Magnets Tell My Travel Stories
Pictures of the world in my pocket
I wish I could be one of those people who buy expense paintings or lace or woodworkings while in foreign countries. I love to shop, and it would be great to decorate my house with fine things.
Alas, I have too much clutter to add anything more, and I can’t afford expensive souvenirs anyway. That’s why I turn to magnets. They’re small, can be found everywhere I travel, and still give me that zing of excitement when I look at them.
I bought my very first magnet while walking through the airport in Amsterdam. I was 18 years old, wide-eyed and on my first trip to Europe. My dad and I had just finished two weeks in the U.K. and Paris and had a several-hour layover in Amsterdam.
I was scared to leave the airport lest we miss our flight, but my dad insisted we explore. So we took the train to the city and went on a whirlwind walking tour. The tram cables and huge stone squares fascinated this country girl.
Back in the airport, I saw a souvenir stand and got the desperate urge to commemorate my visit, since I thought it was so cool that I’d unexpectedly ticked off another country on this trip. I picked out a flowery magnet in the shape of a wooden shoe that said “Holland.”
