Shopping for souvenirs in the Caribbean

[navybankerteacher]

3 hours ago, ldubs said:

 

Problem I had is, unless they are in good shape and can be donated to the second hand places, they can't be recycled.  At least not in my area.  I got slapped on the wrist for mistakenly putting some old clothes in the recycle bin.  Guy says they have to go in the garbage can for the landfill.  

Surprised - here cotton clothing is recyclable.  I guess a lot of synthetics might be different, but I would not know why.  Because I tend to stop using clothes before they get really tattered, virtually everything is welcomed at the local Person to Person center (which gives tax receipts for stuff in good shape).

[lenquixote66]

4 hours ago, ldubs said:

 

That' awesome!  I go through T-shirts like crazy.  I always have a few prized ones that I try to preserve, but even they eventually get sentenced to the bin.   I think I have shared with you before my current favorite is my #24 Clippers World B Free T shirt.  In fact, I only wear it when we are on a cruise.   

 

My favorites are a tee shirt that I received for my 50th.birthday that reads Born In The USA a very ,very,very long time ago.A classic shirt from the Beatles,a Bert Wills Band shirt and a shirt from a bar that was in Brooklyn,Warm Beer and Lousy Food.

Lloyd Free has donated more than a million dollars to his Brooklyn HS over the years without publicity.The only reason I know this is because I know the brother of his HS Coach from having lived a few blocks away from the school.

 

[lenquixote66]

3 hours ago, ldubs said:

 

Now that you mention it, we have things that belonged to the parents of Mrs Ldubs or me.  Some keepsakes and some in everyday use.   

In 1927 my father went to a Jazz concert and kept the program .I still have it .I also have the first razor that I ever was given from when I was 16 and a pair of my baby shoes.I kept these so very long so there is no reason to get rid of them now.

Mrs.66 has silverware that belonged to her maternal grandmother that we still use.

[lenquixote66]

4 hours ago, Mutinyintl said:

You could frame your father's 1927 jazz concert program or store it safely. For your first razor and baby shoes, displaying them in a shadow box or a memory box is a great idea. And it's lovely that you still use Mrs. 66's grandmother's silverware, just keep taking good care of it to maintain its condition and history. These items hold precious memories and a sense of family heritage, so preserving them ensures their stories live on

Thank you very much.

[ldubs]

21 hours ago, lenquixote66 said:

In 1927 my father went to a Jazz concert and kept the program .I still have it .I also have the first razor that I ever was given from when I was 16 and a pair of my baby shoes.I kept these so very long so there is no reason to get rid of them now.

Mrs.66 has silverware that belonged to her maternal grandmother that we still use.

 

I've got my old baby shoes.  They were "bronzed" if that is the right term.   

 

We have some heavy boxes containing sets of china that are just stored in the garage overhead  We have offered them but younger folk just are not into those things it seems.  

[ldubs]

22 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

Surprised - here cotton clothing is recyclable.  I guess a lot of synthetics might be different, but I would not know why.  Because I tend to stop using clothes before they get really tattered, virtually everything is welcomed at the local Person to Person center (which gives tax receipts for stuff in good shape).

 

I honestly doubt I have anything 100% cotton.   I have been migrating towards UPF clothing these days.  Some of which might have come from the Caribbean (just to keep the thread on track).  🙂

[lenquixote66]

2 hours ago, ldubs said:

 

I've got my old baby shoes.  They were "bronzed" if that is the right term.   

 

We have some heavy boxes containing sets of china that are just stored in the garage overhead  We have offered them but younger folk just are not into those things it seems.  

We downsized in 2003 from a 4 story home in NYC to a 2 level town house in a condo and so much less space.The attic is only for storage,no basement but we have very large closets that can hold all our items from our parents.Our children have told us more than once to not get rid of anything from our parents and grand parents.

[lenquixote66]

1 hour ago, ldubs said:

 

I honestly doubt I have anything 100% cotton.   I have been migrating towards UPF clothing these days.  Some of which might have come from the Caribbean (just to keep the thread on track).  🙂

I have a tee shirt that I bought in Curaco that was made in the US.

[navybankerteacher]

3 hours ago, ldubs said:

 

I've got my old baby shoes.  They were "bronzed" if that is the right term.   

 

We have some heavy boxes containing sets of china that are just stored in the garage overhead  We have offered them but younger folk just are not into those things it seems.  

