Today’s poll topic was suggested by our host, Haunani, who wants to know about your dream summer getaway. Where would you go, and what ONE fragrance would you be sure to take along?
In case you haven’t met, let me introduce you to Haunani:
Haunani has recently retired, and she and her husband plan to do some traveling of their own after they’re done renovating their house.
Note: image is Playa by montuno at flickr; some rights reserved.
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With temperatures reaching the upper nineties here in the city, my dream summer getaway right now would not be the Carribean nor the Maldive Islands but the south of England with its green hills, lush meadows and blooming gardens. And I would certainly not take a soliflore rose scent but rather something dry and classy like Dior’s Eau Sauvage.
Hi, kristinacologne! I would love to hike those cool green hills some day, too, and Eau Sauvage sounds like the perfect fragrance companion!
Right now my dream getaway is to go to Paris and sniff, go to a museum. Eat. Sniff some more. Go to a museum. Eat. Repeat. Then head to Grasse for more perfume exploration. There would also be substantial fundage to purchase perfumes.
I probably wouldn’t bring a perfume, but buy one-probably Bois et Musc at Serge Lutens for starters.
Hey, Dixie! Eat-Sniff-Eat-Sniff. Repeat. And in France, yet! May we all join you?
Would that be a fun tour group or what?! Perhaps we can persuade Angela to host it!
Count me in!
Actually, I’m going to the Cote d’Azur next weekend, with Grasse just a couple of miles away from our house. Has anyone been to the perfume museum yet???
Lucky you!!! Please please please report back!
I will – I’ve been going there for years in the summer and there is this wonderful perfume store in Cannes which has IT ALL (not to make you jealous
)
yup, too late: JEALOUS!
I’m so jealous!!!
when I was in Nice a few years ago, I did a day trip to Grasse but the museum was not open. Still, loved the town, visited the perfume factories and bought tons of scent !!! Enjoy!!
ps–pick up some Riviera Riviera from Fragonard–not sold widely here in the States and it smells just like the name implies!!
That Fragonard sounds great!
Hi H!
What a great topic. My dream vacation spot right now is Bali. Non-resort like (apparently you stay in homestead-like accomodations), hiking, beaches, and vegetarian-friendly cuisine.
I’m having a hot summer romance right now with Kelly Caleche, so that’s prob what I’d bring, so delicious in the heat.
Hello, Sunnyfunny! Bali always sounded wonderful to me, too. Lush tropical plant life, interesting art and culture, delicious spicy food – what is not to lust after? I need to give Kelly Caleche a good wearing – do you think it would hold up well in the humid heat?
Oh heck yes! It comes to life in humidity. It’s a warm, slightly sweet floral with a very subtle but ever present underpinning of refined leather. The leather becomes more pronounced in the final stages. And given that our drobes have so much in common KC should become a fast favorite of yours.
OK, my dear, I’ll give it a good try. We have a lot in common, but your love for leather far surpasses mine!
If you don’t love leather, maybe you should try the edp… it’s rosier and lighter on the leather, at least to my nose.
Ah, thanks, I will. I might have a sample!
Hi, just noticing these comments about KC – I found that the one Gucci – I can’t remember what it is called, but it’s PINK liquid in a round bottle – smells a lot like the floral notes of KC without the leather drydown.
But the crucial question (because they’re strikingly different) is: edt or edp?
edt!
Ah, yes, Bali would be my dream holiday destination du jour as well! Friends of mine have a house there, so I would stay with them. The scents I would bring with me (surely narrowing it down to one is impossible?!?!) would be:
For daytime:
OJ’s Frangipani and Tauer’s Incense Extreme
For Evening:
Tubereuse Criminelle and Ta’if
Incense Extreme may sound like an odd choice for boiling hot weather, but I’ve been wearing it a lot this summer and it is absolutely gorgeous in the heat. It feels like a desert scent if ever there was one!
Ooh, and Tubereuse Criminelle and Ta’if sound appropriately exotic for evening!
First of all, I would really enjoy taking Haunani on vacation with me — or spending my vacation sitting back and watching her renovate her house.
With the heat of summer bearing down on us right now, I think I’d most enjoy a cooling getaway to an isolated stone castle in a windy setting in the northern U.K. Mitsouko would see me through.
Awww… so sweet, Quarry! You will smell beautiful in your Mitsouko whilst* lounging in your castle and tromping around discovering the native plants of the region. (How do ya like my British usage???)
