Travel theme: Fragrant

Posted on November 22, 2013 by ailsapm

Today’s part of the volcano road trip was filled with the scent of sage brush and pine so I thought fragrance might be an interesting theme for the week. While you cannot capture scent with an image (if anyone fancies patenting a scratch and sniff camera now’s your chance) perhaps you can evoke a scent. Several years ago I visited Hampton Court Palace in springtime and found in the gardens a spot entirely enclosed by soaring box hedge and filled to bursting with blue hyacinth. The intoxicating perfume is something I will never forget, but what is more curious to me is that every time I’ve detected the scent of hyacinth since then, a snapshot of that walled garden flits through my mind’s eye. So here are a few shots of some of my more fragrant encounters. High up on Hurricane Ridge in the Olympic Mountains, this black-tailed deer got within about an inch of my face and almost overpowered me with her musky scent. She was after my sandwich.

There’s the smell of spice stalls at street markets…

…and the scent of fruit ripening in orchards in the sunshine of the Yakima Valley…

…the inviting aroma of freshly-baked Irish soda bread…

…and the intoxicating perfume of that humblest of hedgerow ramblers, honeysuckle.

The sense of smell is perhaps the most evocative of all the senses, so get ready to heighten olfactory perception and show me your most aromatic photos. If you would like to join in (everyone’s welcome!) here’s what to do:

Create your own post and title it Travel theme: Fragrant
Include a link to this page in your post so others can find it too
Get your post in by next Thursday, as the new travel theme comes out on Friday
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xxx Ailsa

“Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it.” – Mark Twain

“An idealist is one who, on noticing that a rose smells better than a cabbage, concludes that it makes a better soup.” – Bertrand Russell

About ailsapm

Hi there! I’m Ailsa Prideaux-Mooney. I’ve lived in many places, and travelled to many more. I had a lot of fun getting there and being there, wherever there happened to be at the time. I climbed a castle wall in Czesky Krumlov, abseiled down cliffs to go caving in the west of Ireland, slept on the beach in Paros, got chased by a swarm of bees in Vourvourou (ok that wasn’t fun, but it was exciting), learned flower arranging in Tokyo, found myself in the middle of a riot in Seoul, learned to snowboard in Salzburg, got lost in a labyrinth in Budapest and had my ice cream stolen by a gull in Cornwall. And I’m just getting started. If you’ve enjoyed what you’ve read so far, I’d love you to follow my travelogue - wheresmybackpack.com - and remember, anyone who tries to tell you it’s a small world hasn’t tried to see it all.

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