Travel Like a Millionaire

You know sometimes Etsy teams are like potato chips - you can't have just one! After I opened my shop on Etsy I began joining teams. They are helpful and a nice place to get acquainted with one another. It's also a way of advertising. Many of us share our listings on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc.

In May of this year I decided to form my own team and became an "Etsy Captain." You've probably read about that team - Celebration Times. In fact, that team has its own blog! Right from the start we've had friendly, active, and enthusiastic members. We focus on all kinds of celebrations: birthdays, weddings, new babies, holidays - and anything and everything for those occasions (cards, gifts, decorations, etc.) I created the team because in searching Etsy (and I believe there are over 8,000 teams right now), I couldn't find anything quite like it.

Now here's the potato chip part to this - I started a second team a few months later. It's Passport to the World and came about because I couldn't find another team that did what I wanted this team to do. It's for any Shop on Etsy that sells things reflecting other countries and cultures or items that would be useful for travelers... and it's even for shop owners or shoppers who simply love to travel or day dream about traveling. We get to experience travel through the games and treasuries created by the team. Our members are from around the world and have so many interesting and beautiful items. Here's a link to the team if you would like to check it out.

https://www.etsy.com/teams/18381/passport-to-the-world

Finally I am getting to the title of this post: Travel Like a Millionaire. We sometimes have a theme to the treasuries we make and this month I decided to list this topic.

What would it be like to travel if you were a millionaire?
What would you see?
Where would you go?
How would you get there?
What would you buy as a souvenir?

I'm sure some of this we might not be able to imagine. However, it's been fun to look at the luxurious side of travel and there are cetainly items on Etsy that might reflect that feel.The two treasuries I've made for that heading so far include a handmade crown, a collection of antique works by Rudyard Kipling from 1909, a Tiffany pillbox made of sterling silver, a patchwork quilt made with rich colors and metallic gold, and a journal encouraging you to "let out your inner princess."  There's so much fun there! As I say in my comments though, the most important thing about travel is getting to see those special places and it's even better if we get to see them with people who are dear to us!

I don't have any million dollar travel items in my shop, but I'll share these interesting operetta books called librettos that reflect another time and another place. I frequently get to do research when I go through boxes of treasures that have been stored away many years ago by my family and you'll see that here.

These are two Grand Opera Librettos: Aida by Verdi and Lucia di Lammermoor by Donizetti. Edwin F. Kalmus Orchestra Scores in New York published these. A libretto contains the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera. Grand Opera was a genre of the 19th-century, generally in four or five acts, characterized by large-scale casts and orchestras, and lavish and spectacular design and stage effects. Normally the plots were based on or around dramatic historical events.

These librettos come with the Italian text and the English translation. A summary of the story and the characters is at the beginning of each. Lucia di Lammermoor has a setting in Scotland in the 18th century. The libretto is 31 pages in length. Aida takes place in Egypt. The libretto is 42 pages in length. Some of the music from the opera is also included towards the back of the librettos.

Now I'll be in the mood to travel to some distant place. I would love to visit Egypt and Scotland. Maybe one day....Maybe I should make a quilt that envokes the feeling of Egypt or Scotland. Now, there's an idea!