I am obsessed with all things Morocco (in case you couldn’t tell by my handle – lol) and I still haven’t had to opportunity to visit. This is a “dream” vacation so I’d be flying straight out of Chicago, first class, breezing through security and customs with no problems. Staying some place resembling Serge Lutens’ palais but warmer and lived in. In fact, I’d be staying with a charming native family who can really immerse me into the local cuisine, customs and culture. I’d shop the souks and find unbelievable bargains on antique Spanish/Moorish furniture/rugs/clothes/accessories and ship them back home, again, with no problems with customs, and they arrive in one piece. I will climb the mountains, explore the coasts, stumble on ancient ruins in the desert with my Touareg guides on camelback (meanwhile learning firsthand about their culture that I have always been fascinated with). Just before departing, I go to a luxurious spa to have all the soreness and kinks worked out (especially after that camel ride!) and I happen to meet someone who is selling their villa outside of Marrakesh for significantly less than what I make a year. By the time I’m on the plane home, I’m a new homeowner and have dual citizenship in the U.S. and Morocco and am already planning my next return trip.
The perfume: if not some exotic frankincense-rose based perfume oil from the souks, then I’ll stay with the theme and say SL Chergui.
LaMaroc, that is a mesmerizing vacation fantasy! In these trips, we should all sail through customs and have no monetary or physical limitations. Oh – and the colors of Morocco all those oranges and yellows like in the Paul Klee paintings I adore! Chergui sounds perfect, but we can’t wait to smell the things you bring back!
Klee, yes! And more obviously, I think of the Orientalists, but more specifically Etienne Dinet, who did some really gorgeous slice-of-life paintings. (Though he was just as guilty of all the other European painters of objectifying the women and having them posed and arranged topless.) One of my favorites is “Girls Dancing & Singing” – http://www.orientalist-art.org.uk/ed1.html.
Lovely! Thanks for sharing the link.
Morocco is one of my favorite dream destinations as well. Have you seen the drool-worthy hotels at http://www.secretplaces.com? All traditional Moroccan homes turned into hotels. I like them even better than Serge’s place!
Jirish, thank you for sharing that site with me! This is exactly what I’m thinking of – grand and yet warm and inviting. And each so unique, too. I think I may have seen one or two of these in my giant Taschen coffee table book “Moroccan Interiors”.
Hi! Great topic!
As it is pretty cold here in the southern hemisphere, my dream getaway now would be St. Croix, of the US virgin islands.
I’ve actually been researching it for some time.
Beach, a book, seafood…that does it for me
Oh! and the perfume!
I would take L’eau par Kenzo for men,
Hi Kaos.geo! I have a friend whose family went to St. Croix on vacation for years. They just loved it! You will smell very handsome as you laze on the beach and enjoy those seafood dinners.
The Virgin Islands are lovely. I was there two years ago (though I was not on St. Croix) and would love to go back. St. John is also beautiful, it’s basically a giant national park with amazing beaches.
Hmm, well, since I was supposed to go to Paris this summer, but have had to postpone it, I’ll say Paris. Naturally I would probably be buying perfume when I got there, but for the plane ride I’d probably take AG Hadrien, since it seems to be a good “traveling” scent for me, or maybe L’Artisan Navegar, just because I’m into it lately and it’s lovely.
Best of luck with your home renovations, Haunani, and thanks for hosting!
Jill, I hope your Paris trip can be rescheduled soon. My only two trips abroad (so far!) have been to France, but I still haven’t seen Paris (hard to believe, I know, but I’m a bit of a city-phobe.) Olivia Giacobetti’s interesting and beautiful Navegar sounds like an ideal traveling fragrance!
That’s understandable — there are many great regions of France besides Paris! (And I’d like to visit those too — so many places I’d like to go, but never seem to be able to travel more than once a year or so!)
Hi Haunani,
What a timely topic as my hubby and I are in the wee stages of planning our Mediterranean Cruise for next year! We plan to start from Istanbul then head to Barcelona and the cruise the Med! Of course I was already thinking about which perfume I would bring!
If I had to make the choice now, it would YOSH Ginger Ciao. I have never smelled anything like it and it appeals to my inner quirky bohemian side which loves to travel.
Ginger Ciao – eau de parfum Notes -
Black coconut, night queen, tiger lily, neroli, ylang ylang, ginger, basil.
Happy home renos and cheers to your wanderlust and I hope you & DH travel to beautiful far away places!
~Dawn
Hi, Dawn! That sounds like a dream trip, one that has definitely tempted me! Will it be a big cruise ship or one of the smaller vessels? That Ginger Ciao sounds fantastic, too (adding to my test list as we speak).
The Ginger Ciao I am in love with is the EDP form, not the oil. I don’t like dabbing so I am thrilled that Yosh now offers the EdP.
