The pieces we carry home are nearly as priceless as the trips we take.
We asked writers, designers, and travelers to share memories about the objects that tie them to their travels in What We Bring Home. We also asked AFAR staffers about the craziest/largest/most potentially illegal thing they’ve brought back from a trip.
Here’s what they had to say.
A new way to reflect
“I bought a hand-carved, hand-painted mirror in Montañita, Ecuador. It survived the 20-plus-hour ride back to Lima and a flight to Spain in one piece—that is, until my sister sat on it!” —Alex Palomino, associate photo editor
The big cheese
“An entire wheel of Pecorino from Italy. The cheese was too good to pass up!” —Katie Galeotti, marketing and special projects director
A leap of faith
“A gorgeous mahogany and brass box from Zanzibar, which I carried from the artisan’s studio to my hotel (it’s large), then from the hotel to DHL in the rain. DHL doesn’t insure from Zanzibar so I took a leap of faith and shipped it without insurance. Now I have a gorgeous, damaged mahogany and brass box sitting in my Brooklyn living room. The labor, the story, and the fact that it cost more to ship than to buy makes the story that much better.” —Barry Brown, executive director, Caribbean
See the rest of the story at Business Insider