The Travelling TCK Tea Towels

We apologise for the lateness of this article. Please enjoy Paul’s piece about the perfect TCK travel gift!

My best friend picks me up from SFO. We ask about each other’s travels. Life is good. She says she has a little something for me.She apologizes for the gift—a tea towel souvenir from her anniversary trip to Portugal a week before. It is a masterpiece of embroidery showing a Portuguese ship with a stunning red sail. It reminds me of the needlework from the pillow cases, tablecloths, table runners and napkins we brought back from living in Spain. I get a small tug of nostalgia.

It’s a tea towel. Why apologize? I buy tea towels from Alaska as gifts and distribute them at our Christmas party at Trader Vic’s in Tokyo. A tea towel is perfect because it is light, easy to pack and will not break. It is the ideal thoughtful gesture. Now, practically everyone I know has one of my Alaskan gifts and tricks out their kitchen with it from Austin to Melbourne, Australia to Berlin and Germany to Tokyo. It is my inadvertent goal to cover the globe with them.

I plan to mail my friend a tea towel in return. I will need to go through my stash to find one with the vibrant colors and patterns of my adopted state, Alaska.

We think of travel as being exotic. Does it really have to be? I am reminded of my trips and my friends’ adventures every time I reach for a simple towel.

Originally posted by TCK TOWN writer Paul Kennedy on his blog:
https://ceannaideigh.wixsite.com/ceannaideigh/single-post/2018/10/12/TCK-the-Tea-Towel

CitiesBy Paul Kennedy (From The Western Pacific, South East Asia, Europe & Alaska. Living in Tokyo)TCK TOWN, TCK, Tck, souvenir, Portugal, travel, trip, Spain, nostalgia, Alaska, Tokyo, Austin, Melbourne, Australia, Berlin, Germany, exotic, simpleComment