How To Extend The Joy Of Your Holiday Travel

Bring the flavours back home with you.

I was in an impossibly tiny Portuguese grocery store in Lisbon surrounded by people who’d just come off the metro from work. They all carried a small red basket as I did. But I think I was the only one who couldn’t read the signs in the aisles. Everything was in Portuguese of course, but I didn’t care.

My basket carried a frozen octopus as well as local coffee, vegetables, fruit, and jam for my husband and me to cook with in our little rented apartment.

But I was also on the lookout for foods to take home to Canada — edible souvenirs for gifts and more importantly, for my husband and me to enjoy long after we were home from our holiday.

When you’re young or if you haven’t travelled much, you tend to buy a lot of souvenirs that typically were made in China and not in the place you visited. It seems to be a silly and expensive rite of passage all new travellers go through.

And then eventually you tire of wasting time looking for souvenirs on your holiday and spending money on the coconut husk keychain or Vegas magnet that gets a lukewarm reaction.

We all have the desire to share our experiences, and certainly, we take pictures — but let’s get real here — no one else really wants to look at them. We’ve all been tortured by someone who sat and showed us 700 pictures of their holiday.

And what makes my husband and I happy is when we can share some French escargots with garlic and butter with friends who love them. Or on a cold morning, we make a pot of Portuguese coffee and sip and talk about the wonderful time we had there a year ago.

Edible souvenirs are gifts that keep on giving long after your holiday is over.

I found a local grocery store by accident when I was in Mexico on my first international trip after college. I saw the locals buy huge containers of vanilla for a fraction of the price people sold on the street. I wised up. I bought three bottles for my mom, sister and me.

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