Souvenirs

As I pack up my room and life in Fort Worth, I keep coming across souvenirs and mementos from my travels. Some are silly or tacky, but I would have a hard time parting with any of them. I can't help but smile as I put them into boxes and remember where each one was purchased. Revisiting these memories, I am transported back in time and surrounded by the faces of people I miss. I can still remember the exhilarating feeling of being somewhere new, yet in my mind these places feel warm and familiar, like a long lost friend. As a strand of bells collapse into a cardboard box, their jolly jingle sends me back to Santorini where I'm wearing a blue and white striped dress, colors which mirror the Aegean Sea and the white sugar cube-like buildings that surround me. I am riding a donkey named Marco up the winding steps from the ocean, and around his neck are the same bells which clang their happy tune all the way up the mountain side. All it takes is a photograph, a postcard from a travel mate, a well worn leather bag, or a coaster from a favorite pub to remind me of forgotten memories. Here are a few of my favorite souvenirs. Do you have any special souvenirs from your travels? 

{Turkish slippers and a Moroccan pouf}

{an extensive magnet collection that my roommates began to contribute to}

a hand-knotted rug I bought from Fatih at the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul

{travel books, volcanic rocks, a piece of the Berlin Wall, and a hand-painted fan from Madrid}

{a poster from a bookstore in Rome}