I have mine too - the right one holds small paper clips and the left on larger paper clips.

 

i was fortunate enough to find that my four children fairly completely assumed all the china, glassware, small rugs, pictures and most furniture which became redundant during downsizing. Of course, the final distribution is not likely to be my active concern.

[ldubs]

1 hour ago, lenquixote66 said:

We downsized in 2003 from a 4 story home in NYC to a 2 level town house in a condo and so much less space.The attic is only for storage,no basement but we have very large closets that can hold all our items from our parents.Our children have told us more than once to not get rid of anything from our parents and grand parents.

 

We downsized from a 2-story to a 1-story. The objective was to eliminate stairs.  As it worked out the living area in the new place is actually a few square feet larger.  The garage is smaller.  The workshop disappeared.   

 

1 hour ago, lenquixote66 said:

I have a tee shirt that I bought in Curaco that was made in the US.

 

Now, that is funny!  

[clo]

10 hours ago, ldubs said:

 

I've got my old baby shoes.  They were "bronzed" if that is the right term.   

 

We have some heavy boxes containing sets of china that are just stored in the garage overhead  We have offered them but younger folk just are not into those things it seems.  

Do you have a "Buy Nothing" site in your area? You could probably find a loving home for things like that.

 

[ldubs]

9 minutes ago, clo said:

Do you have a "Buy Nothing" site in your area? You could probably find a loving home for things like that.

 

 

I'm not familiar with Buy Nothing. If we get to the point we want to donate we won't have an issue.  

[clo]

2 hours ago, ldubs said:

 

I'm not familiar with Buy Nothing. If we get to the point we want to donate we won't have an issue.  

My late mother-in-law had Waterford crystal. We didn't want it and the 'girls' didn't so we donated it to our Humane Society thrift store. (I even priced it out for them.) A great deal.

[DRS/NC]

On 5/14/2024 at 9:00 AM, Hlitner said:

I think most places have some decent local/regional products.  But cruisers are notorious for throwing their money around on tourist-oriented goods that are overpriced (for the tourist market) and often made in Asia (i.e. China, Vietnam, India, etc).  We live in Mexico (Puerto Vallarta) for part of the year and DW seldom buys anything to bring home (i.e. we do not need more junk).  However, when we do buy it will generally be local/regional art/crafts.  For those coming to PV (or some other Mexican ports) you might want to look at Mexican works of art such as the interesting, beaded works made by the Huichol Indians.  There also are quite a few art galleries that feature works of art created by Mexican (some are well known).  However, if you are going to buy "junk" at a flea market such as pottery then so be it!  And for those who insist on going to Walmart (in Mexico) for their shopping...we have little sympathy.  As one who loves living in Mexico (and the Mexicans) we urge folks to support the local/regional artisans.

 

Hank

RE Huichol Indians' beaded work -- I got an intricately beaded egg about 20 years ago (can't recall which Mexican port).  It's a Christmas tree ornament that I've used every year -- along w/ all my other "cruise port" ornaments.  Some ornaments are "art" some are not but all are good memories.

[clo]

3 hours ago, DRS/NC said:

Some ornaments are "art" some are not but all are good memories.

Oh, yes, you need to come see my tree. One ornament is a glass evil eye from Turkey. Things from all over the world that may not have begun life as ornaments 🙂 Even have our entrance 'things' from the Master Golf Tournament about 30 years ago. Kindred spirits.

[ldubs]

3 hours ago, DRS/NC said:

RE Huichol Indians' beaded work -- I got an intricately beaded egg about 20 years ago (can't recall which Mexican port).  It's a Christmas tree ornament that I've used every year -- along w/ all my other "cruise port" ornaments.  Some ornaments are "art" some are not but all are good memories.

 

The hunt for something to add to the collection from new places can be a lot of fun. 

 

BTW, we were in Rothenburg Germany a couple months ago.  They have an incredible Christmas store.  Some of the ornaments were incredibly detailed.   

[clo]

1 hour ago, ldubs said:

 

The hunt for something to add to the collection from new places can be a lot of fun. 

 

BTW, we were in Rothenburg Germany a couple months ago.  They have an incredible Christmas store.  Some of the ornaments were incredibly detailed.   

And not 'made in China'?

[ldubs]

31 minutes ago, clo said:

And not 'made in China'?

