My wife is going to Mexico in March and wants to know what I want for a sovienor.

[Lochloosa]

HELP with suggestions?

Thank you.

[hibbing]

1. Blanket?

Is she going to a touristy place right off the border? I have two blankets, I got one in Tijuana, I think I paid 5 bucks for it and it is pretty nice. A friend got me a giant one that has Aztec stuff on it that is also pretty neat. Of course these days who knows where the heck that sort of thing is made.


Peace

[Lochloosa]

3. Not a bad idea. I go to music festivals. Might come in handy.

Thanks

[Major Nikon]

42. There are wide variances in quality

The really good ones will tend to be much heavier and much more tightly woven. When you compare a really good one against a cheap one, it's very easy to tell the difference. It's very easy to find the cheap ones, but often you will have to ask around to find the really good ones. They will easily outlast the cheap ones. I still have a very good one I bought about 30 years ago. We keep it in the car year round and use it all the time for picnics and such. It still looks as good today as when I bought it.

[femmocrat]

2. I would ask for a Talavera sun plaque:

[Lochloosa]

4. I really like that. How big are they?

[femmocrat]

5. They come in different sizes, but most are around 12 in.

Last edited Fri Mar 4, 2016, 10:40 AM - Edit history (1)

There are smaller ones too.

[hibbing]

12. Love these

I have not heard of these, I have seen tiles similar in style. I checked them out online, a few styles of the suns. I'm getting my kitchen remodeled and one of these would look awesome on my kitchen wall. I'm going to have to poke around and look at some of the other stuff they have.

Peace

[GreydeeThos]

6. Acapulco Gold

no, no, Michoacán man Michocan!

[mackerel]

7. I was thinking the same

but that talavera sun thingy is kinda cool.

[Lochloosa]

8. I can get two things

[mainstreetonce]

9. There are all kinds of Talavera pottery

Look it up on the net first and see what you like.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

48. Talavera pottery is beautiful.

I've bought it in San Antonio. They make it in Puebla, Mexico. The tradition of intricate tile painting came from Spain, when the Moors had it and they were very much into non-representational tile painting because of Islam.

There are also Oaxacan ceramics. Those are deep matte finish colors, often neon colored on a dark blue background. No shiny glaze on it. It is beautiful too. Some of it is made out of black clay.

[shenmue]

10. Candy

[Laffy Kat]

11. Real vanilla extract.

I had a boss, a physician, who traveled there a few times a year and once a year he would bring me a big bottle of Mexican vanilla extract. It is so much better, don't know why.

[Trailrider1951]

13. It is better because of two things:

1. Mexican vanilla has a hint of cinnamon

2. The price: 1 liter (1000 ml) of vanilla in Mexico costs about the same as 2 fl. oz. (59 ml) of vanilla extract here in the US.

I go to Northern Mexico occasionally for dental care, where my last crown cost me $180. No joke.

[Laffy Kat]

20. Oh, thanks for the vanilla info.

I have a friend in Florida who always gets her dental work done in Mexico.

[Major Nikon]

40. When I lived in El Paso, I used to travel across the border and get it

Now I simply buy vanilla beans online and make it myself, along with homemade vanilla sugar.

[TuxedoKat]

61. My friend and I do this too

We order a fairly large quantity and divide them up. I love having the whole vanilla beans to cook and bake with. Have you ever used vanilla paste? OMG, it is so good as a sweetener in tea but it can be used in baking too.

[Initech]

14. Tequila?

[Lochloosa]

15. Given.

[Major Nikon]

41. There are many tequilas sold in Mexico you can't get in the USA

Some of them are also sold in different bottles with different names for much higher prices in the states.

I highly recommend you seek out this particular brand of almond liqueur. It's very hard to find in the states.

[Xyzse]

16. A Luchador Mask?

I so want one.

[Lochloosa]

17. LOL..that is so me. Had to look that one up.

[Xyzse]

18. Absolutely! Then talk like Bane from Batman and you're all set.

JHC, I want that mask,.

[lame54]

19. I hope she gets back before the wall goes up

[KamaAina]

21. Drumpf pinata!

[GoCubsGo]

22. Where in Mexico is she visiting?

If she's going anywhere near Oaxaca, you might want a Oaxacan wood carving:

[Lochloosa]

25. Sweet. I'll check.

[yellowdogintexas]

36. We have several of those critters, including a large bat. They are so cool

One of our favorite collections.

[GoCubsGo]

44. I only have a pink crab.

I would love a bat, and just about any other critter.

[Kaleva]

23. Coke

[Lochloosa]

26. I live in Florida. Such an eighty's thing for us

[jmowreader]

32. No, seriously. Coke.

Coca-Cola bottled in Mexico is SO much better than Coca-Cola bottled in the US, it's not funny.

[ohnoyoudidnt]

35. The Home Depot and Publix near me carry Mexican Coke.

It's great.

