THE BEST SOUVENIR I EVER BOUGHT

Traveling is all about the memories—and the unique treasures we pick up along the way. No shame in a kitschy magnet or T-shirt, but we asked frequent fliers to tell us about the meaningful objects they’ve scored on their adventures around the globe.

- MELISSA MATTHEWS

When I visited Ranthambore National Park in India during a 2018 vacation with my mom and grandpa, I saw tigers in the wild for the first time. Just outside the park, I bought a close-up painting of a tiger from Village Women Crafts, a cooperative dedicated to empowering local artisans. From the moment I saw it, I was completely drawn to the tiger’s eye. It felt magnetic.

I grew up practicing martial arts and was always told to have “tiger eyes,” meaning a sharp, unwavering focus. At 30 by 20 inches, the painting was too large to fit in my bag (I travel carry-on only), which meant I had to roll the paper into a tube. Making things even more complicated, I wasn’t headed home—the next leg of my trip was in Indonesia—so I asked my mom to fly home to Connecticut for 15 hours with the painting tucked between her legs. Today, that painting hangs in the center of my dining room, where I pass it multiple times a day. Tigers have always been my favorite animal. I cried when I finally saw them in person, and this painting takes me back to that moment.

"I got a statement necklace that gets people talking."

JACQUI GIFFORD

@jacquigiff