Souvenirs are one of the most special things associated with travel. They are the little things that give the ‘been there, done that’ feeling like nothing else. I mean, pictures contain a memory of the glory of nature and mankind witnessed by the traveller but souvenirs contain memories of the journey. The amazing part about souvenirs is that it can be the most random or the most simple of objects carrying a mammoth impact. For instance, Neil Armstrong brought back a rock from the Moon. A rock is literally the definition of commonality on Earth but when it comes from the Moon, it speaks volumes of the giant leap for mankind.

Getting back to Mother Earth, Imma show you some of the souvenirs I’ve collected over my travels. This post includes the collection from London, Edinburgh and Paris. So, without further dilly-dally, here we go:

London:

London is a place teeming with souvenirs. The city has so many iconic things about it that every little detail requires a souvenir to represent it, else, it’s a missed opportunity.

 

Souvenir coins are literally my favourites. I like the whole process of getting them out of the machine, especially the arm strength routine that takes place while turning the wheel. The copper coins are from the M&Ms store while the silver one is a Star Wars coin from Madame Tussauds.

A Beatles souvenir is a necessity while visiting London. I got these three diverse souvenirs from the same store. Now everywhere I go, I make it a point bring back at least two rubbers cause I’ve been collecting them since I was a wee baby. The Scotland souvenir here is a keychain, another entity I love to collect. And yes, I got the Scotland keychain from London….A wee bit of a mix-up, innit:)

The magnet is from a stall by the London-Eye Pier and the bridge is from a store not far away. The magnet was the first souvenir I bought from London. It is just so cute!!!!

 

The Pyramid is another rubber from the British Museum and the Rosetta Stone keychain is another one from the Egypt section. There was one curious souvenir at the Egypt store in the British Museum; Lip gloss in a Mummy Container. I mean, sometimes, souvenirs can get insanely creative and I do not know what to think about them anymore ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

The T-Rex who goes by the name Troy is cutting a slay-worthy figure with a magnifying tube for a purse. I got this baby from the Natural History Museum, along with Tippy the Triceratops who does not look amused.

 

I solemnly swear I accio’d my way through London’s Harry Potter merch;) When I visited London, I was at the peak of my Harry Potter fever and I picked everything that had the slightest trace of Potter on it. This haul is from the ‘Making of Harry Potter’ tour at the Warner Brothers Studio and the ‘Platform 93/4’ store at King’s Cross. At the time, I did not have a Pottermore account and was confident that I am a Gryffindor, fast forward a year when I finally make that account, guess what, the Sorting Hat said Slytherin. I got Expelliarmussed but, no matter;)

Remember the ‘rocks for souvenirs’ theory? This is it. A trip to Stonehenge brought back another rubber and a game of assembling rocks in a circle which I like to call ‘Prehistoric Jenga’. Also, there’s a wee baby version of the Stonehenge. Pictures are not to scale, the rocks are too huge to fit in a trunk:)

That’s a bookmark and a forty years’ calendar from Greenwich. Highly useful for planning birthday parties well in advance….

Edinburgh:

I brought back Nessie.

Hehe.

I love the daydreaming expression on the Highland Cow. One interesting fact about this particular one is that it falls a sleep only when a lullaby is played on the bagpipes. Besides, I said I brought back Nessie. It’s a wee little pin badge! Those two rings are Celtic mood rings and not the one ring that was the source of Frodo’s nightmares(#LordOfTheRings) However, if you wear this ring and it indicates a grumpy mood by turning pink, you have full right to stand up and go….

The Edinburgh Castle is a pretty trinket.

This bagpipe magnet actually plays when you press the button. That’s where the above Highland Cow gets his lullabies from.

Paris:

The good idea Audrey Hepburn was talking about.

This represents the French culinary angle. It includes a paper bag magnet with a baguette and a newspaper hanging on a bottle of champagne. For the garnish, there’s a yin-yang Paris salt and pepper shaker. Thankfully the shakers are marked by colours and you don’t have to count the holes to tell which is which. A problem that can potentially ruin a meal. However, Paris means perfection, ain’ it?

The city haul! The mini Eiffel Tower keychain is the most popular souvenir in Paris. It is a great gifting option as it’s available in every colour that ever exists. The mini Arc De Triomphe is from one of the shops near the monument. The magnet has all the key monuments in Paris with the Eiffel Tower sprouting out. Paris does have a lot of souvenirs which show all of its monuments in one place and that makes it convenient as one doesn’t have to keep buying a separate keepsake for every place.

The Disneyland raid!!!! Here’s a place I cannot get enough of. We weren’t there in Paris Disneyland for a long time so the trip had to balance out between exploring and shopping. However, I recommend at least one day to shop satisfactorily as there as so many new things coming up and every corner has something magical in store. I love the Mjolnir(Thor’s hammer) keychain as it comes with the inscription and I can lift it which makes me worthy. The Merida statue represents my undying love for ‘Brave’ and Olaf for ‘Frozen’ the sequel of which I watched twice in the cinema.

The castle in Paris is pink which is really cool and all the more Princess-y and makes sense considering it is the Sleeping Beauty Castle and pink is Aurora’s colour. The other magnet with ‘Disneyland’ written on it has each letter decorated with a different character. ‘Ratatouille’ is  very famous in Paris, both the dish and the movie and the attraction at the Park was literally the most sought-after one.

P.S. Spiderman is actually very friendly, not sure if he lives in the neighbourhood though.

Souvenir coins from Arc de Triomphe and Notre Dame and a purse holder. The purse holder is a curious little thing which can be used to hang a purse when at a restaurant or anywhere outside. You just place the blue weight on the table, pull down the hook and voila! You’ve got yourself a purse hanger! It was really convenient during the trip considering I love travelling with bags.

Paris is truly a great idea!

And that is a wrap,

Until next time!

Au revoir:)