We visited Italy in the winter of 2003. With the exception of two taxi rides, we did a whole month depending entirely on public transportation and our own two feet. We packed light, washed out our clothes in hotel bathtubs and wore the same sweater every day.
But in Sorrento we strolled through a market street and saw a kitchenware store with a table of sale items on the sidewalk. We spotted some nice pasta bowls for an amazing 1.25 euros apiece -- at the time, about $1.15 -- and couldn't resist. We bought four and shlepped them back to the hotel, a long enough walk that we traded off carrying the bag once or twice along the way.
Before we made it home for good we had carried those bowls about four miles, making our way between hotels and railroad stations and through airports. With every step they got a little bit heavier, and we had to remind ourselves that the bowls were beautiful, a steal, and our only souvenirs of the trip. We had invested not just the five bucks but a heck of a lot of sweat equity to bring them home.
But it was worth it! They have become our default bowl for pasta, not to mention the occasional soup or other juicy entree. I suspect they've been used at least once a week since we returned, and we never fail to think about our wonderful trip when we eat that last bit of food and reveal the red tomato.
I carried home a cast iron casserole and a full set of flatware when I visited Denmark. Well worth the struggle to carry and still keep track of two children and many plane changes. I, too, am reminded of the country with each use!! the exchange rate was incredible back then.
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