Honfleur, France

Honfleur Harbour in Honfleur, France

This quaint little town north of Paris is a great little place to get away from the hustle and bustle of the Paris city lights.  Just a short drive away, filled with wonderful shops, restaurants and history.  An absolute must if you are in the area.  You won't regret it, I promise.

I visited in 2007 and discovered several new oils to try in my soap making along with a few French herbs.  This town has a lot of little shops just filled with herbs, meats, oils.  There was even a really nice soap shop there.  I only had time to be there for a day, but I would recommend spending a weekend there if you have the time there is definitely enough to explore for a few days.

Until next time, Au revoir!

Hotel soap, guest soap, handmade soap and more!

Soap I got when staying at a hotel in Napoli (Naples, IT)

I've always loved those cute little soaps you get when you stay in a hotel or a bed and breakfast.  I even collect them as my souvenir when I travel.  I've been making my own handmade soap for 12 years now, but still love all other soaps and toiletries.  I have several other blogs featuring my soap and other peoples soap, for instance I have a Handmade Lavender Soap blog that shows off handmade lavender soap from all around the world.  I also have 2 similar ones dedicated to Coconut Milk Soap and Handmade Rose Soap.  If you stop by those blogs you will see some of the soaps I love.  Today I wanted to show you a little of my travel soap collection.

Here are some of the soaps I've collected over the years.

Soap from Hotel Alba in Firenze (Florence,IT)


One from Hotel Saint-Honore in Paris


This one is from Agli Artista Hotel in Venezia (Venice, IT)


and one of my favorite experiences the night train from Venezia (Venice, IT) to Amsterdam.  I love this little logo they have on the soap.

I have a whole collection from many different places throughout the USA, Europe and the Caribbean.  I hope to make it to Asia this year to start a collection from there.  I've always just thought they were so adorable and such a great souvenir since most of them have the Hotel address and phone number on them some where.  It's also a great thing to bring home to kids as the soaps seem so exotic when they are from a foreign land.  I love to use them to show kids about other languages and cultures.  Since they are small, they are an easy thing to bring back and they look like little chocolates to kids which intrigues them.  Just make sure that they aren't so young that they try to eat them ;-) 

I'm curious what things my readers collect when traveling?  Would love to hear some of your stories.

If you are reading this in a reader or on facebook you can see the original blog post at Handcrafted Soap Blog

Technorati Tags: travel, guest, soap, handmade, handcrafted, italy, florence, paris, milan, naples, rose, lavender, coconut milk, deshawn marie, souvenir, soaps, hotel

DeShawnMarie.com

A working vacation in Florida.

With my dad recently moving to Florida I have been trying to make the most of it and spend time there until Summer arrives in Boston. So I shipped a bunch of soap to Florida and have been working from my dad's houseboat. It's been quite an experience. What I love so much about Florida besides the weather is the fact there are so many outdoor events. I've been gathering lots of inspiration and will be looking to develop a few new soaps this Summer. This past weekend I went to the local farmers market and really enjoyed getting an assortment of fresh fruit, veggies and cheese. After the long hard winter in Boston this is exactly what the doctor ordered. Now you know why you haven't heard from me in a while ;-) I've been soaking up the sun, eating well and working on new soaps here in sunny Florida. Here are a few photos from my excursion to the farmers market.


Who can resist the temptation of fresh strawberries? I just had to get some.


and take a look at these veggies, fresh and delicious!



Tomatos anyone?



Well I'm back to work, work, work so I'll keep you posted to my adventures here in Florida.