I have never been a diary or journal writer. When I was a kid, I might have attempted keeping a journal once or twice, but it never stuck. I just didn't really get the attraction. To me it just seemed like an invitation for people to read things you didn't want to share in the first place. Travel diaries, though I would say are closer to scrap booking. They are more about memories, then sharing intimate details. My friend Melissa, whom I went to Paris with, is into scrap booking, journals, stationary, pens, and all the accouterments. As a result while we were on our trip to London and Paris she gave me the super nice gift of a Louis Vuitton carnet de voyage (travel notebook) for my 21st birthday. I remember when she took out the chocolate brown box with Louis Vuitton on it and this beautiful cream ribbon wrapping the outside, I was shocked! The Louis Vuitton carnet de voyage is a beautiful, thoughtful gift for anyone who likes to travel, and wants to remember it with style.
Inside there are beautiful watercolor illustrations of the city of Paris, and a series of postcards, and a little brown pencil. When I came back from my trip I immediately printed out some of my favorite photos and added them to the book as well as writing down what we did every day. As a result I am now able to look at it any time I want and can relieve my trip through my notes and photos in a beautiful little LV carnet.
Just in case you were wondering, they come in a number of other major cities like New York, London, Tokyo, Mumbai, Rio, Athens etc... And you can purchase them here.
If your on more of a budget, but still want a great travel notebook, I highly recommend the Moleskine City Notebooks. They come in most major world cities, and they are nice and compact. Inside they have public transportation maps, important phone numbers and things like local conversions, a little pocket to hold small paper items, tracing paper, a well organized address section to keep track of hotels, restaurants, shops, museums, and the super helpful index of all the city streets and maps on a grid. I bought one when I went to Barcelona with my friend Liv last year, and it came in handy. I was able to map out exactly how we were going to get from the airport on public transportation and how to walk from the subway to our hotel. Which was great when your exhausted from flying and don't understand Spanish. It took a lot of the guess work out of the first couple of days in Barca, and I really liked the idea of being able to write down and keep track of all the cool little places we found along the way during our adventure. P.S. I lost it after a first couple of days on the trip during a frantic flight check in on our way back to Barca from Italy (that's a story for another time). I will definitely be purchasing another one the next time I go abroad. They are cheap, so I hope to make a collection and can keep adding to them as I make return trips to each city.
Emi stop forgetting to put your name! How am I supposed to selectively read your posts if you keep forgetting to write your name. I only realized it was you because I recognized that hideous rug!
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