As for the ship, I’m not sure yet about what size. We are looking at Celebrity Cruise Lines since we used them before for the Inside Passage tour of Alaska. They were wonderful. That was a fairly large ship. We were on a yacht for our recent trip to The Galapagos and it accomodated our group of about 28 – 30 people. It was intimate and nice. I think for the Med cruise, I would prefer a larger ship because we’ll probably be on it for almost 2 weeks and there is much more space.
p.s. Yes! Do sample the Ginger Ciao and let me know what you think about it.
~Dawn
Dawn, thanks for the tip on the fragrance version! And the Galapagos sounds like a great destination, too! Was that trip all you hoped it would be?
Email me at dawnkana at yahoo dot com and I’ll give you the scoop on Galapagos, etc.
~Dawn
Just put Haunani / Galapagos in the subject line.
OK!
Dawn~ you’ve mentioned Ciao a couple of times and I can’t stand it anymore—I’m going to luckyscent and placing a sample order…not that ordering the edp unsniffed hasn’t occurred to me. I’m not supposed to buying anything! I just wanted you to be aware that this breach of my “No-Spend Protocol” rests squarely on YOUR shoulders…..now that my conscience is clear about this not being my fault in any way….off to place an order!
Hm, guess I’d better hurry up and give some attention to the sample just passed on to me, if you’re thinking split.
What I’d love to be able to do is to spend a few weeks in a house on the Maine coast nearby. Something high up on a hill overlooking the ocean. High enough to get a lot of cooling breezes, so that I can sit in the screen porch and watch the boats on the water.
And the perfume for that… well, my wife will be there with me, so Ambre Sultan would be nice.
The Maine coast sounds like a perfect summer getaway, Fernando. And cool enough to get away with Ambre Sultan while enjoying a feast of lobster and blueberry cobbler.
That’d be nice… my husband and I honeymooned at Arcadia Natl Park/Bar Harbor, and it is beautiful.
I love Acadia National Park. What a great place for a honeymoon! I was lucky enough to visit it in the early fall a few years back. Coastal Maine appeals to me very much.
We were there this weekend! Camping in Bass Harbor on the quiet side.
Ooh, lucky you!
I would have liked to visit the Basque region of Spain this summer. The perfume to take with would have been Eau d’Hadrien. Vamos Espania.
Yes, let’s go to Spain! That Basque region is very intriguing. The Eau d’Hadrian would keep you fresh while lunching on a yummy plate of paella.
My number one destination would have to be the UK, primarily Wales and England (both because I’m of Welsh descent and because I majored in British lit, with a focus on medieval/Renaissance). So many of my favorite stories are set in the Welsh countryside or along the coast, I’d love to just ramble around and explore. As for perfume, I’m not sure… maybe Boudicca Wode, or the deep ancient forests of CBIHP’s Wild Hunt?
Oh, and it would have to be during June, so I could see Stonehenge at the Solstice.
Niiiiiiiiiiiice! Can I come with you?
Of course!
Me too, please??? That would be awesome! And then could we go on north to Scotland?
Of course, on both counts.
If we waited a bit until my friend is done with his stint in Houston, we’d even have a tour guide in Scotland (he fell in love with it while living there and plans to head back as soon as work permits). Or, I could just have him make up an itinerary.
A guide sounds good. I was going to suggest Gerard Butler otherwise.
and me too! Scotland was what I was thinking about… choosing the right scent is more difficult, I’d have to try “Like this” (is Tilda Swinton Scottish?), but I’m thinking of a selection of samples I’m trying out at the moment: Cartiers XIIème heure, Amanranthine, and Liasons dangereuses
Oh, take me with you! Takemetakemetakeme with you!!!
That would be something, to be at Stonehenge for the Solstice! Boojum, I like the sound of your trip and your accompanying fragrance choices (I have a Wild Hunt sample somewhere…). Can you recommend a book or two from the region? I think I’ve only read “How Green Was My Valley” (loved it!!!).
On the Stonehenge theme, you could try Edward Rutherford’s Sarum but be warned it is a BIG book!
LOVED that book! Highly recommended!
Yep, a good one.
Gosh, that comes well recommended! I will look it up!
Books… mostly I was referring to ones I read as a child (and continue to read, because I love my escapism). In that vein, absolutely *the* best, IMO, is Susan Cooper’s The Dark is Rising sequence. I’ve read Sarum as well, and of course all the Arthurian legends, some Celtic mythology, books about the bard Taliesin, and so on.
Hi Boojum, Sounds like we like a lot of similar books! I have not read the Dark is Rising sequence but I will definitely look them up. Have you read any Phil Rickman? He writes supernatural thrillers set in rural England and Wales., often based on the mythology of that region. He is worh a look!
Someone needs to do a poll on favorite books and fragrances associated with them! Thanks for the recommendations, BTW.
