Mug Shot

     I got an email this morning from a reader who wanted to know if my blog is sponsored by Starbucks. She noticed that I always post a 'mug shot' for each destination I write about. Well, the answer is no.
     I began collecting Starbucks city mugs about nine years ago, shortly after I started writing the Born to Shop travel guides with Suzy Gershman . The first mug was purchased on Oxford Street in London. It was pissing rain and I was cold, wet and miserable yet had more research to do and another neighborhood to two to visit. There was a Starbucks on the corner and a free seat next to the window so I bought a latte and plopped down for a few minutes of R & R. The London city mugs were displayed on a nearby shelf and I thought "what a great pencil holder for my home office".
     Fast forward nine years, twenty-some countries on five continents and more articles and stories than I can remember writing, and I'm still buying those mugs wherever I go. They now hold everything from pencils to nail files to dog biscuits and yeah, a few dead bugs.. Most importantly, they hold memories of the best travels and the best job in the world.
     I read in the NY Times recently that Starbucks was moving into Vietnam, a country I've visited and written about several times. Guess it's time to go back; I need some more mugs.