“Many a trip continues long after movement in time and space have ceased.” – John Steinbeck
After reading a fellow blogger’s wonderful post (a bunch of old bus tickets) about saving her bus tickets meant for recycling in order to revisit her travels, I realized I had a stash of the very same thing – tissue paper thin bus tickets from the colourful local buses of Puerto Vallarta (Mexico) as well as the newsprint texture of tickets saved from urban journeys in San Francisco (USA) and Toronto (Canada).
I left an enthusiastic comment and her reply inspired a closer look at the ephemera I had carefully tucked away in a vanity drawer. No matter where I travel or find myself sipping on a cup of tea, I’ll often collect a business card, napkin or menu – I’ve even brought home empty tea sachet packets and tins. A beloved masala chai tea tin from the Samovar Tea Lounge in San Francisco sits on my writing desk holding favourite pens and three feathers (an eagle feather discovered on a sea-kayaking trip off of Northern Vancouver Island (British Columbia, Canada), a crow feather found on a walk through the park and a raven feather brought home after its owner plucked it out). Just looking at that tin evokes a memory of a pastel coloured sunset over the city as we sat outside enjoying a fragrant tea after a long day of sightseeing.
A slim paper menu acts as a Harry Potter port key sending me back to New York (USA) and the mouth-watering dishes of TA Cocina, a Mexican Grill we came across on 9th Avenue after we were denied service at a well-known Italian restaurant for having our suitcases with us ready to catch the overnight Greyhound bus back to Toronto. To find shelter there amid familiar scents became one of the highlights of our whirlwind three day trip.
Some of my cache are too precious to recycle despite being wrinkled and creased – one, a folded square of paper showing us the way to the Hotel Socovan in Guanajuato (Mexico), faded from too much handling helped us to locate this cool hotel accessed by a dark tunnel in a Mexican city new to us. We will never forget its hidden tropical hued courtyard, copper sinks and unique tunnel entrance!
Other nostalgic paper offerings remind us of local farmer’s markets we frequented (Puerto Vallarta), Thai restaurants we ate at (San Francisco, New York) while some pieces were kept for their quotes and poetry (Bryant Park, New York, Mt. Shasta, California). Complimentary pens and notepads find their way to a blue and white Wedgewood creamer on top of the vanity or are added to a stack of repurposed notebook paper.
A battered travel journal is beginning to fill with some of my unruly collection – one item is a bill left in our standard suite at the very retro Asta Apartment Hotel in Barbados. After a long flight from Vancouver with a layover in Toronto, the sweet staff had left some amenities for us and I never fail to smile when I see one important notation – a bottle of rum! Any items not wanted or needed could be returned and the bill altered. That thoughtful gesture set the tone for a wonderful week in the sun.
One dear business card was picked up from a simple pottery shop in Kyrenia (Cyprus), called “Savvas” Pottery Ltd. I chose a lovely glazed terracotta cat figurine covered in black and brown spots with kohl rimmed almond eyes. It sits on top of our hallway bookcase and every time I glance at its mysterious face, the scent of lemons and the bright blue Mediterranean sea fill my mind.
Those saved bus tickets and other papery bits allow me to time travel during a time when wandering has been curtailed leaving me grateful that memories like these are just an open drawer away.
Note: If you want to read the post that inspired mine, please check out : https://shrubaboti.wordpress.com and look for her post, a bunch of old bus tickets.

Nice post! I still have ephemera tucked into a guide book from my trip to SAmerica in ’79. I simply cannot part with it!
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What a trip that must have been! Those memories contained in the pages of a guide book or tucked into a drawer are priceless…
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Omg this is really sweet of you to mention me and tag my post here!! Thank you so much. This just made my day, I’m glad you came out with this beautiful reverie like piece after reading my post. There’s nothing more joyous than to remember and remind each other of fond memories or times past through one’s writings. Hugs 💜💜😭
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Thank you so much, it was a pleasure! I’m so glad your lovely post sparked my own creativity in a time when words are sometimes slow to make themselves known. I look forward to reading more of your beautiful offerings!
