SOUVENIRS

This post is a work in progress... I'll be adding text and pics when I find time

Most of the tiny souvenir magnets and key chains we have are lovely craft pieces. It's going to take a while to take pics of all of them but I decided to start this post anyway with a few

Keychains

Italian wine rack.... piece of art, looks so much like the real deal

Cod liver oil from Norway... best medicine

German beer... from Gotha

Tequila from Cholula, Mexico

Perito Moreno glacier with the famous Patagonian sheep... framed pic, El Calafate Argentina

Picturesque canals of Bruges Belgium framed like a painting. "Reien" is the Flemish name for the canals. The small canals run through the medieval city like veins, lined with magnificent facades, bridges, churches, restaurants and gardens. And it is precisely this contrast between old walls and clear water that is an essential part of the magic of Bruges.

Van Gogh painting Starry Nights

Neva bridge St Petersburg

The famous flower festival ... Cordoba Patio reminder, Granada Spain

Bariloche Argentina cable car... ordinary piece made special by the calendar

Swiss Miss from Luzern, Switzerland. The traditional attire of Switzerland for women is quite like today's “dirndl“, which is basically a full skirt and a tight sleeveless top. Their shoes are back slip-ons like the men and they also wear brightly colored tights or stockings plus a hat or a headpiece

Paris Sacre Coeur

Ceramic ... famous blue pottery from Netherlands

Holland windmill. There are over 1000 windmills in Holland. Some are still being used for drainage, such as one or two of the nineteen in Kinderdijk. The Molen de Otter, still in operation in Amsterdam, is also used for drainage. The Molen de Valk in Leiden has been restored and now grinds grain once again. It is also a museum, a witness to the history of windmills in the area. The few mills that still turn are on the verge of losing power: with buildings around them getting higher, they can no longer catch the wind as they used to do.

Exploring windmills in Holland is an exciting thing to do. The Dutch have restored many of the historic sites. Once a year Holland holds "National Mill Day." Every second Saturday in May 600 windmills and watermills around the country open their doors to visitors. If you want to spend the night in true Zaan style, book a room at Heerlijck Slaapen op de Zaanse Schans. This Bed and Breakfast is furnished in the old Zaan style.

Replicas of famous statues .... Athens Greece

Acropolis, Athens... in a cup

African mask

This is a mundane piece but it's from Santa's house at North Pole, Alaska as is written on it.

Norway elk.... the antlers move on a spring when we touch. Although called 'Elg' in Norwegian, the moose found in Norway (Alces alces) is a different species than the American elk. They are the largest land animals found in Norway. With antlers that can span up to 1,5 meters, they can reach a shoulder height of a stunning 2,3 meters.

Spanish bull... head mounted on a rustic board

Book magnet Cyrillic script Russia... St Peterburg written in Cyrillic

Weimar Germany

Tile work from Toledo Spain

Mccaw from Brazil, Iguacu falls

Terracota warriors from China

WALL HANGINGS

African wild animals The Big Five inside African map. In Africa, the Big Five game animals are the lion, leopard, black rhinoceros, African bush elephant, and African buffalo. The term was coined by big-game hunters, and refers to the five most difficult animals in Africa to hunt on foot but is now more widely used by game viewing tourists and safari tour operators

Niagara boat cruises from the US and Canada sides

Framed painting from Prague

African drum

Pinocchio puppet in wood from Florence and yes, the puppet moves when we pull the string.

Lace guitar from Burano, Italy famous for lace. Lovely lace with Burano also in lace. Burano lace is needle lace made on the island of Burano, a few miles from Venice

Delftware Ceramic ... famous blue and white Dutch pottery from Zaanse Schaans, Netherlands.

Delftware is one of the types of tin-glazed earthenware in which a white glaze is applied, decorated with metal oxides, in particular the cobalt oxide that gives the usual blue, and can withstand high firing temperatures. Delftware is a family of blue and white pottery, using variations of the plant-based decoration first developed in 14th-century Chinese porcelain, and in great demand in Europe. From about 1615, the potters began to coat their pots completely in white tin glaze instead of covering only the painting surface and coating the rest with clear ceramic glaze. They then began to cover the tin-glaze with clear glaze, which gave depth to the fired surface and smoothness to cobalt blues, ultimately creating a good resemblance to porcelain

Delftware includes pottery objects of all descriptions - such as plates, vases, figurines and other ornamental forms and tiles. The style originated around 1600