It wasn't a souvenir and it wasn't mine. But after my Norwegian grandmother passed away my mom received the biggest family piece my grandfather carved. A gorgeous chest (tall blanket chest size) was packaged up and shipped to her. It took two weeks to arrive but her cousin, one of many wood craftsmen in the family, had built a special case for it. It was super cushioned so it arrived all in once piece. It graced the family home for many years and now my brother has it (being the oldest and a master carver himself). What hurts is the huge amount of furniture at my father's family heritage home where it has been for 7 generations and no one in my generation wants it, except two of us here in the US. Shipping costs these days are outrageous, I wonder if bringing things home will continue as before.

We brought home an 18th century Ox yoke from an Amsterdam flea market; we were held up at the ticketing counter for an hour while they decided how to process this "baggage". In the end, it went in the in with the skies and strollers. :)

I picked up a larger painting at the Angola prison rodeo. They had a prisoner craft section and while most of it was mediocre wood craft, there was an artist who stood out. abstracts with amazing color. I had to have it shipped across the country. It works great in my purple kitchen.

My biggest 'take home' piece was my Morris chair. Found at a garage sale halfway across the state. Luckily, I owned a truck at the time, but boy did I sweat the weather forecast on the way home (leather upholstry plus forecasted 'scattered thunderstorms' = bitten fingernails).

When I was about 10 months old my aunt and uncle gave me a 5 foot long stuffed elephant (Ellie) that we had to bring back to the states from Israel. It came home in two garbage bags on a flight delayed 12 hours. It was (literally, not figuratively) the first thing off the plane when we landed at 3 am, while the rest of our luggage was (again, literally, not figuratively) the very last thing off the plane. The customs guys didn't even know what to do with her, but I still have her to this day.

A boyfriend. I used a plane.

Five years ago when my partner and I were in Goa, India we found an antique brass bell on a long thick brass chain.; the bell is approximately 12 inches high and with the five foot chain weighs approximately 40 pounds. We backpacked that darn thing all over India. It now resides from a heavy hook at the edge of the tin roof outside the back door and in front of the kitchen window of our rural B.C. log home. We ring it to call our dogs, scare away bears and inform each other regarding dinner rediness or arrival home. It was a ridiculouly heavy "pain" thoughout the India adventure but we use it all the time and I am delighted we endured the struggle.

While deployed in the Middle East, I found 3 rugs that I loved. I kept them rolled up in my sleeping area until I had to figure out a way to get them home. Rolled and taped tightly, then wrapped several times in brown shipping paper. At the time, I only had red packing tape to use, so they looked like giant cigars lit at both ends. The post office called my mom when they arrived and advised she bring a truck to pick them up as they were long and awkward. I still have them, and I still love them. Totally worth the trouble and expense.

I brought back two 8x 10 rugs and 2 poufs from Marrakesh in my suitcase. I'm still not sure how it all fit.

I bought an armchair when I was driving across the country once. The store wrapped it up in cardboard and sent it more than 2000 miles by bus.

A mannequin torso. On a plane. This was in the days before heightened scurity, in the 1990's. I was in New Orleans and friends were getting rid of it, so I wrapped it in paper and tape, made a tape handle and checked it in as baggage. No on e blinked an eye, even though it was obviously a torso, via the form fitting tape job ;)

My dog! While living in Greece, my husband and I got an English lab. Poor guy (the dog not my husband) endured being in a crate in the cargo hold for about 14 hours to get from Athens to San Francisco! To this day, he won't even look at a crate, even if it's covered in bacon fat.

While traveling through Morocco, I stopped at a Pottery "Factory" outside of Fez, that made the most beautiful bowls with metal covered rims, gorgeous handcut, intricate mosaics- all at prices you'd want to buy a boatload! After winnowing down my selection & negotiating a shipping price- the Manager assured me that my pottery would arrive in Chicago safely, around the time I'd return to the states.
yeah- right!
Weeks, passed.
After more than a few letters (pre-email) with no response, pleas to The Moroccan Consulate General, and even a Travel Advice Columnists intervention- I get an odd call- from Customs @ O'Hare Intl., concerning a crate that they were needing to "destroy"- due to hay/straw packing material (vegetation) violating some Rule about bringing coodies into the country...anyway- after a long run-a-round- after many Months- I finally got my beautiful Moroccan Pottery from Fez.

I have this old trunk. I live in Greece and back in the 50's it was common for the first Greek emigrants to send these trunks to relatives full of clothes and other useful stuff. It's the plain wooden trunk with metal edges.

We kept it the family for many years, and painted several times. Few years ago I decided to fix it. I removed the coats of paint and got to the original layer where you can even see the sender's address. Then I used varnish in the wood and painted the metal dark gray. No I keep inside it all the souvenirs worth keeping and placed two pillows on top, so it also used as a small bench

I brought back four massive prints (4' x 7') from rural France. I built a giant tube out of plumbing fittings to transport them. It looked like a massive pipe bomb. The baggage clerks weren't sure what to do but they let it through once I showed them the prints. I think they were amused by my ingenuity.