paintings by local artists, rather than silly trinkets; although I did break down and buy a mini Eiffel just before heading out of Paris. I've bought paintings for as little as $100 to $300.

@ Marilyn- I was a TV story once about a couple that picked up small rocks on their trip. Later, when they built a new house, they used the rock to [INVALID] the fireplace facade. I also heard about someone who used pebbles to make a neat table top.

Merrilee, The best honey I bought was in France. It was lavender honey. So good on toast in the morning.

We bought a tea towel from an interesting, very small store in a small town in Scotland. We also bought window locks for the windows in our home (it's an old house) in Scotland. Every time we use either we think of the trip, the town and the stores. I love hardware stores anyway and it's like a "slice of life" to visit them in other states or countries.

We buy a small, inexpensive piece of art when we travel. We also save corks from the bottles of wine we drink. Right now I have them in a glass hurricane holder. Some day I will think of something creative to do with them.

My husband always brings back at least 1 watch. The one from from the Pompedieu is amazing!

It varies. In Ostende, Belgium, I got a divers helmet key chain. In Brugge, I bought a lace Christmas tree ornament. Sometimes earrings or a magnet will take my fancy. In Greece, it was a small oil lamp that looked antique, but wasn't. Starbuck cups with the city on them are also a fave at our house. Cloth shopping bags can be a cheap souvenir, but practical to use. Often it will be a book about the area or city. Rome, Normandy, Paris, etc.

Andrea- a good friend also collects corks & she had a large square picture frame made (custom because it's large AND square) with a backing on it. She glued the corks onto the backing & uses it as a combo art piece/bulletin board. She also has smaller ones that she uses as trivets, & still smaller ones that are coasters.

Thanks for the suggestion Layni. And Jo, thanks for reminding me about the Starbucks cups. We do that too. I have cups from Paris, London & Dublin. I'm planning to pick one up in a couple of weeks in Munich. Too bad they don't have Starbucks in Italy, since that is where I am now. I don't buy them for domestic travel. Well, I do have a couple from different Hawaiian Islands.

My most creative souvenir was probably the assortment of 12 full-size beer steins I absconded with from Oktoberfest in Munich in 1979. I don't recommend it - very heavy! My favorite souvenirs have been pieces of art we've purchased while traveling. Unfortunately, that type of souvenir tends to be at odds with my preference for affordable travel...

I'll press a flower in a book, I keep all my candy wrappers from other countries and I try to find advertising not related to tourism. I'm sitting here looking at an empty mini bottle of extra dry prosecco that I managed to get home without breaking during a 3 week trip to Italy, despite literally throwing my self & luggage on trains & watch it be involved in a hit & run with a scooter. I have pieces of cardboard where locals tried to teach me what not to say/their favorite curse words. Anyway, my favorite things are my quidebooks b/c my sis I would write notations as we used the book. Like way to go Rick! Or nice job on this one sis. Or Stay Away crazy man out back! It cracks me up just thinking about it.

We lived in Germany for 2 1/2 years in 1968-1971. Loved the Danish Modern Teak furniture we saw in Copenhagen so ordered from a Danish store in Heidelberg. We continued getting teak furniture from stores in Twin Cities so our whole house is Danish Modern. Our 2 children have it too. It never dates and always matches. Love it! We also bought German versions of the Cabbage Patch Dolls in the 1985 and 1987 when we brought our kids to Europe. They are bigger, fit baby clothes and have rubber bodies instead of the cloth bodies of the American ones. Our granddaughters love playing with them now. Our whole house is "Europe" after all our travels.

It sure was nice knowin' ya, Mike, but I'll come to Munich and visit you in the pokey...

I am a hobby woodworker and each country I have visited I look for cabinet knobs in hardware stores. I try to find some that, in my estimation, look like the country they are from[INVALID]German, French, Italian, etc. They make for a unique touch on my furniture and a conversation piece. Lavonne Gays Mills, WI 9-14-10

Excellent, Lavonne!!! I'm going to remember that one...

Eileen, I forgot about my beer mat collection! I also have a cyber-friend from each of my last two trips.

Brought back a Fox Terrier puppy on my last trip to Italy.

We stopped at a crepe stand in Trocadero near the Eiffel Tower and I saw a 5kg jar of Nutella. My husband and I thought it was funny how big the jar was and how much Nutella was used for crepes and gelato. We enjoy Nutella and nocciolo gelato that I began hunting for a that jar. The 5kg was not easy to find because its only sold to merchants and one offered sell a full jar for 40€ but we heard they buy it for 20€. I really wanted an empty one to use as to display in my kitchen like a cookie jar or piggy bank to save for my next trip. ;-) towards the end of our trip one gelateria told me to come back the next morning when she would have an empty jar. We did and I washed it out in our hotel room. The room smelled like hazelnut chocolate Hehehe who knows what the neighborand hotel staff were thinking about the activities in our room. Hahaha I filled the jar with all the swiss chocolate gifts for my friends. Thankfully I didn't have a problem as we went thru customs Hehehe

We admired the soup bowls at the Market Cafe on Rue Cler so the waiter told us where to buy them. We found that Rue des Rennes has shops aimed at Parisians, not tourists and we found French fabric, tablecloths, and more. Getting home I found the same bowls for $15 that I bought for $4!!

