The number of souvenirs I purchase and bring home has ebbed and flowed through the years.  When I first started traveling I brought lots of things home for lots of people.  Interestingly enough I now have more money but less willingness to carry heavy things home.  I occasionally buy special items that remind me of a place or a time or a moment.  Sometimes it is a piece of clothing sometimes a trinket or art.  Sometimes I buy things for friends and family and sometimes I don’t.  I suppose now I just buy souvenirs for myself or for family and friends only if the item moves me or I think someone will really enjoy it.

But one thing remains true. I always try to bring my mother a can or bottle of Coca Cola from every country I visit.  It is especially exciting when the can or bottle identifies the country I visited on the label or glass.  It started on my first trip to Ireland in 1999.  I found her a Coke that had been bottled in Ireland that she got a massive kick out of.  It is a fun and inexpensive souvenir I can bring home to her.  Later, I brought her Cokes from Germany, Ireland, Austria, Denmark, Sweden, Mexico, France, Spain, Belize, and so on.  Her collection is getting pretty impressive if you ask me!

Some of them are getting pretty old.  Taking the opportunity to photograph them allowed me to give them a good dusting.  Cheers Mom!

Do you have any items you religiously buy from any country you visit?  Do you have any collections?  Or do you just bring items home that move you?

*This post was inspired by an interaction I had with one of my favorite travel bloggers Indah Susanti a while back.  She asked me to write a post on souvenirs and here it is!   Please see her delightful post and gorgeous macro shots of her favorite souvenirs at  http://indahs.com/2015/02/25/travel-souvenirs-that-matter/