What do you change in your day-to-day activities after traveling?

My Wife buys a cook book in nearly every country that we visit and does cook some dishes from them.

I am a bachelor that was never big on cooking and my father who lives with me is a widower ((was married 61 years) and never cooked.
We took a trip to Europe together in 17 and the thing we changed when we got home was the way we cook in that if we are cooking we go for good ingredients and herbs and such.

Basically we decided to never waste calories. If you going to cook something then do it right.

Not that we don’t eat junk food or have become foodies but just that we don’t cook with second rate ingredients. It is not worth the “savings”

I started wearing accent scarves, sadly the weather's too hot for them 6-7 months of the year.

Walking. I walk 10-13 mi a day when i’m in Europe and try to keep that up when i come home. Not 10-13 mi, but 4-5 mi several days a week. I work long hours so it isn’t easy to find the time, but i make a valiant effort.

Cappuccino with my breakfast at home. Only wish I had a fresh cornetto!

We developed a preference for real wood, antiques, and an older style of houses and furnishings.

So we bought a house built in 1938, and I love it's unique quirks and character, and how it's like no other house I've seen. I appreciate the modern qualities of cookie-cutter developments and mcmansions, but it's not for us. A possible downside is a little leaking in the basement--no big deal--and having to use window AC units, which I sort of like due to the white noise while sleeping at night.

Short answer: old, good quality, unique stuff.

Susan: Right there with you, almost. We average 7-10 miles a day on vacation, and along with standing for long periods of time and very little sitting, we are worn out but feel great at the end of the day. A little frazzled perhaps if a lot of public transportation is involved. The wife aims for 10,000 steps every day and if I have the opportunity I'll shoot for 20K. A distraction called work often gets in the way, but if I can find an excuse to walk, I will.

Our big shift was to grinding our own coffee beans and finally a espresso machine. Till then we were loyal Folgers ground coffee. But several days in Milan in '93 around the corner from a small coffee stand, showed us a better way to make and drink coffee. We are the same with olive oil and vinegar but don't remember when we made that shift since it was many years ago. I am sure that was influences by our travels. And, of course, we have moved well beyond the Mogen David wine served by my parents at Christmas time. We do constantly compare wines we have had abroad with the local wines we purchase.

Like you, I have been making my own salad dressing using good quality vinegar (or fresh lemon juice ), olive oil and a little ground salt. This was after our first trip to Italy. I also haven't bought pre-made salad dressing in 15 years! Also, like Phllip, I enjoy a cappuccino every morning!

Big Mike, walking is such a good habit to bring home... : )

I’m also with you on houses, mine was built in 1926 (beautifully renovated inside while keeping all it’s charm) and i absolutely love it. Bought it 4 yrs ago after years of cookie-cutter houses.

taking the time to appreciate leisurely dinners

I'm trying to add more walking but it's so much easier to do in Europe-sidewalks, public transportation, most places don't have 5 story high hills on both sides of our accommodations, if I'm not there in July or August it's not 90 degrees and/or sun beating down on my head at 8:30 in the morning. I have found that a nearby state park has shady trails that are still tolerable even in the afternoon, but I'm not willing to walk there by myself. Fortunately, I no longer have the hindrance of work.

heated towel warmers in each bathroom : )

wearing a yellow vest while cycling (I had gotten lazy about wearing it)

really good cheese on really good bread

hot water bottles

electric kettle

washcloths that are closed on 3 sides like a little mitt (I make my own or buy them in Europe or at IKEA)

added handheld showerheads to both showers in my house

no more top sheet! just a down comforter / duvet

all our cars are manual transmission – oh wait, we already had our cars : ) .... but that makes it easy to rent cars in Europe

front-loading washing machine

drying all laundry except sheets and jeans on a drying rack or clothesline (like we did in the old days!)

I use the 24-hour clock now, and write dates day-month-year (unless it will confuse people!), sometimes in the format using Roman numerals for the month – i.e., today would be 14 VII 2019. Much less confusing (for me!).

