It’s the Small Things

On our trip to Italy, my daughter and I saw many classic, not-to-be-missed sites, among them the showpieces of Florence, Rome, and the Amalfi Coast. At each of these remarkable places, we were struck by their history and immensity. In Florence’s Uffizi Gallery, that glorious house of wonder, we floated along the grand hallways, moving from one era to the next. In Rome, the Coliseum and the Vatican. And near Sorrento along the Amalfi coast, its view of the Mediterranean Sea. I loved these big things—the massive galleries, the large markets, the tall churches, and the vistas.

Yet, in my pocket I was holding the small things—the souvenir coin from the gallery gift shop, plastic spoons from our many stops for gelato, coins left over from cappuccino purchases, the cork from the bottle of champagne we sipped while crossing the Mediterranean, and bits of sea glass from the sands of Capri.

I loved these small things and decided to keep what was in my pocket. Once home I worked with a glass artist who enclosed these treasures in a glass box. This surprise gift for my daughter is something she can take with her or tuck away as she moves or settles down. This kaleidoscope of small things can be a touchstone of an experience that isn’t fulfilled by photographs alone.

In our exhilaration of being someplace we’ve always dreamed of, we can be tempted, maybe to the point of distraction, to try too hard to capture it all solely in photographs. Sometimes it’s the small things, the things we carry in our pockets, that evoke our fondest memories.

What do you keep from your travels? What do you put in your pocket?

[Photography by Moon Lake Multimedia. All rights reserved.]