bringing gifts to relatives & friends -- strange requests?
May 19, 2004, 8:36 am
#31
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Before it was distributed nationally, I remember having my luggage opened and inspected when I carried on 24 bottles of Ken's Steakhouse Lite Caesar salad dressing on a flight back to SFO from TYS. The bag also included a dozen packages of Martha White Raspberry muffin mix (since discontinued, I think. Someone please tell me I'm wrong).
May 19, 2004, 9:30 am
#32
Join Date: Apr 2002
Posts: 2,388
A couple co-workers in Maryland really missed Krispy Kreme donuts so I brought them a couple dozen on a flight from Atlanta. I didn't think I was going to make it out alive after that early morning Monday flight. The smell was driving everyone crazy. Even the FAs were eyeing the overhead bin. 
My parents have taken Sam's Club-sized jugs of Hershey's Chocolate Syrup with them for a cousin overseas. Those bottles are heavy!
Another coworker requested some burritos from a place in San Diego. The trip never panned out, otherwise I could have added Mexican food to me list too.
My parents have taken Sam's Club-sized jugs of Hershey's Chocolate Syrup with them for a cousin overseas. Those bottles are heavy!
Another coworker requested some burritos from a place in San Diego. The trip never panned out, otherwise I could have added Mexican food to me list too.
May 19, 2004, 11:47 pm
#35
Join Date: Dec 2003
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A wild salmon, straight from the waters off Pacifica. Gutted, cleaned, butchered, secured in an Igloo cooler and transported immediately to STL for Thanksgiving dinner. Sort of a culinary Med-Evac.
May 20, 2004, 12:21 pm
#37
Join Date: Dec 2003
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From Miami, I usually bring back "pastelitos" -- flaky (phyllo dough) Cuban pastries stuffed with meat, cheese, guava, or coconut. Very yummy and IMPOSSIBLE to find outside of Miami, Tampa or other places with a large Cuban population.
The more unusual requests recently, though, were when I brought back some things from Iceland a couple of years ago for my Icelandic friend here. She wanted some smoked lamb -- something I didn't get to taste but which she says is the best -- and I got it easily at the airport shop with the vet certificate (no mad cow here!) and freezer bag. This trip was in the still relatively early post-9/11 days, so I wasn't prepared to be asked so many questions upon my return. After the 4th/5th question (where'd I go, etc.) I had to stop them and let them know that I had a smoked lamb in my bag... lest the agent's dog come pouncing on me!!!
Stranger, though, was my friend's request for something called "fisk budingur" or something like it. I asked the hotel clerk where there was a supermarket nearby because I *HAD* to get my friend this stuff. They laughed and it wasn't until later that I realized why: my friend has described it as some sort of canned, compressed fish that you slice up and fry -- I guess it's like the Icelandic, fishy version of SPAM!!!!
The more unusual requests recently, though, were when I brought back some things from Iceland a couple of years ago for my Icelandic friend here. She wanted some smoked lamb -- something I didn't get to taste but which she says is the best -- and I got it easily at the airport shop with the vet certificate (no mad cow here!) and freezer bag. This trip was in the still relatively early post-9/11 days, so I wasn't prepared to be asked so many questions upon my return. After the 4th/5th question (where'd I go, etc.) I had to stop them and let them know that I had a smoked lamb in my bag... lest the agent's dog come pouncing on me!!!
Stranger, though, was my friend's request for something called "fisk budingur" or something like it. I asked the hotel clerk where there was a supermarket nearby because I *HAD* to get my friend this stuff. They laughed and it wasn't until later that I realized why: my friend has described it as some sort of canned, compressed fish that you slice up and fry -- I guess it's like the Icelandic, fishy version of SPAM!!!!
May 20, 2004, 4:59 pm
#38
Original Member, Moderator: Hotel Deals and MilesBuzz
Join Date: May 1998
Location: Washington, DC
Posts: 14,257
Mmmmmm!
Originally Posted by Gator Gal
From Miami, I usually bring back "pastelitos" -- flaky (phyllo dough) Cuban pastries stuffed with meat, cheese, guava, or coconut. Very yummy and IMPOSSIBLE to find outside of Miami, Tampa or other places with a large Cuban population.
May 23, 2004, 3:16 pm
#40
Join Date: Jun 2001
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smelling like a jewish deli?
Most of the visits to LA include a visit to THE bakery on Pico in west LA for real rye bread preferably thin or extra thin sliced, some real "alligators" a kind of yummy gooey pecan strudely thing, some "new" pickles, some malomars (several boxes) and then some C.C. Brown's Hot Fudge Sauce from Gelsens. My hand luggage smells sooo fragrant. Everyone knows I am coming home with the goods.
May 23, 2004, 4:42 pm
#41
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Windermere
Posts: 286
C & C from M & S
Originally Posted by lalala
I have to admit to travelling light and enjoying staying with my relatives. I often will call them and ask if they have any requests from Seattle or the US.
My mom always wants halibut, my aunt -- emergen-c (vitamin drink). No biggie and I'm happy to do it.
