Travel journals are a great way to keep track of your experiences in new places. You know those sights or funny stories that you think you’ll remember forever? Well, you won’t. They’ll get pushed out by new sights and funny stories. So whether you jot down sentence fragments or Steinbeck-worthy detail, your travel journal will make sure that you’ll be able to look back upon your trip for years to come.

Some of the best I’ve seen are in this set from Red Envelope. It is a set of 12 colorful, silk-bound notebooks that will look as good on your shelf as they do in your bag while traveling.