One of my favorite parts of travel is interacting with locals and other tourists. I journal religiously when I travel to a new place and always try to note interesting conversations.

Below, in no particular order, are a few of my favorite quips and tidbits from our journeys.

“I cheat you less” – from a street vendor in Tijuana, Mexico.

“Sausagefest” – an Australian man describing the nude beach near Dubrovnik, Croatia.

“Looka, looka shop” – from a Beijing street vendor.

“It’s a small world” – from Freda, a Bruges, Belgium, B&B owner describing a foggy day.

“Oklahoma! Where the wind comes sweepin’ down the plain” – sung by a shop owner in an unknown little Austrian town after she asked us where we live.

I’m “not comfortable” here – from a Catholic cab driver in Belfast, Northern Ireland, while driving through the Protestant Shankill Road neighborhood

We are experiencing “turbulence due to typhoon” – from a flight announcement during a Japan Airlines flight from Shanghai to Tokyo.

“I’ll show you the way” – from a scam artist near Beijing, China’s, Forbidden City.

“Oklahoma is one of only three US states with a panhandle” – from a guard at Munich, Germany’s, Nyphenburg Palace.

“One is enough” – from a lady leaving the De Garre bar in Bruges, Belgium.

You are “brave” for traveling independently – from a group Americans on a tour in Budapest, Hungary.

“I am Han and this is my partner Solo” – from a Vienna, Austria, street performer.

“We’re going to get to the castles early, you know, around 10:30 am” – from two American guys in Fussen, Germany.

“It doesn’t matter, you’re in Belgium” – said to me by a Belgian lady after I accidentally went into the women’s bathroom in Bruges, Belgium.

“It’s good to laugh in the morning” – from Bacharach, Germany, B&B owner Fatima after scolding us for coming down to breakfast late.

“When are we going to land off?” – from little kid while our airplane was on approach to London, England’s, Gatwick Airport.

“In the time of the Yugoslavia” – part of a history lesson from our Croatian driver Petar.

“You’ve got your 10 Kuna now jump” – from a young English boy to a Mostar, Bosnia, bridge diver.

“Jordan” – the Estonian translation of the American name Charlie from a hostess at Vanaema Juures restaurant in Tallinn, Estonia.

“Oh say can you see” – from group of Americans singing the Star Spangled Banner in a Stockholm ice bar.

“Play the boot” – a request from a fiddle player to the crowd in a Dublin, Ireland, pub.

“Are ya Irish” from an Irish guy at a seaside patio in Nerja, Spain.

My lovely wife recently received a happy anniversary greeting from her “friends” at Southwest Airlines. She flies Southwest on occasion when she travels to business meetings and is a member of the airline’s frequent flier program. This anniversary card contained a drink coupon for a free beverage on her next Southwest flight.

Not a bad bit of public relations. Freebies are always appreciated by business and leisure travelers alike, especially since we are nickled and dimed to death every time we board a commercial flight. I tip my hat to Southwest’s pr/marketing folks.

My lovely wife and I decorated for the holidays yesterday and our Christmas tree made its triumphant return after a five-year attic hiatus.

It took us longer than I expected to decorate the tree. As we unwrapped and hung ornaments we found ourselves reminiscing. When we travel to a new city, we buy a Christmas ornament so each and every decoration that adorns our tree is attached to a special memory.

Now our tree is an evergreen aggregation of the journeys we’ve taken since we married 10 years ago. Some of our St. Nick knickknacks are quite pretty and others quite cheap; but each one, whether a plastic piece of junk or carefully-crafted handmade treasure, reminds us of a place we’ve been or a person we met along the way.

I remember the cozy little shop right on Edinburgh’s Royal Mile where we bought our Scottish bagpiper and the huge department store on Beijing’s Wangfujing where we fought through a crowd of shoppers for a bit of Beijing Christmas bling. We have a lace ornament from Brugges and Buddha from Kamakura, a cardboard cutout from Mostar’s Stari Most and a cruise ship from the Royal Caribbean onboard shops. The Eiffel Tower that graces our tree is actually a keyring.

Whether “made in China” or by an artist’s hand, each ornament and the memory that accompanies it is a part of our shared past. I can’t help but feel comforted by those tree trinkets and what they represent as they twinkle in the bright white Christmas lights.