Europe was overwhelming…so much to see and three weeks flew by…however, my family has unanimously decided that that is too long to be away. Me? I’d be on a boat for six months, travelling the world, if time and money allowed. There are treasures everywhere, and since we packed two empty totes, we came back stuffed (totes and bellies). Some highlights, by region…. In France, I avoided pottery and linens, though they were plentiful. Stuck with foodstuff (salted caramels, fleur de sel, and pretty much anything to do with french salt, after seeing the beautiful pink salt bedsin the Comargue region), and pretty soaps from Provence, a bargain at 1.50 euros…

Did a little more damage in Italy. Murano and Burano, small islands near Venice, are known for their glass (glass ornaments in back for 15 euros, and small trinkets my son bought) and lace respectively…

Florence is known for leather, fine stationery, and gilded wood boxes, trays and other home decor. My son bought the leather garbage can in the back which conveniently folded flat for travel – do ya think they’re appealing to tourists?

Further south, Sorrento and Amalfi coast had wonderful foodstuff (spice packets at 5 for 7 euros), olive wood kitchen accessories (salad servers for 10 euros), limoncello (7 euros in a beautifully painted bottle), and small lemon soaps (1 euro apiece)…

…ceramica with “lemons” – are you catching a theme? There were many more patterns, but I was drawn to the cobalt blue with the lemons…

…linen scarves made in Italy (only 5 euros apiece), and another souvenir my son bought – a beautiful inlaid wooden box (20 euros), an old timey Sorrento trade….

We met a lot of people who were 2nd, 3rd, even fourth generation craftsmen which was so interesting for my children.The prices were very good for the quality (the leather purses, for example, were generally around 50 euros – amazing prices, considering that they were real leather and hand-crafted). And now, I’m done with a lot of Christmas shopping….