Rocks and Coffee
Winning at the souvenir game while lingering
Taffy Memories
When I was a kid, my grandparents would travel to the Great Smokey Mountains for regular weekend getaways. I could hardly wait for their return because almost without fail I could count on an exotic green and white box of saltwater taffy as my souvenir. If I was extra lucky, they’d get the big box that had two whole layers of sweetly rolled taffy goodness just for me. It was my 1980s childhood dream come true. My little girl hands would dive in, searching single-mindedly for all the vanilla and licorice pieces…or the most treasured white ones with black stripes. I can taste their sticky yumminess even now.
One year, though, they returned with a t-shirt instead. This shirt read “Someone went to Gatlinburg and all I got was this lousy t-shirt.” It was a lousy t-shirt. Who does that to a kid? Where was my treasure? It was the grand letdown of my tiny childhood. I never wore that dumb t-shirt.
Souvenirs can be heartless or heart-full things. I’m not great at buying them, and I tend to opt for chocolate, which like taffy, typically makes everyone happy. But on this last trip to Krakow, Prague, and Spain, I kind of outdid myself. This time I WON at the souvenir game.
Rocks and Coffee
Coffee…the one thing that sustains my days while traveling. Like most Americans, multiple cups of soul-soothing goodness is my daily morning quest. And when traveling to other countries, this pleasure becomes enhanced because of the extra cups I have the pleasure of savoring (honestly, in a quest to get enough of a jolt to match my typical grande American-sized drip.) I admit to nothing if you ask me just how many cups of European coffee I can consume in a typical travel day. Hygge moments with a warm, white porcelain cup in my hand at any European café is what my dreams of made of. So, this American-sized coffee mug, fashioned by a local artist on my favorite street in the world (Nerudova Street, Prague), was a perfect souvenir to bring home from this journey.
As for the rocks…
I gathered the small, colored ones along with white, blue, and brown sea glass, on the shore of the Atlantic in Cádiz, Spain, with my daughter, Claire. We were on a perfectly windy and wonderful day trip from Seville. We wandered and lingered at the beach, got windswept, and made memories together. These rocks that now decorate my home coffee table will never let me forget the joys to be found when slowing the pace with my girl on our adventure across the world.
And the big, gray, square stone?
Well….I stole it.
But I will choose to say instead that Nerudova Street gave it to me as the perfect souvenir on my and Kevin’s last morning walk in Prague.
We got up early to savor the quiet streets one last time before our flights. The sun was coming up as Prague was gently waking, and we had bundled up to slowly enjoy our last views from the Charles Bridge. I’ve always been mesmerized by the stone streets in this city, with some significant spiritual moments that have even occurred for me while walking and noticing their beauty on my visits. So, while taking those first few morning steps on Nerudova Street, feeling half asleep and sad to leave, there she sat…a piece of the street, plucked up most likely by a small car accident in the middle of the night. Walking past, I said to Kevin, “Wow, that would be a great souvenir.” And then about 20 steps later, my brain caught up with the reality of what I had just seen and said. I looked in both directions. No one was around except us. So I quickly turned back, snuck her in my pocket, and went on our way just a little bit faster, praying no one saw and feeling quite pleased with my new treasure.
The best things in travel seem to come when you’re least expecting them.
That’s why I love to guide travelers towards space and lingering, slowing the pace and savoring it all. Whether they are moments and memories or pieces of your favorite street, slowly traveling in wonder with one eye on the world and the other eye on Jesus can offer the best souvenirs.
Happy Travels,
Amy
I’m sitting in my cozy chair, reading this newsletter, and on the table beside me??…. ROCKS from various travel spots! Great minds think alike. ;)