.... fun question! I'm sure there are more, as I have lived overseas for a total of more than 8 years. I may keep adding to this list.

OK, a few more: taking my own bags while shopping, long before it became popular here

wearing exclusively natural fibers (cotton, linen)

wearing the same clothes (!!) a few days in a row if it’s not hot

cycling and walking more, as transportation, not as leisure activity

These are sounding familiar!

I bought a Bialetti stovetop espresso coffeemaker after my Verona cooking class instructor showed me how to make a perfect cup of coffee. I also bought an electric steamer to make it a cappuccino (before noon!)

My husband & I don’t eat out too often at nice restaurants, but when we eat in the US, it’s almost an internal cringe each time the waiter is checking on us and/or quickly rushing to leave the bill. We love the pace of eating in Europe!

Salad dressing now is a good quality olive oil, balsamic vinegar & salt & pepper.

I also eat much less breakfast cereal now - more the basic coffee & something small.

I like taking the trains & local transportation in Europe, along with biking and walking. I wouldn’t gladly switch to those methods at home if they were convenient.

I definitely walk more at home after returning from a trip. I also find myself paying more attention to a news story about the places I have traveled to. I can’t believe the number of times I see the Eiffel Tower on TV after I have been to Paris. I would estimate I see some picture of it at least 5 times a week. It’s like buying a new car. You never paid any attention to the car model until you own one and then it seems everyone is driving the same model car as you bought.

What a fun thread!

• Something we do much more frequently now is grocery shop for a meal. Rather than loading up on a mass of groceries to last a couple weeks we’ll go to the stores(s) more often to get just the ingredients for that evening’s meal. Fresher stuff, no need to freeze anything, less space taken up in the fridge.

• Rolling up certain clothing items to put them in the dresser. Certain packing techniques I’d used to fit more stuff in suitcases for travel also work quite well to put them in drawers and dressers at home!

Changed my phone to European settings. 24 hour time and metric measurements. Even my dating apps are in metric now!

Bringing home recipes from cooking classes in Tuscany, Southern Italy and Sicily and inviting friends & family over for an Italian party. Last year I discovered Pumpkin Seed Oil (Ljubljana) to mix with Olive Oil and Basalmic, salt & pepper. Makes a wonderful Vinaigrette. Like others mentioned, switching to a Bialetti stovetop espresso pot. The best! Buon appétito.

Always having decent balsamic vinegar in hand and using iften.

I now eat Fresh no preservatives and drink water and take 5 weeks of vacations.
I do not smile when encountering strangers
I say hello when entering or checking out at stores

I sometimes find myself using eating utensils European style (keeping knife in right hand, fork in left.) And writing dates as 14 July 2019. (Athough that may have come from working for a bank with global transactions.) Bought a hand-held shower head but haven't installed it yet. Dry many clothes by hanging instead of always using a dryer.

I tried pickpocketing a few people but I wasn't very good. (•‿•)

Excellent Frank!!

Don’t worry, I am sure you will improve with practice !!

• Duvet only, no top sheet

• Nespresso!

• Pasta meals are not spaghetti+sauce but rather freshly prepared ingredients tossed with the appropriate pasta shape and type, cooked al dente.

Ah, Dale, if only we were on the Metric System. I never can remember how many cups in a quart, etc.

4 cups in a quart.

How about teaspoons per gallon? :-)

I now buy better olive oil and the best vinegar I can find. I eat a Mediterranean style diet, lots of fishes and greens. I use air conditioning a lot less, preferring open windows at night. Bought an expensive espresso machine and have real Italian espresso beans delivered (sometimes my friends will bring some and I always pick some up when in Europe to save on the shipping cost).

I now wear a money belt when visiting Chicago and New York.

Love it both Franks and Jazz.

