Last week, my whole family went to go see Mary Poppins Returns. It made me smile the WHOLE time!!! It was such a Disney-esque movie – the music, the animation, the signing, the sets…..I loved how they took the original, ran it into a sequel, but made a wholly unique movie all at the same time.
Something that was woven throughout the movie was the idea of memories. I love the memories I make when I travel – whether with family, friends or for work. I gather together pieces of knowledge, memories of destinations, winding roads and unexpected journeys. I started thinking about some of the “things” I treasure most from my travels, and right now, those things include the ornaments I try to collect from each destination. Sometimes I forget, but I usually remember to get some small trinket/ornament every new place we go – except for Disney- we try to get one each time we go and we are starting a rather nice collect:)
Along with the picture books I have made of our travels, these ornaments serve as a tangible memory of a place seen and experienced. Year after year, they restart a conversation of times past, adventures taken, dreams accomplished, destinations enjoyed and precious memories with people I love. I feel joy each year when I hold them in my hands to put them on our tree to adorn and be adored. And after every New Year, I tenderly put them away to await their reveal for the next Christmas Season.
Recently, I have been on a kick of purging personal items – I feel we have too many “things” that we don’t need and these “things” own us. I read somewhere that when thinking about keeping or getting rid of something, I should ask myself if it has a constant purpose or if it gives me joy. These ornaments are some of the few “things” I have that truly give me joy and they won’t be headed out with the purging boxes:)
Here are some pictures of a few of my favorite travel ornaments, where they came from, and a memory I have of these places experienced! Enjoy and Merry Christmas!
Some of our Disney favorites – I love the one in the foreground that is the Mickey ears representing the Haunted Mansion! Right near Liberty Square in Magic Kingdom, there is an adorable ornament shop I love visiting each time we go to Disney! Next month, my daughter and I are going to Disneyland Paris and we will get a lovely ornament there, too!
I picked up the gem of San Gimignano, Italy when I was there in June of 2018 with my step-mom and sisters. It was their first trip to Italy and I got to be the tour guide. San Gimignano is a beautiful Tuscan hill town with so much charm and flare and happens to have TWO amazing gelaterias in the same common square!
San Marino – the third smallest country in Europe, was a delight to visit! We were road-tripping in Italy and stayed overnight in Remini on the Adriatic. We were driving across country to Sorrento but HAD to make a stop in San Marino and I am so glad we did! It was gorgeous but BOY was it windy!!! I have a picture my husband took of me standing at the top of one of the guard towers and it is so windy my hair was swirling on top of my head like a tornado!
I love this beautiful ornament from Kensington Palace. When we visited the palace in May of 2015, all of Britain was on royal baby watch for Princess Kate and Prince William’s second born. This baby would be a girl – born the morning we visited Kensington – and she would be named Charlotte. I have my very own princess Charlotte and she was thrilled to learn the baby’s name while we visited!
Oh, Positano – breathtaking!!! On our first visit there in 2016, we had rented scooters and scooted our way up and down the Amalfi Coast! What an AMAZING day! Our first stop was Positano and we parked our scooters and walked down to the shore. There, we enjoyed the peace and quiet of an early April morning with some coffee and a view that was indescribable!
Florence, or Firenze to the Italians. This city is steeped in history, gorgeous architecture and a surprise around every corner! I have visited twice, each for one day, and both experiences have been wonderful. On my first trip it was a rainy April day. We climbed the dome of the cathedral and although it was raining when we got to the top, I cannot imagine what the view would have been like had it been a clear day – because even with the rain it was wonderful!
This little beauty is from Cancun, Mexico – something I picked up while on a girls trip on a 5 night cruise out of Tampa. My usual girl’s trips involve a beach, so this one was a bit different, and while I hit the hay every night around 10pm, my BFFs partied until the wee hours! No worries – we all go on vacation for different reasons – they went to dance; I went to sleep!
Mrs. Smith Travels 