Things in My Office

I’ve been fortunate to be a travel journalist for nearly 30 years, and recount scores of unparalleled sights, environments and experiences over that time.

I’ve gazed in wonder at the smoke-ringed volcanoes encircling Guatemala’s Lake Atitlan, strolled along the historic, blue-water harbor in Alexandria, Egypt and driven an ATV through the lush hillsides surrounding Nevis Peak. Each experience remains fresh in my memory.

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Yet I’ve found as the years have passed, many other destinations and settings are not always easily recalled. That’s one of the reasons I’ve gathered travel mementos and souvenirs in my home office.

While I’ve worked remotely for more than a decade, for some reason, these items somehow became more meaningful during the pandemic, during which I wondered when (and if) I’d travel freely again.

I’ve gathered paintings, photographs, carvings, reproductions and even a little trophy here in my office. These items have varying (and in some cases no) commercial value, but they’re priceless as reminders of some wonderful travel experiences.

Bon Voyage

One of my favorite office items is a trans-Atlantic Ocean liner diorama. The item is somewhat of a mystery as I can’t say exactly where I obtained it. Encased in a bright blue box, the carefully painted, cardboard cut-out liner features generalized, indeterminate livery and transatlantic-era smokestacks.

Floating on an ocean of cardboard waves, the box plays “Anchors Aweigh” while the liner bobs up and down among the waves when a string at the bottom is pulled.

It’s as charming a souvenir as I’ve ever come across. It’s also a fitting reminder of the more than 100 cruises I've boarded during my time writing about the industry.

I also have a large, laminated poster depicting a 1934 issue of a travel trade publication I worked for years ago (which still exists in online form today). The magazine chronicled a bygone travel era, with hand-drawn cover images of a steamship, a railroad train, a propeller-powered passenger plane and a dirigible.

Surprisingly, the cover’s sub-headlines refer to articles reflecting contemporary travel themes including “Mexico an All-Year Travel Paradise,” “What the Wholesalers are Offering” and “Some Thoughts on World Cruise Bookings.” Change sometimes occurs slowly.

Old Money

The 1999 adoption of the euro as Europe’s primary currency made a variety of currencies obsolete, from French francs to Italian lira. I managed to keep dozens of what I assume are now worthless, yet still artistically intriguing bills, placing some in frames.

They’re great to look at and complement other photos with friends and colleagues along Paris’ Champs-Élysées, St. Marks’s Square in Venice and the archway at Sicily’s Church of San Domenico in Taormina.

I also have little mementos including a replica yole, an indigenous, ocean-going sailboat, from a 2017 visit to Martinique. During that trip I manned the oars aboard a genuine yole vessel while at sea during a half-hour voyage.

I also have some things from much further back in time, including a leather-bound whisky flask I received as a gift during one of my two flights aboard supersonic Concorde jets before their 2003 retirement.

One of my favorite office items, however, is a small 5” by 7” photo from 1993 (not long after I first became a travel writer) in which I’m standing on a dock in Malaga, Spain. In the background is a now-forgotten ship, Cunard Line’s Cunard Princess.

Even then, the ship was relatively old and devoid a myriad facilities, amenities and services found aboard today’s cruise ships.

Yet I recall that voyage fondly to this day. My first Mediterranean cruise, it was particularly memorable simply because our small group of travel writers had a delightful time exploring the ports on the itinerary with one another. I’m friendly with some of the same writers nearly 30 years later.

It was an ideal way to launch what for me was a new career covering travel. I’m glad I kept some reminders of those times.