I do the photo thing, but now do both regular photos & digital. The digital go on a cdr and get cycled on and off my screen savers at home & work. The quality that I can afford still doesn't match photos, so I do regular 35mm film and get them in an album as soom as they come back.

I also try to pick up a cd or two of music when I travel--a nice way to bring back another piece of the culture.

I occasionally pick up a tie for myself and for others as gifts. These kinds of things help me remember a good trip at unusual moments.

JP

(besides making notes into my Palm) From places I haven't been before, I also always send a postcard to my home-address

That is a really good Idea. http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttr...orum/smile.gif

I think it's really important to have records about major trips. I have tried many of the ideas above. I find I am inconsistent about keeping journals. I do collect lapel pins from each new destination. I arrange these in framed shadow boxes bought at Michael's. They make a nice display and conversation piece. I also have a large framed world map on the wall of my office. I stick pins in all the places we have been.

The one thing I do religiously is to take photos with my 35 mm camera. I even take photos of signs, the names of places, descriptions, etc. Those help to recall a favorite restaurant or an archaeological site, etc.

When I get home I open a mailing labels program in Word and type a detailed label to afix to the back of each photo. Sure makes it easier to label. Then I place them in an album with the plastic pockets (PVC free). I intersperse ticket stubs, receipts, postcards, first class boarding passes, plastic hotel keys (just the ones with pretty pictures of the specific hotel) and such.

I also number the film rolls as I remove them from the camera. That helps so much when I am shooting 25 rolls in Europe. It makes it an easy task to just get the photos in order.

I find that I must do it within the first few weeks to remember enough to make it easy. I know so many people who have thrown all their remembrances in drawers or boxes. They think someday they will put it all on display. Then the task becomes so enormous it never gets done.

My teenagers still like to take out the albums and look. They have been all over the world and really appreciate their travels. And if someone asks me to help them plan a trip I just take out an album and highlight the things we enjoyed.

paradocs wrote: I do that too, although it's hanging in my laundry room right above my ironing board. I spend a lot or time staring at it, which it explains why most of my clothes get wrinkles ironed in. http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttravel_forum/wink.gif I use little stick-on colored dots. Rod has a color, T-wiz has color, I have a color and then there's another for places we've all been. The stickers at least preserve the map.

With regard to photos, for years we never traveled with a camera. Then Rod got the photography bug. Now he takes lots of pictures and we usually come away with one or two wonderful shots that we blow up, frame and hang somewhere in the house. I just love these constant reminders of wonderful trips.

In some ways, my whole house is my scrapbook because I've purchased so many great souvenirs - kimonos from Tokyo hang in my office and bedroom; majolica plates from Italy are on display in my kitchen; handblown glass from most every country I've ever visited in somewhere in my house; we have a great Ben Kikiyama from Hawaii ... I just love living in a place that reminds me of wonderful trips ... on second thought, maybe it is best if I never do any type of display out of all stubs to JAX. http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttravel_forum/wink.gif

The wife of another FT I know carries along a little sketch pad. She's done some wonderful little sketches and watercolors of places they've visited, explaining that drawing a place really forces her to notice the details. I thought that was a great idea.

This is really interesting. I just attended a meeting of professional geographers and there was a paper about travel journals that were made in the early part of the 20th century. Granted people who travelled had means, but the quality of photographs (usually done professionally) and the books/journals were amazing. I learned that often travellers relied on shops to put together these souvenirs for travellers and they would receive them later. Coupled with the amazing journals and sketches about the grand tour through italy that is at the getty, I really got an eyeful in LA this week!

Makes me wonder about the rise of scrapbooking that is going on right now.

lala

Letiole, we think alike, as my pins are color coordinated, too.

I agree with you that it is fun to find that perfect souvenier as a remembrance and display it every day.

That is a really good idea. I just wish I knew how to draw or sketch. If I did this I would have a bunch of stick figure drawings. http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttr...orum/frown.gif

I do most of the above (except for keeping a journal, which I never seem to have time for). I also have bowls and plates and prints from many of the places we have visited, as well as Christmas tree decorations (and a wonderful Nutcracker from Germany).
My scrapbook includes photos (both my husband and I shoot pictures - it ends up in many duplicates, but we have found that often one of us will get a much better shot than the other and so we decided it was worth it - and plus we both love to take pix). I use a scrapbook with paper pages (not plastic sleeves, etc.) and intersperse the photos with ticket stubs, brochures, menus, pamphlets from tourist sites, etc., etc. I always pick up business cards from the restaurants we go to. On our three-week trip to Germany, we ended up accumulating two full boxes of paper, which we mailed home because they were just too heavy to carry around in our suitcases - cost us a small fortune in postage!! I also buy postcards, just in case those photos don't turn out very well :-). I try to get at least one that displays the name of each country and/or city visited. Then, I put it at the beginning of the section in the book covering that location. I also try to get maps of the city and/or country(s). I will mark the progress of our journey on the country map and put it at the beginning of the book. I have been doing this since I was a kid. Most of those old scrapbooks are gone now (very sad) but still have books going back to the beginning of our marriage (starting with the honeymoon). They bring back great memories.

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