airport souvenirs

Souvenir Sunday at Houston’s Bush Intercontinental Airport

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Etsy at an airport?  We’re used to finding Etsy artists and their wares on line. But there’s an Etsy shop filled with Texas-made treasures inside the new United terminal at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston.

And since it is Souvenir Sunday – the day we look some of the fun, inexpensive and locally-themed items you can buy at airports – here are some more snaps of items I spotted at IAH during a recent visit.

 

(Why is this flavor of Skinny Pop not sold in my town??)

And… (bonus!) here’s the Souvenir Sunday pick from IAH from my last time through:

At one Italian airport pesto is exempt from liquid ban

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Here’s a great – and tasty – airport amenity:

Italy’s Genoa airport has come up with great way to encourage – and allow – passengers to carry  jars of pesto in their carry-on bags, despite the ban on pastes and liquids that would normally cause those souvenirs to be forfeited.

Under the airport’s new Il Pesto è Buono (pesto is good) campaign, departing passengers may carry one or two jars of pesto in their carry-on bags on direct flights leaving the airport, but only if those bags have a “Il pesto è buono” sticker on them – which can be ‘purchased’ by making a donation of a least 50 cents a jar to a children’s charity called Flying Angels .

Here are some of the program’s rules for flying with pesto:

  • At the security checks, the passenger will have to extract the jars from the luggage and place them aside in the bowl, informing the security staff
  • The jars will be checked and then returned to the passenger
  • This process is only valid for jars containing “pesto genovese.”

An airport press officer told The Independent that the airport worked out the program with ENAC, Italy’s civil aviation authority, and chose pesto “Firstly because jars of pesto were among the most commonly confiscated objects at airport security, and also because pesto is the most famous food product of Genoa – it’s one of the symbols of the city, every Genoese family has their own recipe, and it’s one of the most famous sauces in the world.

This is definitely the airport amenity of the week!

Fiesta Friday: Found at Cancun Int’l Airport

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It’s been a very long time since I’ve traveled through Cancun International Airport and last time I was there the shops and restaurant offerings were sort of pitiful.

But, things have definitely changed.  Not only is there a now-classic, giant Duty Free shop, but a fair number of shops offering Mexican candies and snacks.

 

And, here’s a classic to add to my running list of chocolate ‘poop’ for sale at airports.

 

Airbus souvenirs from the Toulouse Airport

Souvenirs,

AC-763

I traveled to Toulouse, France earlier this month to tour the Airbus factory and cover the delivery of the company’s 10,000th aircraft: an  A350-900 that went to Singapore Airlines adorned with a special decal.

On the way home, I spent some time in the Toulouse-Blagnac Airport, where at least one shop had a corner devoted to Airbus-branded souvenirs and this adorable airplane mobile.

toulouse-mobile

airbus-souvenir

 

May I take my pony on the plane?

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The TSA has a handy “Can I bring my … through the security checkpoint” tool on its website which makes it clear that ice hockey sticks, field hockey sticks and “sports equipment that can be used as a bludgeon (such as bats and clubs) is prohibited in the cabin of the plane and must be transported in your checked baggage.”

But what about the stick ponies I spotted being sold in at least three shops at Dallas Love Field?

During my three hours hanging out at DAL earlier this week I didn’t see any small children (or adults) throwing tantrums for being relieved of their ponies at the aircraft doors, so I assume traveling with stick ponies is just fine.

But I’m still scouring the TSA app and will ask for a formal ruling…

Love Field ponies

Souvenir Sunday at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport

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Suitcase kids

During an opening-day tour of the brand new International Terminal at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport (officially: Tokyo International Airport) last week, I spent a good amount of time searching for souvenirs on the pre-security shopping street designed to evoke a very early style Japanese village.

Haneda Airport shopping street

And because Souvenir Sunday was coming up, I of course looked for inexpensive “of” the city or region items to share with you.

First up: Green Tea and wasabi-flavored Japanese Kit Kat bars, available by the single bar, the 12-bar box and in much larger mini-multi-pack versions.

Japanese Kit Kats - green tea

Other Kit Kat flavors being offered at the airport included strawberry cheese cake, blueberry chese cake, and Intense Roasted Soybean Flavor.

Blueberry chese cake Kit Kat

It turns out that’s just a small selection of the wild and wacky Kit Kat flavors available elsewhere in Japan – and around the world. Here’s a link to Fried Toast’s Flickr set of more than 100 types of Kit Kat ‘flavors.’)

I stocked up on Kit Kats and hit the Hello Kitty Store:

Hello Kitty with airplane

I contemplated buying these Super Hero-shaped water bottles, but realized I’d have to give them up at the security checkpoint.

Super Hero Water bottles

Instead I bought these cookies, which depict the airline of Sirotan, a white seal character popular in Japan –

Sirotan cookies

And, just because they looked fun and colorful, some paper souvenirs.

Haneda Airport souvenirs

After a morning poking around the shops in the International Terminal, I headed back to my hotel – which was conveniently located inside one of the airport’s two domestic terminals.  And there, at the Starbucks in the mall attached to Terminal 2, I found these special Starbucks mugs, made especially as an airport souvenir.

Special Japanese Edition Starbucks Travel mugs

Souvenir Sunday: New York souvenirs at Newark Airport

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It’s Souvenir Sunday – the day we take a look at some of the fun, inexpensive gifts you can buy when you’re stuck at the airport.

This week, we ponder why the Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR)- which is definitely located in New Jersey – has stores stocked with so many souvenirs that promote New York City.

I love New York magnets at EWR

NY souvenirs solds at EWR

I’m not complaining.

Last time through, I was also pleased to see that EWR also had a branch of the iconic Oyster Bar & Restaurant from Manhattan’s Grand Central Station.

Oyster Bar at EWR

EWR also has a few other new restaurants to check out on your next layover:

Currito Cantina and Tony Roma’s in Terminal A, Blue Point RA Bar (raw bar) and Champps Americana in Terminal B and Hamachi Sushi in Terminal C.

I love NY T-shirts at EWR

Did you find some great souvenirs last time you were stuck at the airport?

If the price tags are around $10, and the souvenirs are “of” the city or region and, ideally a bit offbeat, please snap a photo and send it along.

Your souvenir may be featured on a future edition of Souvenir Sunday.