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Nothing better than encouraging and inspiring one another! I’m glad we connected. The writing community here sure seems a lot more accepting and warm than that on twitter. 🖤
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Our WordPress world is a lovely spot for sharing and supporting one another, I’m glad I found your beautiful words…
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It’s mutual you know! I had never spent much time here, almost used it like my personal journal writing irregularly and never bothering to check anything else but thanks to the lockdown I found the new zeal to look for like minded people with similar interests and that’s when WordPress shined brighter than all the other places I’d tried. 🖤🖤🤭
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Such a lovely post Kim and I used to keep bus and train tickets too – there’s something special about reconnecting with past journeys with the ticket in your hand. We were in Puerto Vallarta in 1996 and if the bus tickets survived our move to the Highlands they may still be in a folder somewhere … 💜
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I wonder if we unknowingly crossed paths…Puerto Vallarta feels like home and we miss living there…we had plans to head down there once again this fall but those dreams are on hold for the moment.
Thank you so much, Xenia! Your lovely comment has brightened a moody autumn morning (and welcome back from your blogging break!).
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Thank you Kim, it would have been fun if we crossed paths! We fell in love with the place and contemplated living there for a while until life took us in an unexpected and wonderful different direction. I can imagine how the place can hold a special place in your heart and I loved the vibrant art scene there 💜 xxx
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Weren’t those art walks incredible? It was lovely to be out on a tropical night mixing and mingling…
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What an interesting voyage in time Kim. Proof that you are living a very full life . It is soothing to go back in time and relive all the great joys along the way. Plus your heart continues gathering beauty. Have a great Sunday .
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I must have half a pound or more of ephemera! It was difficult to choose what touched me the most (everything feels so precious), I did manage to recycle a few pieces but only if they were doubles, Lol.
Sunday has started out moody but no doubt my afternoon walk will reveal a treasure or two.
Thank you, dear neighbour, for the memory of sipping on a creamy chai tea latte while indulging in a tiny French pastry at Portrait Cafe’s outdoor picnic table on busy Denman St., it was a wonderful outing!
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These objects brought back so many happy travel memories and I enjoyed journeying along with you. Now my traveling is seeing the new while mostly walking my neighborhood. Take care.
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Isn’t it lovely to observe the new in our neighbourhoods?
I’m always surprised when I walk by a familiar tree or bush and I’m met with its colourful berries or seedlings, lately its their leaves gracefully falling to the ground that catch my eye.
Thank you for joining me on my time travel journey, you’re welcome any time, Ali!
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How lovely, Kim. I’m not a collector. I think that’s a result of not having closets. I’m always trying to unload things, throwing them out, or donate them. It’s a freeing feeling. But your post did make me consider a travel journal when this darn pandemic is over and I hit the road. How wonderful to have those memories conjured up for a revisit. You make the world sound beautiful. ❤
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I managed to recycle one bag of papery pieces while writing this post and you’re right, it felt freeing to move along the bits that no longer served me. Now I just need to organize what’s left!
Thank you (always!) for your lovely comments, Diana. X
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What a delightful nostalgic trip … only those with a home base can collect 🙂 I can feel the warmth radiating out from your store of memories reflected by your treasures!
Being nomadic for decades I was unable to ‘collect’ much more than photos and memories but I do hold one eurail pass … it was a great way to travel!
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Our apartment (440 square feet) acts as our home base and yes, it requires regular decluttering…your Eurail pass sounds precious…thank you so much for stopping by, I love your thoughtful and very sweet comments!
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thanks Kim, appreciate that!
Laminated that pass and it sits in my phone to remind of my other life 🙂
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What a warm feeling from these objects from the past! 🙂
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How lovely to read your words here again! Welcome back, I can hardly wait to read your latest offering…
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My pleasure and happiness! I have 2 new posts awaiting your kind attention 🙂
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Loved the picture. It’s great that you somehow get a memento from the places that you visit. It’s like a travel treasure chest that helps you to recollect the places you’ve been and the feelings you had while you were there. So precious!
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It was wonderful to revisit our travels, even though I didn’t touch on our trip to the Hawaiian Islands, we have vivid memories of snorkeling, coming across fallen starfruit and exploring (how could we not on Oahu and Maui!). As a young traveler to Oahu I remember a wonderful patisserie near the Outrigger West that fed my friend and I as our American dollars dwindled…
Thank you for stopping by and joining me on my time travels, Mark.