[yellowdogintexas]

37. They still make it with real cane sugar, instead of HFCS. Makes a huge difference

Tastes like the Coca cola of my childhood. It is readily available here in Texas. especially in the Mexican Supermarkets

[Bucky]

54. Actually most Mexican Coke bottlers have switched over to HFCS blends (link provided)

sorry, but Mexican Coke is just American Coke in a different bottle now. Any flavor difference probably has to do with different water or different corn syrup recipes

http://gizmodo.com/mexican-coke-is-ditching-cane-sugar-for-high-fructose-c-1459437477

[no_hypocrisy]

24. Real tequilla.

[Zorro]

27. Wood inlay Aztec/Maya circular calendar

They're cheap, intricate, and really cool.

[Lochloosa]

28. Those are nice thanks

[bigwillq]

29. A Chihuahua from Chihuahua?

[Kali]

30. where in Mexico is she going?

textiles are the easiest to carry, but that shouldn't be the only consideration. what sort of things do you enjoy? so many handcrafts available - paper, pottery, wood, leather, glass, silver, weavings, embroidery, paintings etc etc. also fine alcohol products, including vanilla.

[Lochloosa]

31. Rivieria Maya near Cancun.

[yellowdogintexas]

38. something we learned in Cozumel. The further away you get from the coast, the cheaper the price

for the same stuff. We saw rugs and blankets for half of what they were near the cruise ship docks just a few blocks into San Miguel.

[GoCubsGo]

47. In that case...

If you are not a teetotaler, a bottle of Xtabentun.

[Lochloosa]

50. That is a must have. Thanks. I've never heard of it but I can't wait to try it.

Xtabentún is an anise liqueur made in Mexico's Yucatán region from anise seed, and fermented honey produced by honey bees from the nectar of xtabentún flowers. Rum is then added to the anise and honey mixture. Because of the rum content, the xtabentún liqueur is sometimes called a "distilled honey" beverage, which is misleading, because the honey alcohol is fermented, not distilled. Distilleries still survive today in the Yucatán that produce the liqueur.[1]

[GoCubsGo]

58. If you like anise, you'll love it.

I never heard of it until I visited the Yucatan while in high school many, many, many years ago. Once can find it in the US, but it's not that easy to come by, although I have seen it in some online liquor distributors.

[jmowreader]

33. A bottle of tap water is COMPLETELY out of the question.

[Lochloosa]

51. Give me an address and I'll get you a bottle....

[mike in raleigh]

34. A rock sample from the K-T boundary

down at the Yucatan Peninsula where the asteroid hit that wiped out the dinosaurs.

[Lochloosa]

49. I like this...but it took a 10 minute explanation to get my wife to understand what it was.

I'm afraid I would get a jar of beach sand.

[yellowdogintexas]

39. A couple of things not previously mentioned:

1. A really nice piece of Dio de Los Muertes art - their amazing little figurines of the happy skeletons. I got my daughter a Day of the Dead bride and groom for her wedding cake, since that is one of her favorite things . Figurines and other art are available to represent almost all professions too. I love that stuff.
http://www.zanzibartribalart.com/diasdelosmuertos.htm

2. An honest to gosh Mayan hammock. If you have a space somewhere for one you must get one. They do not look all that comfortable but do not let looks deceive. We had one in our B & B in Cozumel and by the second night we were fighting over it. I would love to have another one, since the damn squirrels chewed enough of the threads that it would not longer hold us up. http://www.stylemexican.com/super_king_hammocks.html

[GoCubsGo]

46. Agreed on the hammock.

Mighty comfy!

[Lochloosa]

52. Some of my Dead Head friends would love the skeletons...very cool. That hammock looks cozy.

[a la izquierda]

43. She should bring you something typical of the region.

Mexico is a huge country and its artistic cultures vary widely. A very popular thing in Yucatan is art/masks made from coconut shells. Aguardiente is a typical liquor. But I don't recommend it. I drank a little bit of it last night, and spent the night sick as a dog (I think it was drinking it on an empty stomach that did me in).

[Baitball Blogger]

45. hammocks

[Lochloosa]

53. Three votes for the Hammocks. Thanks

[A HERETIC I AM]

55. As soon as you can figure out what a "sovienor" is....

You might have a better idea

[Lochloosa]

56. I meant to spell it Sovenor...but everyone thought I meant souvenir

Sovenor (Buprenorphine) is an opioid analgesic used in the management of moderate to severe pain. It is also used in the treatment of opioid dependence. Off label it is used for heroin and opioid withdrawal.

[A HERETIC I AM]

57. Fair enough!

My fault for not using teh Google!

[OriginalGeek]

59. when I was 9 or 10

and my little brothers were 5 and 6 my mom and dad packed us all up for a trip to Del Rio, TX where my dad had gone to high school (my grandpa was stationed for a time at an Air Force base there).

We went across the border to Ciudado De Acuña for sight-seeing and whatnot and we happened upon a street vendor with a dazzling array of silver and turquoise jewelry. My little brother, being the Trump-like art of the deal negotiator he was, picked one up and asked excitedly "HOW MUCH IS THIS? I HAVE 5 DOLLARS!" and the guy says "Special for you! 5 dollars!"

so I say get yourself a pimpin' silver and turquoise ring but make sure you ask for the special price of 5 dollars.

[Lochloosa]

60. Nice. Lol