My favorite is to get a reusable grocery bag from all of the markets we frequent. I got a nice Dunnes bag for only 2 euro and I'm sure it will last for years. Also got a Carrefour and a Lidel bag. They will remind me of the month I spent in each country. From Germany, a coaster from everywhere we had a beer. It's a lot of coasters, but we'll use some and probably arrange others in a frame.

My hubby and I collect fridge magnets when we travel. We have a couple of "rules"... we will only buy magnets for places we BOTH visit together, the magnets don't count if they are brought back by friends, the magnet we get MUST give the name of the location, and we try to buy the most ticky-tacky one we can find. For example on our most recent trip to Istanbul, we found a generic Istanbul magnet that had a 3D relief of the Blue Mosque in the middle... of a cartoonish human FOOT. I mean, we looked at it and went "WHY A FOOT?" but we knew that was the tacky one to get! Our entire front of the fridge is covered with magnets from all of our travels, and every time I go to open the fridge, I see the magnets and smile at all the places we went to. And when we have friends over, they wind up standing in the kitchen looking over all of our magnets with amusement.

I'm not very "green", but I do use my own reuseable grocery shopping bags. To supplement my supply from various parts of the US, I also bring those bags back from all the Euro chains that I find. So when I'm driving home from Walmart on Sunday afternoons, I can pretend I've been shopping in Amsterdam or Vienna.

We just got back from Maui...I like to buy souvenirs for friends...bought little reed boxes made on Maui with sugar inside....and cute stones on top. Also bought some drink coasters - ceramic, handmade on Maui with artist signature. My husband says only giving one to someone isn't enough - I should have bought 4. What do you think?

I have used some of my favorite travel photos and had them put on coffee cups and get to enjoy memories every morning.

I don't do much in the way of buying stuff, I do collect shot glasses as they're easy to carry and some are beautiful (I've got over 350)but the most unique thing I brought home, and the one I like the most, is I picked up one of the limestone pieces of the sidewalks and pedestrian ways in Lisbon. I like it because of the fact that it's not only kind of a strange thing to bring home but I sprained both ankles during that trip on that slippy stuff, they are very worn down. I usually wear hiking boots but as it was summer I wore sneakers (silly me and I know better) and I fell constantly so I thought "Okay, Portugal can give me one rock!"

Robin, if you're referring to giving away '1 coaster' instead of a set of 4...I'll just say this - If, for instance, my home is decorated is High Tuscan (pick up any decorating mag at the check-out stand) then I might not truly appreciate a set of coasters from Maui, no matter how gorgeous, if they aren't 'Tuscan'. However, '1' coaster could be used at my special morning coffee chair, at work, etc. (Also goes for Vermeer decorative plates in an ultra-contemporary home.)............Lani, LOVE the tacky magnets!!! Mine are on the, ahem, beer fridge in the garage...I smile everytime I reach for some yummies...

I struck up a conversation with a woman on the train from London to Paris. (She is a doctor who divides her time between both cities.) I asked her where to shop in Paris for scarves and such. She asked me all about our travel plans. I told her we were driving to Normandy to visit the D Day sites because my dad was at Utah Beach on D Day. Also, that he never wanted to talk about his experience there. She said her mom (who died 6 mos.ago) was a Jew from Belgium who lived in Paris and also never wanted to discuss that period of her life. After sharing stories about our families, we took a break from conversation. Just before pulling into the Paris train station, Francoise turned to me and said, "I have gift for your daughter?" She took off the scarf circling her beautiful silk blouse, folded it and put it in my hands. She said, "This scarf was my mother's, it's circa 1950s. I want your daughter to have it because if it wasn't for your father, my mother would never have survived to even this age." After we both cried, and I processed what she had done, I said, "Francoise, surely you want to keep this scarf, it was your mother's." She raised her hands and said, "No, it's already done." We parted ways with smiles and hugs and now my daughter has a beautiful vintage scarf from Paris with an amazing story to tell. That interaction was the highlight of my fabulous European holiday! I can't imagine a better souvenir.

Carol, an amazing and touching story.

(gasp)......Oh, Carol...can't see the keyboard...

Carol - I loved your story. Thanks so much for posting.

In 2008 I visited Paris. A breakfast buffet was served at the hotel. Yogurt came in small, 3" tall glass jars. The name "Dannon" was on each jar. I brought two of them home. They are perfect for tiny bouquets of flowers, or they could be used to store small paper clips or rubber bands on a desk. In 2010 I visited Budapest. On a Danube River cruise, bottles of water were on each table. The glass bottle has a design of spirals. The pink paper label has Hungarian writing. It's perfect for a single flower. I also picked up a buckeye in the Stadtpark in Vienna.

I can't move on to Dannon, from the scarf. I am so moved by this story. Thank you so much for sharing it. Pam