Our Favorite Tips for Keeping a Travel Journal

Travel journals are a fun and creative way to remember your most meaningful travels. While I record my favorite tips, tricks, and locations here at A Friend Afar, I knew I wanted to start a handwritten journal to record how these destinations make me feel. Starting a travel journal was something I thought about for a long time before I started writing because I was worried that I would start one and then quickly give it up or forget to write in it. I did a lot of searching through Pinterest for inspiration, and I was honest with myself about what would work for me and what would not work. Below are my favorite tips for starting a travel journal and keeping up with it as you seek out more adventures.

Our Favorite Tips for Keeping a Travel Journal - www.AFriendAfar.com

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Meagan grew up in the North Georgia Mountains and spent her first trip abroad in Italy. She’s been traveling all over the world ever since, learning Spanish, Japanese, and Thai. She travels for the food, the culture, and the history.

Top 10 Gifts for the Traveler: Home Decor Edition

Looking for the perfect gift for a travel addict? Whether they travel often or they’re more of an armchair traveler, here are our favorite home decor gifts that bring the world back to their home base.

Travel Gift Guide: Best Gifts for Travelers - www.AFriendAfar.com

Our Travel Gift Guide to Bring the World Back Home

Travel Gift Guide: Rifle Paper Company City Coasters - Best Gifts for Travelers - www.AFriendAfar.com

These Rifle Paper Co. Cities Coasters include chic illustrations of London, Paris, New York, and Tokyo. We use ours for parties and at the office.

Travel Gift Guide: Cities calendar - Best Gifts for Travelers - www.AFriendAfar.com

A similar gift that we just couldn’t resist is this great calendar, also by Rifle Paper Co. We love that you can frame the illustrated maps after you use it.

Travel Gift Guide: Bolga Baskets from Ghana - Best Gifts for Travelers - www.AFriendAfar.com

Stephanie was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ghana, and the famous souvenir from her region was the Bolga Basket. We love how they bring so much color and character into our homes!

Travel Gift Guide: National Parks Print - Best Gifts for Travelers - www.AFriendAfar.com

Stephanie’s been visiting a lot of National Parks lately, and this map is the perfect gift for any National Park fanatic who can’t get enough of the outdoors!

Travel Gift Guide: Chalkboard Globe - - Best Gifts for Travelers - www.AFriendAfar.com

Meagan collects globes, and while these aren’t her typical vintage globes, they’d be so fun! We love the idea of putting your next location on them. Next stop: Morocco!

And this one from CB2 is such a fun alternative to your typical corkboard map!

Travel Gift Guide: Ideal Bookshelf Travel Print - Best Gifts for Travelers - www.AFriendAfar.com

A little art is always a great idea! This fun print by An Ideal Bookshelf includes classic books of travel and adventure to inspire your next trip.

Travel Gift Guide: Nomad by Sibella Court - Best Gifts for Travelers - www.AFriendAfar.com

An absolute favorite, this beautiful coffee table book by Sibella Court has given us so much inspiration for how to display our most precious souvenirs.

Travel Gift Guide: Bolivian Pillows - Best Gifts for Travelers - www.AFriendAfar.com

We’re suckers for bringing home textiles when we’re traveling, so naturally, we fell in love with these beautiful Bolivian pillows at Project Bly. We think you’ll love their entire store!

Travel Gift Guide: Hammam Towels Best Gifts for Travelers - www.AFriendAfar.com

Stephanie just got back from Istanbul and picked up some of these colorful Turkish towels at the Grand Bazaar. You can score some for yourself or a friend here.

Check out more of our favorite gifts for travelers here and here!

Meagan grew up in the North Georgia Mountains and spent her first trip abroad in Italy. She’s been traveling all over the world ever since, learning Spanish, Japanese, and Thai. She travels for the food, the culture, and the history.

Mariage Frères - www.AFriendAfar.com

J’Adore: The Mariage Fréres Tea Shop in Paris

The Mariage Fréres Salon de Thé in Paris is my personal definition of luxury. When I’ve spent all morning navigating the Louvre or wandering down cobblestone streets, a nice, long break to savor the flavors of Paris is exactly what I need. It’s the most wonderful tea shop in Paris and a feast for the eyes!

Mariage Frères - www.AFriendAfar.com

The Mariage Frères Tea Emporium – a beautiful shop with Old World charm. [Photo credit: Blueberration]

The Most Wonderful Tea Shop in Paris

Stephanie and I first discovered Mariage Fréres tea at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Bangkok, where we were looking for an escape from the city. We had been living in Bangkok for months, and while we thrived on the city’s chaos and excitement, we needed to treat ourselves to occasional peace and quiet. It was there that our obsession with fine teas began.

Mariage Fréres is a French tea company that began in 1854 and served as a wholesaler of fine teas until opening its first Salon de Thé on Rue du Bourg-Tibourg in 1983. The company currently has brick and mortar stores only in France, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Japan, but you can order anything from 100g of tea to a $2,000 gold-plated teapot on their website. I’ve visited their Japanese store in Ginza and their Parisian stores at the Louvre and in the Étoile neighborhood.