Now I am off for a trip to the homeland and my bags are full of:
ziplock bags (300)
lemon pepper (costco sized)
knorr chicken stock cubes
really bad lipsticks
small pill boxes and gift bags
centrum vitamins
vitamin c fizzy drinks
I have very little room for my own clothes! However, I know that the housewives of northern Teheran will all have new ziplock bags to marinate their lemon peppered chicken kabobs.
Anyone else have any good "please bring me" requests?
My mom always wants halibut, my aunt -- emergen-c (vitamin drink). No biggie and I'm happy to do it.
Now I am off for a trip to the homeland and my bags are full of:
ziplock bags (300)
lemon pepper (costco sized)
knorr chicken stock cubes
really bad lipsticks
small pill boxes and gift bags
centrum vitamins
vitamin c fizzy drinks
I have very little room for my own clothes! However, I know that the housewives of northern Teheran will all have new ziplock bags to marinate their lemon peppered chicken kabobs.
Anyone else have any good "please bring me" requests?
lala,
You have conveniently forgotten the cheese and celery sandwich from Marks and Sparks that you insisted I bring back from London...for YOU! That was about 1983. My meek confession to the agriculture police about the celery content was satifactory.
You never can be too careful in an Apple Maggot Quarantine area.
TPML
May 24, 2004, 7:32 am
#42
Join Date: Nov 2003
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[Cut and pasted from a related thread I opened and then deleted]
Those of you who live or have lived in Japan know of the custom or propensity of bringing back souvenirs (called "omiyage" in Japanese) for your friends, relatives, and acquaintances. (This may also explain why the overhead bins are filled up on the return flights to Japan.) Like many of the other "customs" that grease the wheels of harmony in Japan (New Year's gifts, summer gifts, gifts for when your friends or relatives get married, have a child, have that child enter or "graduate" from elementary school, middle school, high school and college, gifts for when you visit someone's home, gifts for someone who does something for you, or gifts for all the neighbors in your area when you move into a new neighborhood), gifts from a trip abroad are a traditional part of living in Japan.
I try to keep the gift-giving to a minimum, but as I've lived here quite a while and my wife all her life, we do unfortunately spend a fair amount of time and money on these travel gifts. Our most recent trip to Guam required bringing back gifts for the neighbors on each side of us, parents-in-law, brothers- and sisters-in-law, a niece, and several friends of the wife. I don't mind the money so much as the loss of vacation time shopping for these gifts. Because of this I usually push for going with the "standard" stuff (in this case boxes of chocolate-covered macadamia nuts, made in Hawaii, but with the name "Guam" in large letters on the top of the box). Hey, not very unique, but I do squeeze in a little more time on the beach.
Those of you who live or have lived in Japan know of the custom or propensity of bringing back souvenirs (called "omiyage" in Japanese) for your friends, relatives, and acquaintances. (This may also explain why the overhead bins are filled up on the return flights to Japan.) Like many of the other "customs" that grease the wheels of harmony in Japan (New Year's gifts, summer gifts, gifts for when your friends or relatives get married, have a child, have that child enter or "graduate" from elementary school, middle school, high school and college, gifts for when you visit someone's home, gifts for someone who does something for you, or gifts for all the neighbors in your area when you move into a new neighborhood), gifts from a trip abroad are a traditional part of living in Japan.
I try to keep the gift-giving to a minimum, but as I've lived here quite a while and my wife all her life, we do unfortunately spend a fair amount of time and money on these travel gifts. Our most recent trip to Guam required bringing back gifts for the neighbors on each side of us, parents-in-law, brothers- and sisters-in-law, a niece, and several friends of the wife. I don't mind the money so much as the loss of vacation time shopping for these gifts. Because of this I usually push for going with the "standard" stuff (in this case boxes of chocolate-covered macadamia nuts, made in Hawaii, but with the name "Guam" in large letters on the top of the box). Hey, not very unique, but I do squeeze in a little more time on the beach.
May 24, 2004, 12:44 pm
#43
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AlanW gets Neutrogena, Ranch Dressing, and BBQ sauce when I venture over to Spain, and he'll be shlepping back some croqueta mix for me next week
May 25, 2004, 2:27 pm
#44
Join Date: Apr 2003
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Ice Cream!
Seriously, friends in AUS and LAX who used to live in Indiana and are addicted to "Homemade Brand" (United Dairy Farmers) mint chocolate chip ice cream, only available in the midwest.
The 5+ pounds of dry ice in a cooler in my carry-on leads to interesting side effects. Fog coming out of the bag, condensation ice forming on the outside of the carry on, really weird looks from the people around me, and really cold clothes at the final destination.
And yes, it's legal. You can carry-on up to five pounds of dry ice used as a coolant. Never been bugged by TSA about it either, even the time I had a digital temperature probe wire going into the cooler so I could monitor the temp.
However, I do always carry a full copy of the regulations that specify that dry ice is allowed just in case.
The 5+ pounds of dry ice in a cooler in my carry-on leads to interesting side effects. Fog coming out of the bag, condensation ice forming on the outside of the carry on, really weird looks from the people around me, and really cold clothes at the final destination.
And yes, it's legal. You can carry-on up to five pounds of dry ice used as a coolant. Never been bugged by TSA about it either, even the time I had a digital temperature probe wire going into the cooler so I could monitor the temp.
However, I do always carry a full copy of the regulations that specify that dry ice is allowed just in case.