Ways to remember where you have been

[nhwwdebbi]

I bring back a coin from each country, then have it mounted and put on a charm bracelet which I wear nearly every day. A nice "mini vacation" on a particularly tough work day. D

Norway QE2
Imagination Voyager
Ocean Princess Explorer
Radiance Oceana
Golden Princess Navigator
Tahitian Princess
QM2 Millenium

[Portsofcall]

My son works as a shore excusion manager and he manages to get CD post cards. These are great because they can be mailed home. We insert into the pc to see where he has been and they are narrated. When he gets home he looks at them all over again. He also brings home an ornament from every country he has been to. They bring back great memories every year at Christmas and are great conversational pieces.

[DFritz]

We collect masks from each of our ports of call. Each of them represent the native culture. They usually cost less than $20 each and are only about 6 x 8 inches. Some can be purchased even smaller. We have an entry hall that is about 4 foot by 4 foot and we cover the walls with the masks. We mark the back of each one as to it's port of call. Everyone that visits asks about the masks and we are able to share a little about our visits. I always try to find out a little about the art in the mask as well as about the person who made it or sold it to me. I recently went to Halifax in Nova Scotia and had a difficult time finding a mask. I thought I would be able to find one that was carved of wood and looked like a sea captain or pirate. I finally found one mask that was sold by a college student who had only been in Nova Scotia a short time and was from Kenya, Africa thus it was a Kamba Wood Mask. It will make a great conversation piece when I explain that it was from Nova Scotia. We also collect the ornaments as well of each of the ships we sail on and our ports of call.

Congratulations on your new job. My daughter hopes to do the same in a few years ( still too young) and is studying several languages to get her foot in the door.

[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=0000ff&cdt=2004;12;04;17;0;00&timezone=GMT-0600[/img]
'Til my next cruise

[celem]

What we keep as a reminder is actually free. Rocks! Every time that we visit a new country we bring home an interesting rock. I have them from all over the globe. After I realized that I was forgetting where some came from, I started writing it on the bottom. For rocks that we keep in the garden, I use an old hand engraver to engrave the source on the bottom. That way it doesn't wash off. We always find very unusual, colorful or representative rocks at every locale. Most are small but we have occasionally brought home some fairly large ones, such as from New Zealand, we brought home a pure white one that looks like a giant egg.

[packerpatriot]

My husband buys me a charm for my charm bracelet from everywhere we go. We also buy shot glasses, magnets and a picture frame from each place.
Cristin

[babchia]

We also do the magnets, but I think the magnetic pull of the fridge is affecting my mind! LOL

Another suggestion is to get a blank vest, from like a fishing or outdoor shop. Whenever you stop somewhere, get a souvenier patch. You know. like the kind the scouts get. Then you could sew (or iron) it on the vest. Then, you could wear it whenever you wanted to remember your trips, or to meet new people. It's a great conversation starter. If you get one with lots of pockets, you don't have to carry a bag. My dd also suggests a tote bag, from the craft store. It's blank canvas, so you can go crazy. It also lets you carry more stuff home! LOL

[karen_cpa]

Something I always wanted to do - buy a nice sized world map, and highlight the areas where hubby and I have been. I think it would be cool over the years to see the map fill up. Or if you know you will be in just one area - like the Caribbean, a map of just the Caribbean that you could highlight. It would be a nice way to dress up a plain wall, too.

[Majesty Fan]

We do Xmas ornaments bot those you see for such a short time we decided to do something all the time. We have refig magnets, we also several pieces of different thigns around the house. We have a little print in the bathroom of several cruise ships in St Thomas, a wooden fish from Jamaica, some Morocos from Cozumel, plus I like to buy earings from each port. I have tanzanite from GC and a GC swatch with Turtles on it from GC, silver earings necklace from Cozumel and nice belt from there and a Mexican blanket. Plus on Friday's is casual day and I wear T shirts from the cruise ship or various places.
Lexi

[MaryPoppinz]

I usually grab a local photography book, but I'm going to be starting a shadowbox display. I saw one in Pottery Barn, and inside the box, they had attached one seashell from several different beaches/islands, and each shell had a small tag pinned nearby that labeled where the shell was from. Might work well in a tight cruise-ship quarters. The one they showed in the retail store wasn't quite like any of these, but it was similar, and they come with the hatpins and labels:
[url]http://ww2.potterybarn.com/cat/themeindex.cfm?src=thmaaccfrafrm%7Ccthmhtd%7Cnshop%7Crgift%5Cfthm%2Fpipcaccfrafrm%7Cgp4425%7Ck%7Crshop%7Cs&root=gift&cid=thmhtm[/url]

I also have a huge collection of really tacky salt and pepper shakers, and my favorites are the travel ones, because they tend to be really bad. They are on display in my attic right now. :)