The Sweet Smell Of Travel Inspiration

Have you ever had a travel experience so sublime that nothing measures up to it, even after twenty years?

Photo by Wilfred Wong on Unsplash

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Have you ever had a travel experience so sublime that nothing measures up to it, even after twenty years?

That’s what happened to me the first time I went to Italy. I was only 21 years old and travelling on a flimsy budget. Gourmet food was out, or so I thought. However, thanks to a hilltop castle-turned-hostel in Finale Ligure (the now-shuttered Vuillermin Castle Hostel), I was about to make the memory of a lifetime. The hostel offered a simple supper for a few extra bucks a night. I was expecting bargain bowls of spaghetti, but instead, I was introduced to soft slices of mozzarella layered between tomatoes and drizzled with olive oil. A creamy sundried tomato pesto on farfalle was unlike any pasta I had before or since. Dessert was a simple platter of sliced peaches to be shared among the table, but oh my God, those peaches. I can still taste them. Perfectly ripe, obscenely delicate, and with the most intoxicating fragrance I’ve ever experienced. I can still smell them, if only in my mind. No wonder so many incredible perfumes are inspired by travel!
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Italy was just the beginning of my sensory journey, and I can chronicle my life travelling through smells. Here are some more of the most delectable destinations I’ve ever visited.

​Place des Vosges, Paris

Photo by Rames Quinerie on Unsplash

I spent a lot of time in Paris the same summer I visited Finale Ligure. A chance encounter in my adventures brought me to Place des Vosges, the oldest planned public square in the city. This pretty park is home to plenty of special events, and I was lucky enough to stumble upon it during a lavender festival. Vendors from Provence showcased their wares, demonstrated the art of distilling the pretty purple blooms into fragrant oils, and handed out free sprigs of dried flowers. Heavenly! 
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I’ve been back to Place des Vosges several times since but have never had good luck finding a festival again. But there’s always something unique happening here, and the old-fashioned bakeries in the neighbourhood mean it always smells sweet

Charles Bridge, Prague

The mouthwatering smell of something savoury and spicy taunted my nose the minute I stepped off the bus next to Charles Bridge, Prague. My arrival in the Czech capital was a triumph after facing the challenge of navigating a new language and currency for the first time. I was so proud of myself for navigating the train station alone. I found the metro entrance, then the ticket box, and finally, the convenience store that provided change by purchasing a Snickers bar. I found the right metro train and tram, which stopped precisely in front of our hotel. Whew! 

As I stepped onto Prague’s cobblestones for the first time and gazed upon the city’s iconic bridge, I was overwhelmed by the most incredible smell; the onion-y, savoury aroma from someone cooking a mouthwatering meal. Clearly, a restaurant was getting a headstart on their evening’s main course. Was it goulash? A tomato-y sauce? I could detect pepper and spices but never got to the bottom of what was incredible. 
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There was music playing in the square, and I finally exhaled. And I started to laugh. That’s when I knew Prague and I would get along just fine.

Central Sofia, Bulgaria

“Are you open?” It was nearly three in the afternoon, far too late for lunch and too early for dinner. But I was starving. Starving! The small, unassuming pizza restaurant in central Sofia, Bulgaria, suddenly felt like just the ticket.  Once inside, I was greeted by the mouthwatering smell of cinnamon and apples, so bright and vibrant that I could only conclude that the restaurant was using its pizza ovens to make baked goods during its downtime. 

The staff just laughed when I inquired about what they were baking. I was smelling an air freshener! We all had a good chuckle, and I was more than happy to fill up on their delicious savoury fare. But I couldn’t shake my apple pie desires, so I spent the rest of my visit hunting down apple pie all over the city. I never quite satisfied my craving, but I definitely got to see a lot of the city and now I can’t eat apple pastries without thinking about my Bulgarian quest.

The rain in Malawi

My beaten, battered, dog-eared 2001 edition of Lonely Planet Malawi opens by describing how tourism brochures hype Malawi as “the warm heart of Africa.” As much as they like to avoid generalisations, this seems particularly true as Malawians are among the friendliest people you’ll meet anywhere.

​It’s been 20 years since that paragraph was written, but it still holds as much validity today as it did when I first read those words in 2004. I was preparing to leave graduate school for an internship with the Malawi Department of Fisheries and the Canadian International Development Agency. I worked as a gender analyst, and my work took me throughout the country, from cities to tiny villages. Malawi’s warm heart made for an unforgettable experience. 

However, my strongest memory of Malawi isn’t the kind people or the fantastic work. It’s how the air smelled just before the rain and how the ground smelled after it. This isn’t just something that exists in my mind. Rain does indeed have a smell, and it’s known as petrichor. The process has to do with the effect of raindrops hitting porous surfaces like soil and releasing aerosols, but I like to think that it’s just a part of the travel magic, and Malawi had it in spades.

​I’d do anything to smell it again.

…Just About Everything In Hawaii, Including Coffee Farms and Coconuts

If a part of Hawaii doesn’t smell good, I haven’t found it. When we landed in Honolulu in 2010, I was blown away by the gentle breezes that floated through the open-air airport. If an airport can smell good, it’s enough to make me believe in miracles! Within ten minutes, I turned to Ryan and said, “We’re coming back here in two years,” and we did—and then we returned again and again! I’m convinced it’s a destination that gets more beautiful and delicious every visit.

I fell in love with Honolulu’s piping hot malasadas, drenched in toasty sugar and filled with plum and guava. I was blown away by the gardenia-like scent of the coffee blossoms along the hills of Kona. First airports and now farms? This really must be the best-smelling place on earth! I also adored the sweet coconut smell of snowy shaved ice topped with sweetened condensed milk and my favourite syrups in Maui, but nothing beat the farmer’s markets across the state. Pungent fish, dainty plumeria blossoms, and a bounty of fresh fruit made for an unbeatable combination. And the fresh-cut pineapple was as fragrant and sweet as those peaches were in Italy all those years ago.


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