Okay, I admit it. I'm a reformed souvenir junkie, with occasional relapses into my normal state of acquisitive frenzy. It started in family trips to Tijuana, Mexico where a fifty-cent a week allowance was found to be marvelously elastic. And it took me years to realize that the dazzling selection of souvenirs with equally blinding pricetags found at international airports were not unique and I really would find exactly the same items much more reasonably priced once I left the airport.

So by the time I travelled to Greece, I was a bit more discerning. Aching shoulders, arms, and legs from carting around overfilled luggage had taught me a few hard lessons --even tiny cute objects have weight and mass. Bought in sufficient quantity, they too will take their toll, and not just in overweight luggage fees.

So this week we start what will be an occasional series of features sharing some of my personal discoveries about Greek souvenirs - what to purchase, what to avoid, beginning with Delphi.

Surprises in Delphi

On the fall day when we drove toward Delphi, the tight, winding main road through the villages was lined with merchants displaying two things: beautiful rugs and fur caps. I thought these hats must be a local tradition, with a tail of fur attached to a round cap. It wasn't until I stumbled across a passage by Lawrence Durrell that I learned the truth: these caps are indeed a local tradition dating way back to the 1950's, when the "Davy Crockett" show was popular in the U.S. Durrell wrote that "they hang like dead rabbits in a poulterer's shop...sacred to that great modern god Davy Crockett." A savvy emigrant to America probably tipped off the fur trappers in the mountains near Delphi, and suddenly the market was flooded with authentic Grecian Crockett caps. Unfortunately, no one has updated them since, and they still hang forty years later.

Aside from the caps, Delphi is a shopper's paradise. Good shops line the main road through the village. The selection and prices on jewelry are excellent. However, do not take the "925" mark for silver seriously. I turned down a pair of earrings that had been clearly cast from a mold that had the "925" mark molded into it. Look for clear, crisp strikes - if the mark looks soft, avoid it. The object may or may not be silver. The vast majority of the merchants are honest and genuinely welcoming, but use your judgement.

There are also coin-quality medallions available which actually have an even higher silver percentage, so you may find other marks as well. Apollo is often featured on these - look for Apollo Delphinius, with his image surrounded by dolphins, a reproduction of an ancient coin.

Rugs and wool blankets of wonderful quality are also good buys in Delphi, and most of the stores that handle them offer to mail them home for you. Take advantage of this offer - rugs and blankets are bulky companions for the rest of your journey.

Don't forget to do some gentle bargaining. But even in late-season Delphi, I found that prices generally did not slide more than twenty percent. The merchants know that after the summer tourist season is over, it's only a few weeks until the winter skiing season begins, when a fresh influx of visitors shopping for Christmas will empty the shelves.