In our household it’s a bit the opposite.
After living in Europe and with a European husband for several decades, we continued the same life over here. The first few years my husband wouldn’t eat dinner before 19h. Slowly he relented. The only cereal we’ve ever had in the house was for the kids growing up. To this day our café au lait is drunk in big Brittany bowls. Main meal at noon whenever possible. Paying for European food got me used to paying the price for higher quality food here. Luckily, it’s available to us via local farmers, some quality grocers, and frenchfeast.com. The day I moved back to the States I could taste the added corn syrup to center-aisle goods, which meant no bottled dressings in our house. BTW, in Europe, dressing is made at each meal. I started cheating early on once in the States, making a week’s worth at a time.

However, I just recently bought my first bottled salad dressing, a Boltinghouse yogurt something or another, and just last week I gave up my stovetop espresso pot because it kept burning the coffee. (I use a six-cup for me alone.) Now here’s the strangest: my husband will drink only French instant coffee in his hot milk in the morning, so we carry bags and bags of it to the US every year. C’est la vie, c’est notre vie.

PS the three-sided washcloth is called un gant or a glove. I always use a top sheet with our duvet.

I love the way that you can enjoy a meal in Europe and linger over the table. When we are home, we try to do the same on the weekends when we have more time to do this.

I also try to make more things from scratch. I don't always succeed, but I try. And this year's garden has been a whopping success with 8 squash now (and 3 at once!), so I was able to recreate a dish I tried in Tuscany which used multiple squash.

I am enjoying reading all of these great responses! And I’m getting some good inspirations — I hadn’t thought of putting in heated towel racks at home.... wouldn’t those be great in the middle of winter?

hmmmmmm......

Shopping for food almost daily. We no longer fill the larder and freezer with Costco quantities but rather enjoy shopping only a couple of meals in advance.

All true Laurel, but I can’t resist the frozen French tartes Alsaciennes or macarons at Trader Joe’s, and the crème brûlée at Costco.

• Making our own pasta (inspired by our cooking class in Italy).
• Making our own gluhwein in December--and drinking it in the mugs we brought home from German Christmas markets.
• We so enjoyed a cooking class in Italy, so now we attend cooking classes near home to learn new techniques and add variety to our meals. We're fortunate to live near a local grocery store that offers complimentary classes several times a month!

Laurel: We also shop most days and strive to eat healthier and fresher. This was inspired by watching the Germans., who imo have the best "big salads" around.

Getting back to a previous point, we noticed that, compared to Americans, Germans were cycling and walking all over the place, with weekend volksmarches and great trails to walk on in the woods. Women would ride their bikes with baskets to the store for fresh food. All of that movement is very healthy. Now, with the huge increase in American fast food in Europe, I'm wondering about the long term effects.

It seems like we have adopted most of the ideas I’ve been reading about except for the heated towel racks, interesting Laura. My most recent obsession after our spring trip to Holland last year was to find a more Dutch style and ergonomically friendly bicycle for myself. After 11 months of looking, describing and showing pictures I’d taken to various bike shop owners in California I found my dream bicycle at a bike shop in Oregon this spring. I’m happy now to peddle around with less fatigue and fear of getting caught falling off. What will I change after our next trip next?

Nobody has bought a bidet?

Schranks and clocks were populate items to bring back from Germany, as well as other furniture. They had programs to ship it back relatively inexpensively, but that was back in the 80s and 90s.

bidet—but I have a washing machine at home.

I always coveted stone troughs in Europe. I would guesstimate if I could get a smaller one in a large suitcase...I would ask my husband if we could try to make one at home. This year I was at a nursery in our city and I saw a fountain labeled Lucca. I didn’t even hesitate to buy it but I had to hire 2 people to help us get the 241 lb thing out of the back of my car! It’s perfect. Made in the USA doesn’t bother me because I think about Europe every time I look at it. https://www.outdoorartpros.com/products/lucca-water-well-cast-stone-garden-fountain