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I am kinda the opposite of a collector–my dad was one, so I had to go the opposite way, you know–but really enjoyed reading your post and how it evokes memories of many trips over the years. It especially reminds me of the trip my daughter and I took up to Vancouver, BC a couple of years ago. Oh we had fun! Thank you…
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I’m so glad this piece reminded you of a visit out my way, Kathy! It sounds like you’re a wanderer just like me…
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How wonderfully nostalgic. I love collecting pamphlets and Knick knacky souvenirs of my travels, especially my European trips. They always bring back such special memories. A lovely post Kim. xx ❤️
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Thank you, Miriam, for your lovely comment! I was thrilled to read your latest post, I can still see Harry in my minds’ eye…
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Aww that’s lovely. 💛🥰
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I enjoyed this post very much Kim. As with many things I read, your post evokes parallels in my own memory universe. My treasure box holds a disparate array of items of absolutely no use to anyone but me. But like you, they call up precious memories of times long gone.
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With little opportunity to travel at the moment, it’s nice to wander through our bits and pieces and stoke those wonderful memories.
Thank you so much for stopping by, I appreciate seeing your words here, Robyn!
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I think anyone that travels picks up bits and pieces of memorabilia on the way. I had plans for mine that still haven’t been brought to fruition. I’m a member in good standing of the “I’m gonna” club. One day, maybe it could all find it’s way into a scrap book. 🙂 I laugh that a person with no job or anyone that needs taking care of has so much to do that things like the scrapbook never get done. I love looking at those things and remembering. It is like time travel. Loved reading this since it made me time travel a bit too. Thanks. 😉
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My scraps are still waiting, too (I’ve got a few pages complete!) but there’s joy in the process and I don’t mind waiting!
It’s lovely to read your words here, thank you for brightening a gloomy day.
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I’ll be back. Just having a time crunch. Come on winter.
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I read that original post by Shruba, which I also found very inspiring. We have a wooden chest in our living room that is full to the brim of papery memories collected on travels. It’s also full of greetings cards, which we’ve decided we’re now going to get rid of, since we’ll never look at them again, but we’ll keep the other memories!
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I was thrilled to read Shruba’s post and come away inspired!
I came across a decluttering tip around the greeting card dilemma and put it into practice, just pick one card from that special person or keep the card that brings back beautiful memories (I kept one 21st birthday card!). Once I did that, it was easier to shred and recycle the rest.
Your wooden chest sounds magical, I bet you could write a lovely post on its contents!
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Love travel, so cheers to your love for it! No matter if an object or a picture, a special feeling always comes when I give it more than a glimpse.
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Thank you for joining me on my time travels, I really appreciate it and glad to meet a fellow traveler as well!
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Tough times as we missing our travels
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That’s a great idea wow! Using tiny memoirs to revisit our travel times❤ I collect satchets sometimes too and tickets sometimes remain in my bag that I forgot to throw away. Only I never thought about saving them.
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Thank you for dropping by! I’m so glad you enjoyed the read…
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Beautiful post and what a time travel machine Love it very much Have a lovely day Cris
http://www.photosbycris.com.au/?p=10104
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Thank you so much for stopping by and leaving such a lovely comment, I’m glad you jumped into the time travel machine and enjoyed the read!
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Ahh, this post took me on a much-needed journey and made me think of everything I have collected on my travels. It made me excited too, thinking about the possibility of the world opening up once again and all the places I will go when it does. Europe is calling! Thank you for this! I’m going to bust out my photographs tonight and reminisce about my trip to Paris last year and fantasize about my next one. Love this!
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Thank you so much for stopping by, Tanya! Your words recall my excitement from last year as we anticipated our first visit to London (mind blown!) over the holidays. Your trip to Paris must have been just as awesome, we can hardly wait to return to Europe!
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So glad you experienced the wonder of London! I love England. Last year I went to London, Amsterdam, and Paris. It was the first time I’d been to both A and P and same, mind blown! Europe is a special place. Hope we both get to experience it again soon!
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We would’ve loved to have gone to Paris, river cities are so atmospheric and magical!
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