I don’t love to shop – at least not near my home. But it’s different when I’m away. I’m always curious to see what treasures other travelers seek out on their adventures.

Sitting here at my kitchen table, I need only to look around the room to re-kindle memories of my travels around the world . . .

Starting in North America, I see a travel poster from Quebec. The first time I visited the home of the man who is now my husband, I was impressed with the collection of travel posters on his living room wall. (No, he did not invite me up to see his “etchings.” It was his homemade spaghetti . . . and it worked!) Our first “international” trip was to Quebec. And for the first few years of our relationship (until we ran out of wall space), he gifted me with vintage travel posters from the places we had seen together.

Traveling south to Peru … the next poster commemorates our first WOW! Travel Club adventure (2007) together. Jumping over the Atlantic, the next poster is of Victoria Falls in Zambia, which we visited with WOW! in 2009.

Scanning more walls in my kitchen, I jump to Vietnam – and a memory of purchasing two reproduction prints of vintage propaganda posters. One depicts a woman with bushels of fruit with the caption: “Planting more fruit trees for exporting.” The other print shows two women in quasi-military garb – one with a machine gun propped at her hip – and a caption which translates to, “Drilling well to protect our country.”  I remember my first trip to Vietnam – back in 2002 – when I arrived with more than a little guilt, expecting to feel admonished for all we’d done to ravage their country. Instead, I was surprised (though I shouldn’t have been) to learn that they call it the “American War” – and that I met nobody – nobody – who seemed to hold any grudges or animosity against the Americans. Except for The Museum of American Atrocities (since re-named the War Remnants Museum), there was virtually no evidence of that decades-old conflict.

Flying elephant – Balinese style

I had gone to Bali many, many years ago on an industry familiarization trip. By the time we completed the obligatory hotel inspections, we had a total of about 20 minutes of free time. We were in Ubud – the cultural heart of Bali, famous for its handicrafts. I vividly recall dashing into a gallery, spotting a painted wooden elephant carving hanging from the rafters. Without a thought to the cost (which was very reasonable), I pointed to it and said to the proprietor, “I’ll take that.” It was the quickest purchasing decision of my life. And to this day, I treasure my flying elephant hanging over the kitchen sink.

Skipping eastward to Europe, I see a trio of hand-painted pottery that I purchased last year in Gallipoli, Puglia (heel of the boot of Italy) where I keep fresh garlic, sea salt and herbs that I use almost daily. Of course nothing ever tastes as good as food consumed in Italy!

The Kitchen Superintendent

Zooming back across the Atlantic, I remember my trip to Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia. I can still picture a grizzled old guy whittling away in his wood shop. His name was Josef. I know this because he signed the woodcarving that I purchased. It’s a crude, primitive carving of a one-toothed, boot-wearing woman – hands on hips, – wearing a polka-dot housedress and a spotted yellow headscarf. She supervises everything that goes on in my kitchen from her perch on the windowsill!

“Roosters,” by a renown Cuban artist!

Wrapping up my around-the-world kitchen tour, we travel south to Havana, where a pair of colorful watercolor prints caught my eye during one of my shopping expeditions through the vast Artisan Market. Thousands of exceptional works are displayed in this cavernous historic building on Havana Harbor – paintings, photographs, sculptures, carvings, pottery, weavings, embroidery . . . it’s almost overwhelming. Like most all Cubans, the artist was wonderfully warm and friendly. Similar to the Vietnamese – they don’t blame the people of America for what our government has done to ravage their economy. He carefully packaged my prints in an envelope crafted from a promotional poster of an exhibition of the works of a Cuban artist named Ileana Mulet. (They don’t waste paper in Cuba . . .)

Google is a wonderful thing:  Kamyl Bullaudy Rodriguez is an accomplished Cuban artist in his own right! His work has been exhibited in Germany, Spain, France, Portugal, Switzerland, Romania, Lebanon, Japan, Martinique, Mexico, Canada and the U.S. He has won the most prestigious art award in Cuba, the Victor Manuel National Prize!   

Wow! I had no idea that my $5 prints were created by an artist who is “famous for his beautiful, colorful roosters!”

“And that, ladies and gentlemen, concludes my international kitchen tour. Thank you for joining me on my trip around the world!”

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So . . . I’m curious to know about your travel treasures!  Please share in the comments below!