 

I did not look (nor did I buy).  I just enjoyed seeing all the stuff.   I read that practically all is made in the EU.   The small part not made in the EU is made in Tanzania-- not China.   

 

There were also Cuckoo clock shops.   Incredibly amazing things. 

[clo]

4 minutes ago, ldubs said:

 

I did not look (nor did I buy).  I just enjoyed seeing all the stuff.   I read that practically all is made in the EU.   The small part not made in the EU is made in Tanzania-- not China.   

 

There were also Cuckoo clock shops.   Incredibly amazing things. 

Oh good. When we were in Norway we went in a shop that had lots of souvenirs. Except for some Norwegian sea salt which I bought everything else was made in China. I was looking for "made in Norway."

 

[kochleffel]

8 minutes ago, clo said:

When we were in Norway we went in a shop that had lots of souvenirs. Except for some Norwegian sea salt which I bought everything else was made in China. I was looking for "made in Norway."

 

I don't think that you would find many "made in Norway" things in a shop selling souvenirs -- they would be too expensive for the souvenir market. Many would be almost too expensive for the luxury market!

 

I was startled by the reference upthread to cheap pottery. I don't buy much at all when traveling, but during a Greek islands cruise I bought a piece on Rhodes, not very expensive but handmade on Rhodes, that copied the form and decoration of classical pottery. I was especially taken by its depicting the death of Achilles, because I had Achilles tendonitis at the time.

 

But when Venice was working up to banning cruise ships, one of the arguments was that cruise passengers didn't eat in restaurants or buy anything authentic products in shops -- just got food from McDonald's, dumped the wrapping into the canals, and bought made-in-China trinkets. That may have been true of many passengers on day calls, but the result was that cruises from Venice shifted to departing from Trieste or Ravenna -- even though passengers embarking and disembarking typically stayed in Venice before, after, or both (would have been both with me, but I changed that booking to one departing from Athens).

[ldubs]

32 minutes ago, clo said:

Oh good. When we were in Norway we went in a shop that had lots of souvenirs. Except for some Norwegian sea salt which I bought everything else was made in China. I was looking for "made in Norway."

 

 

Uff Da!   

 

Years ago we had a guide and driver in Beijing.   Because of a problem pregnancy, she delivered her child in the SF Bay Area. She said she was excited to buy baby clothes in America.  Guess what she found -- Haha.   

Edited May 30 by ldubs

[ldubs]

8 minutes ago, kochleffel said:

 

I don't think that you would find many "made in Norway" things in a shop selling souvenirs -- they would be too expensive for the souvenir market. Many would be almost too expensive for the luxury market!

 

I was startled by the reference upthread to cheap pottery. I don't buy much at all when traveling, but during a Greek islands cruise I bought a piece on Rhodes, not very expensive but handmade on Rhodes, that copied the form and decoration of classical pottery. I was especially taken by its depicting the death of Achilles, because I had Achilles tendonitis at the time.

 

But when Venice was working up to banning cruise ships, one of the arguments was that cruise passengers didn't eat in restaurants or buy anything authentic products in shops -- just got food from McDonald's, dumped the wrapping into the canals, and bought made-in-China trinkets. That may have been true of many passengers on day calls, but the result was that cruises from Venice shifted to departing from Trieste or Ravenna -- even though passengers embarking and disembarking typically stayed in Venice before, after, or both (would have been both with me, but I changed that booking to one departing from Athens).

 

Too bad that wasn't the sole reason.   Then Instead of banning cruise ships then they could have banned any souvenir not made in Venice.   Problem solved!  😀

 

I like (but not really "like") your reason for buying the Achilles themed pottery.   That would have special meaning.   

[clo]

17 minutes ago, ldubs said:

 

Uff Da!   

 

Years ago we had a guide and driver in Beijing.   Because of a problem pregnancy, she delivered her child in the SF Bay Area. She said she was excited to buy baby clothes in America.  Guess what she found -- Haha.   

But she may have gotten better here, especially in SF.

[ldubs]

3 minutes ago, clo said:

But she may have gotten better here, especially in SF.

 

Quite likely and paid more too, but I suspect she was anticipating that.  

[clo]

PS: I've loved this thread because since reading it I can't walk through a single room in our house - kitchen and baths included - without seeing at least one souvenir from a trip.