What kind of souvenirs to bring back for your loved ones?

 

Going on holiday away from your friends and family sometimes raises expectations when you get back. Apart from having to recall stories and details about your trip that will allow them to live vicariously through you, they may be expecting you to bring back gifts and souvenirs (or even if its not expected, you may want to do it anyway). The following is a list of the kinds of souvenirs and gifts that will be your best options to bring back for your friends and family to help share the experience (edited and adapted from ‘worldwidegifts’).

 

Unique and Unobtainable Gifts

 

Giving a souvenir item as a gift means that you’ll be able to give your loved one something that no one else could get them, and that they couldn’t have gotten otherwise. Many items are only available- or at least, only affordably and easily available- within their country or region of origin. By bringing back an object like this, you have a gift that will be a completely new item and experience to your friend or family member. If you have someone close to you who collects something, you can obtain them a special item to add to that collection that they would not otherwise have been able to access, which is always an amazing gift for a collector.

 

Foods 

 

One of the most popular types of souvenir to give as a gift is food. Food is closely tied to culture, so any region or country will have a lot of specialties that are difficult or impossible to find elsewhere.  Snack food and candy tend to be the most popular types of food brought back as souvenirs. They tend to travel well and to be varied enough to demonstrate the differences between cultures. For example, there are many candies and snacks available in the U.K. that are not available in the U.S. and vice versa, even though those two countries speak the same language and have relatively similar cultures. The differences in foods between more disparate countries are even more intriguing.

 

Alcohol

 

For a slightly more mature take on local flavor, alcohol is also a popular gift to bring back for adult friends. Many people collect wines from different areas, for example, so if you find a place during your trip with a particularly good or interesting local wine, that can make an excellent gift. Also, alcohol is made with different ingredients and processes in every region, just like food varies from place to place. Every local alcohol will have its own unique flavor. If you’re traveling to a place that is famous for a certain type of alcohol, for example, if you were traveling to Ireland, that could also be an opportunity to get a very authentic bottle Irish Whiskey for a friend who favors it.

 

 

Local Crafts

 

Just as every region has its own foods, every region will have its own styles and ways of making art. This will depend on the resources and the culture. Local traditional crafts will be made using materials native to the area - woodcarvings in forested areas, shell ornaments in seaside locations, and so forth. These traditional works of art convey the personality of the area in a way mass produced objects cannot. They are especially good gifts for those friends who are interested in the place you traveled, or for people with whom you really want to share the culture of the region. They are also great gifts for friends or family members who make arts or crafts themselves- they will appreciate seeing the different techniques and materials traditionally used by another culture.

 

 

Collectables

 

Souvenir shops offer a wide range of collectible items like magnets, keychains, shot glasses, and figurines. If someone close to you collects a certain type of item, getting an iteration of that item from your trip can be an excellent gift. It is something you know they will enjoy as part of their collection, and it’s not something they could have collected on their own without also going to that place, so it contributes to their collection in a unique way.

Top travel books to read.

 

Reading is always a positive thing. One cannot read and not learn anything from it. This learning process is not only limited to informational, non-fiction or science books, but even in fiction books. Today we take a look at the top 5 travel books that are an absolute must read.

 

1. Naples ’44 by Norman Lewis

Norman Lewis arrived in Naples mid-war in 1944 as an intelligence offices employed by the army to liaise with the locals of Naples. This book is a year- long diary that tells the story of the city and its people, a population that is starving, having eaten all the tropical fish. The women were driven to prostitution and the array of characters he meets ranges from a gynaecologist specialising in restoring lost virginity to the widowed housewife who times her British lover against the clock. Lewis wrote that if he had the chance to be born again, Italy would be his home of choice.

 

2. Travels with Charley: In search of America by John Steinbeck.

John Steinbeck took his French poodle, Charley with him in his converted pick-up truck to tour the United States of America in 1960. The book is a phenomenally written and absorbing account of the landscapes and encounters on his tour. His bleak evocation of events and attitudes, especially in the deep south, gives one a clear view on how much America has changed in the past years.

 

3. The Great Railway Bazaar by Paul Theroux

This has been considered to be Theroux’s finest book and as his first, it recounts a journey through Europe, Asia and the Middle East that lasted four months. This book has especially been a favourite of train travel enthusiasts, as it features some of the world’s greatest lines.