Mariage Frères - www.AFriendAfar.com

With this many beautiful options, how does one choose? I brought home 3 different canisters of tea for myself, and another one for Stephanie. We’ll be having some glamorous tea parties very soon! [Photo credit: Blueberration]

During my time in Paris last week, my mother and I dined in the Salon de Thé at the Louvre while my husband searched for his perfect Tour de France viewing spot in the rain. We had different goals for the day.

The Mariage Frères Salon de Thè - www.AFriendAfar.com

The Mariage Frères Salon de Thè [Photo credit: Blueberration]

The ivory-suited waiters took wonderful care of us, providing us with a menu of their tea selection, which is so vast that they also handed us a book that cataloged each tea. A large catalog of options can be overwhelming, so you can always count on their recommendations. I can be a creature of habit, so I chose my absolute favorite tea, their Marco Polo black tea and a delicious tiny canelé cake. My mother ordered the Paris Breakfast tea with a scone. Our teas arrived in their Art Deco tea pots, which went wonderfully with the beautiful white marble tables and vintage decor of the store.

The Mariage Frères Salon de Thè - www.AFriendAfar.com

Afternoon tea at the Mariage Frères Salon de Thè in the Louvre

It was the perfect mini-vacation from our exciting day in Paris. The most difficult part was deciding what to bring home from the shop! No, I didn’t splurge on that lovely gold camel teapot, but I did bring home the matching tea spoon and a few canisters of tea!

This is the first of many posts on our Tour de France. Click here to read other great posts, and see our favorite pictures here.

Meagan grew up in the North Georgia Mountains and spent her first trip abroad in Italy. She’s been traveling all over the world ever since, learning Spanish, Japanese, and Thai. She travels for the food, the culture, and the history.

A Favorite in Firenze: Shopping for Leather Goods at the Florence Leather School

Florence is famous for so many things to do and see: the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore (Il Duomo de Firenze), Michelangelo’s David, the masterpieces in the Uffizi, the Ponte Vecchio, red tile roofs, and for those of us searching for a special souvenir, leather.

Il Duomo di Firenze

Il Duomo di Firenze

I could spend all day in the Uffizi (and I have!), but I want to tell you a little about my favorite place to find local artisan leather goods: The Leather School, or Scuola del Cuoio. I love stopping by the Scuola del Cuoio for so many reasons. I love its history, its location, and the variety of artwork being produced inside.

History

The Scuola del Cuoio was established shortly after World War II. Franciscan friars of the Santa Croce monastery partnered with the Gori and Casini families, prominent leather artisans, in order to assist war orphans by providing training in the leather artisan field. The friars’ old dormitory, donated by the Medici family during the Renaissance, was turned into the classrooms.

The school’s workshops opened for business in 1950, and some of its first customers were the U.S. Air Force and multiple American Embassies in Europe. It’s fascinating thinking about the school’s history and philanthropic goals while visiting the workshops and courtyards!

[Photo Source:

[Photo Source: “Santa Croce (Florence) – Facade” by Diana Ringo – via Wikimedia]

Location

By now you’ve learned that the school is located on the grounds of the Basilica of Santa Croce. It’s a beautiful church, the largest Franciscan church in the world, and it was finished in the mid-15th century. My favorite part of the Santa Croce, however, is not the same detail that I admire in other Italian churches from it’s time period. It’s not how it’s decorated that draws me in every time; it’s who is inside! The Santa Croce is home to elaborate marble tombs to world-famous Italians like Michelangelo Buonarroti and Galileo Galilei! I love a little history with my travels! Ok, I love a LOT of history with my travels, so the Santa Croce always captures my interest!

The tomb of Galileo Galilei in the Santa Croce

The tomb of Galileo Galilei in the Santa Croce

Leather Goods

The handbags created at the Scuola del Cuoio are high quality works of art. If you’re looking for a lifelong handbag, these are a great choice. The leather quality is amazing, and the stitching is  strong. They have a classic look and will age beautifully. A bag like the one below would be the perfect travel companion for many years worth of adventures.

A handmade bag of the highest quality of leather is a pretty expensive “investment piece” for most travelers, especially those that have dedicated their budgets to seeing instead of owning. My favorite affordable options are the passport cases that can be monogrammed and the python bracelets. Whenever I wear my stack of python bangles, I think about my honeymoon.

[Product Photos from Scuola del Cuoio]

Not in the market for a handbag?

Florence’s charm extends far, far beyond the shopping crowd and the art galleries. One of my favorite activities in Florence is to just get lost, mosey around side streets and along the river, and then finally settle in at a cafe where I can watch the city go by.

Ponte Vecchio

The Famous Ponte Vecchio

Take a leisurely stroll from the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, through the Piazza della Signoria, and then along the Arno river to the Ponte Vecchio for a beautiful sunset view of the city. Be sure to grab a gelato or a waffle with nutella along the way. You can never go wrong strolling down cobblestone streets in a beautiful city with a delicious snack! And sometimes that steaming hot waffle dripping with nutella makes for the best memories, too!

The author taking her own advice – on her way to the Ponte Vecchio with a nutella-covered waffle in hand. (She may have already eaten it.)

I was serious about that waffle.

I was serious about that waffle. The fist pump proves it.

Meagan grew up in the North Georgia Mountains and spent her first trip abroad in Italy. She’s been traveling all over the world ever since, learning Spanish, Japanese, and Thai. She travels for the food, the culture, and the history.