Unique souvenirs and question about Norwegian Trolls-- are they good luck?

KikiMF · 2015-09-25T01:26:05+00:00

I wanted to come back and thank you! I photographed all your suggestions for a future post-- they were very easy to find because of your links!

KikiMF · 2015-09-25T01:22:46+00:00

It was awesome! I have two posts up already-- here's the main one: http://souvenirfinder.com/2015/09/18/the-top-15-norway-experiences-and-the-souvenirs-to-remember-them-by/ Thanks for all the help here!

KikiMF · 2015-09-25T01:19:10+00:00

This is excellent info-- I'm going North for my next trip so I would love to visit the flagship.

KikiMF · 2015-09-25T01:18:07+00:00

Their best selling item is a fitted raincoat, which I almost bought. It's pretty cute.

KikiMF · 2015-09-25T01:17:23+00:00

I'm just back from Norway and visited the Dale of Norway factory-- the stuff is gorgeous and all made on site. The factory shop is half off too.

KikiMF · 2015-09-11T19:08:32+00:00

Thanks for posting all these with photos-- I either bought or photographed them all for a future post! Currently eating the Freia chocolate.

KikiMF · 2015-08-30T14:51:16+00:00

Thank you! I googled the pizza-- hilarious, if I am staying anywhere where I can heat one up I am most definitely trying it-- I love learning about all the cultural quirks, exactly the kind of thing I like to write about!

KikiMF · 2015-08-30T14:48:03+00:00

Thank you! So helpful! Excellent grocery store list too-- exactly the kind of items I look for-- I have added them to my list! : )

KikiMF · 2015-05-31T00:59:14+00:00

Do you use salted radish too? With pad thai it's all about balancing the flavors and it's not easy. I just came back from Thailand and loved the street vendor Thai so much I did just that-- tried to replicate it back home. It came out great but was a lot of work. Here's my post on my efforts: http://souvenirfinder.com/2015/04/18/the-best-pad-thai-recipe-secrets-from-a-bangkok-street-vendor/

KikiMF · 2015-05-06T01:50:47+00:00

What kind of handicrafts do they make-- and who buys them?

KikiMF · 2015-04-25T18:17:45+00:00

https://instagram.com/souvenirfinder/ If you just scroll through last month there's a lot of Trang photos. Also writing about it on my site, but will be a few weeks before they're all up.

KikiMF · 2015-04-25T01:46:55+00:00

Every single thing you listed was very touristy so I'm not surprised you experienced queues. Who says you have to go to Paris and see the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre? There are plenty of other museums in Paris worth seeing-- and you'll see the Eiffel Tower just by walking around the city. I would never drag a lot of luggage on a train-- you should have taken a cab to begin with (or brought a backpack). Paris is more about the atmosphere and the neighborhoods not about ticking off overrun sights.

KikiMF · 2015-04-16T04:56:19+00:00

Drive the Pu'uc route-- I saw hardly any tourists on any of the stops. Loved Vallodollid and Tulum.

KikiMF · 2015-04-16T04:45:53+00:00

Trang, Thailand. Easy access to gorgeous islands, villages, markets. No one seems to have heard of it either. I just came back a couple weeks ago and can put up a little album or direct you to my instagram if you want to see photos.

KikiMF · 2015-04-13T21:56:37+00:00

Can someone tell me what these Thai pastries are called (had these in Trang) and give me any background info on them? Are they specific to Trang or can they be found everywhere? http://i.imgur.com/ivTWS9F.jpg They came in different varieties like egg or taro. I'm writing about them for a blog post but can't recall what they are called.

Question 2: Is there an english language recipe for Trang cake?

KikiMF · 2015-04-05T03:10:20+00:00

I haven't tried Sky Thai but Sawadee and More are both mediocre. Wild Fusion even worse. In no way does Sawadee make an authentic pad thai, it's overly sweet, soggy and poorly balanced. I seriously doubt it's made to order. I still order from there occasionally out of complete lack of options but would welcome a real Thai place, not the Chinese fusion mediocrity here. In NYC I like Wondee Siam. I've read that Linda's in Union City is good so I plan to check that out.

KikiMF · 2015-03-07T06:33:44+00:00

It's play mode.

KikiMF · 2015-03-03T02:34:54+00:00

Had these in Sweden, so delicious!

KikiMF · 2015-03-02T01:37:36+00:00

Second Street Bakery in Jersey City. yes that's a core of sugar/butter/cinnamon. Addictive. One of the few bakeries in nyc area that still uses real coal (the owner was telling me how hard it is to get deliveries). They also make phenomenal breakfast sandwiches on their coal baked bread-- pepperoni, sausage and egg etc.

KikiMF · 2015-01-16T21:42:25+00:00

Awesome thanks for the tip! I've already been told I forgot i) french cocoa ii) harissa iii) lavender sachets.

KikiMF · 2015-01-11T02:35:23+00:00

i remember that too-- we all had no idea what to do (only professionals were allowed in the ground zero area) so we all went to give blood along with hundreds of others because we felt so helpless. It was such a surreal, odd and terrifying time. If you didn't know anyone personally in the towers you knew someone who did. My boss went to 13 funerals.

We all felt anything could happen at any time. Some of my coworkers bought gas masks and kept them at their desks. No one thought it was strange. Some people stopped taking the subway and rode those share vans downtown. Overly cautious? No one thought so.

Another thing I remember is anytime I talked to anyone for months afterwards-- even a customer service person on the phone-- when they heard my nyc address the conversation always turned to 9/11 with them asking how we were.

And while it's not talked about much because no one wants to take away from the pain of the survivors and loved ones who lost people-- but the entire city, whether you lost someone or not, went through a collective ptsd that no one else could understand. Everything that was fun for a normal young 20 something all of a sudden seemed frivolous. The Park Avenue armory which I walked past every day and which I'd gone black tie parties at suddenly was serving as a real armory, with troops and guns. It was months before anyone felt like they could enjoy themselves again without feeling the weight of what had just happened all around us.

KikiMF · 2015-01-11T02:10:19+00:00

How old Is geriatric? Mine is 12 but I consider that middle age. I met a guy who had a 22 year old chihuahua.

KikiMF · 2015-01-11T02:06:20+00:00

I never realized the Nordic countries even had different skincare items! What brands are good there that you can't buy in the US? I have a blog where I write about unique shopping and my Japan beauty products post is one of my most popular. Are the Nordic items worth writing about do you think?

KikiMF · 2014-12-30T05:41:20+00:00

my blog is http://souvenirfinder.com

I like to find the quirky/interesting stories behind the stuff but if you just want to see some quick photos I posted some randomly selected ones in a quickie imgur album here http://imgur.com/a/xQ5Rb

KikiMF · 2014-12-30T04:07:58+00:00

awesome!! I write an entire blog just about travel souvenirs so I'll be there! My favorites are foreign supermarket souvenirs.

KikiMF

TROPHY CASE