 

4. The Sun also Rises by Ernest Hemingway

This definite favourite of Hemingway portrays the colourful ebb and flow of 1920s American expatriates as they lose themselves in the lives and loves of Spain and Paris. Most memorable for the incredible bull-fighting sequences set in Pamplona, it will probably also change your perception of the word “utilise” forever.

 

5. Arabian Sands by Wilfred Thesiger

This book was published in 1959 and accounts Thesiger’s dangerous journey through the Arabian deserts. Over a period of 5 years he recorded the lives of the remote tribes he met, often in hostile lands. His tales of trouble, unlikely friends and of a time long since passed is now a timeless appeal to travellers all around.

 

When you’re unsure of how to occupy yourself while relaxing on the beach this holiday, make sure you have one of the above ready to learn something new.

 

Reading is always a positive thing. One cannot read and not learn anything from it. This learning process is not only limited to informational, non-fiction or science books, but even in fiction books. Today we take a look at the top 5 travel books that are an absolute must read.

 

1. Naples ’44 by Norman Lewis

Norman Lewis arrived in Naples mid-war in 1944 as an intelligence offices employed by the army to liaise with the locals of Naples. This book is a year- long diary that tells the story of the city and its people, a population that is starving, having eaten all the tropical fish. The women were driven to prostitution and the array of characters he meets ranges from a gynaecologist specialising in restoring lost virginity to the widowed housewife who times her British lover against the clock. Lewis wrote that if he had the chance to be born again, Italy would be his home of choice.

 

2. Travels with Charley: In search of America by John Steinbeck.

John Steinbeck took his French poodle, Charley with him in his converted pick-up truck to tour the United States of America in 1960. The book is a phenomenally written and absorbing account of the landscapes and encounters on his tour. His bleak evocation of events and attitudes, especially in the deep south, gives one a clear view on how much America has changed in the past years.

 

3. The Great Railway Bazaar by Paul Theroux

This has been considered to be Theroux’s finest book and as his first, it recounts a journey through Europe, Asia and the Middle East that lasted four months. This book has especially been a favourite of train travel enthusiasts, as it features some of the world’s greatest lines.

 

4. The Sun also Rises by Ernest Hemingway

This definite favourite of Hemingway portrays the colourful ebb and flow of 1920s American expatriates as they lose themselves in the lives and loves of Spain and Paris. Most memorable for the incredible bull-fighting sequences set in Pamplona, it will probably also change your perception of the word “utilise” forever.

 

5. Arabian Sands by Wilfred Thesiger

This book was published in 1959 and accounts Thesiger’s dangerous journey through the Arabian deserts. Over a period of 5 years he recorded the lives of the remote tribes he met, often in hostile lands. His tales of trouble, unlikely friends and of a time long since passed is now a timeless appeal to travellers all around.

 

When you’re unsure of how to occupy yourself while relaxing on the beach this holiday, make sure you have one of the above ready to learn something new.

5 games to play on the bus trip.

One part of traveling can take forever to pass and that’s traveling on the bus. There are countless things to do and many games to play, but somehow we always forget them when we need them! Let me take you through 3 easy and fun games you can play while traveling on the bus.

 

1. I Spy

Most people know this game, but I’ll explain for those who are not familiar with it. One person chooses an object they can see, but doesn’t tell the others what it is. For explanatory reasons, let’s say the word is “sock”. Then the person will say “I spy with my little eye, something beginning with s.” The other people must then guess what the person is seeing. Alternatively the person can say “I spy with my little eye, a sock!” and then the other people must spot the sock. Either way, this one can keep you busy for quite some time!

 

2. Thinking of a number

One person chooses a number between 1 and 100, but once again doesn’t tell the others. Each other player gets a turn to guess what the number is and they will only be told whether the actual number is higher or lower than their guess. The first person to guess right, gets to choose the next number.

 

3. Rock, paper, scissors

This is a pretty familiar one. A flat hand represents paper, scissors is with fingers 2 and 3 sticking out and holding your hand in a fist represents rock. The players count together to three and on three they reveal their choice. Paper covers rock, so paper wins; scissors cuts paper, so scissors win and rock smashes scissors so rock wins. First player to reach ten wins, wins the game!

 

Now that you have some more options for occupying yourself on your bus trip, sit back and enjoy the ride!