FW: I have not, but will have to look them up! The Cooper books are my all-time favorite series, though. I forget which perfumer just based a perfume on the 3rd book, Greenwitch, but the connection is enough to make me want to try it.
Boo (and interested others) – In that vein, I also recommend Jules Watson’s books – The White Mare, The Dawn Stag, and The Boar Stone. Excellent series about Roman Britain and Scotland (Alba) – very beautiful, romantic and metaphysical.
Lloyd Alexander’s Prydain cycle, beginning with The Book of Three, and then its inspiration, the Mabinogion.
And for Stonehenge, Tess of the D’Urbervilles.
The Solstice at Stonehenge is amazing- incredible energy! I don’t know if you have ever been to there but they are something to see in any day. You are just driving along, you crest a hill and bam you can see it in the distance- this iconic monument is just suddenly there. When I first traveled to England and went to Stonehenge, I just couldn’t get my head around the fact that this ancient monument had a main road right next to it with cars zipping by! But once you are wandering around and get on site the cars just fade away…I would wear something that wears quite close to the body with good intensity because it is WINDY on the plain.
Not rainy?
LOL!
Rapple–that would be the plains in Spain….
LOL! You’d have thought I would have remembered that detail as I just watched the movie a week ago!
Room for another? My great grandfather was Welsh, if that scores me extra points!
I’ve been longing to visit the area….
Mine was too, which was where my interest started, way back in elementary school. Do you know what part? Mine grew up near Caernarfon Castle in northern Wales.
I’m certainly tagging along…..In my vacation fantasy my trip to the UK and Scotland in particular is fabulously well funded and we all get to stay all season long….
I’m extremely city-phobic….and am fine with it….the countryside is the place for me! My family heritage is Scots and I’ve longed to tromp about , well, just about everywhere in the British Isles. I hope you all don’t mind spending a good amount of time in drafty old castles because I’ve a yearning for that. I’d like to add my vote for Gerard Butler as tour guide…..
Stonehenge at Solstice = absolute necessity. I’m with you, Boo!
Oh! I got so distracted thinking about castles and Gerard Butler in a kilt that I forgot to mention my perfumes: I’m taking OJ Woman and vintage Chamade with me. They both make me feel like I could easily be transported back in time to be a sword wielding heroine….sheesh, I need to stop reading summer trash romances…..
Being the heroine of a romance (with GB of course!) sounds much more fun than reading about it!! Hmm…. I forgot about perfumes. Smelling whatever he’s wearing sounds good to me!
sure does! unfortunately I’ve been stuck either in my car or “waiting” places lately….a lot!….which means I tote along my ebook or my nook and read about whatever can keep my mind off waiting (I hate waiting)….heavy sigh….
I know I’ve missed seeing you on here as much and hearing from you. Hope all is okay though with you and yours.
I wondered where you were, Daisy. So cities aren’t your thing, either? Nice to have company in that. OJ Woman and Chamade would keep a gal smelling very beautiful on most any trip!
Hi Haunani—you’ve done a fab job as guest host…this is a great poll, so bummed I’ve mostly missed it! I’ve been swamped lately and have missed out on so many great discussions on NST —I’ll never catch up!
Thanks, Daisy, this has sure been fun. Sorry to hear that you’ve been overly busy – I hate that! Sending fragrant hugs to you…
Lol, I’m in the North of England and it’s heavily overcast but also warm and muggy today so hardly an ideal getaway. SOTD is OJ Frangipani
For numerous reasons, I’ve hardy travelled in the last 7 years or so which means that I’ve a pretty lengthy list of places I’d like to visit. I’m into nature, marine life and orchids in particular, so a lot of the destinations make the list because of their plant and animal life. Indonesia, Philippines, Borneo, Madagascar, Tanzania, Mozambique, Maldives. Plus Japan, definitely. And Sri Lanka (the tea plantations up in the mountains rather than the seaside). And Brazil, and Venice and… yeah, I don’t think I will be able to pick one at the moment.
Scent? I’d probably stick with Frangipani. Either that or Diorella.
Oh, Abyss, we were dreaming of COOL green hills. Darn! Your huge list of exotic dream locations is making me drool and want to research those places. Nature study is a draw for me, too. Frangipani sounds lovely!
Oh, but “ideal” is so relative! Besides, if it’s hot, you could head to the mountains or the seaside. I don’t think the weather would matter to me one little bit, with so many interesting things to see. Now, ideal *winter* getaway… that had better involve sea and sun and lazing on the beach, for sure.
Good thoughts, there!
I have to agree with another post-er who suggested a beach house in Maine. Perhaps the Vineyard. A rather small clapboard affair with a well tended, but slightly overgrown garden. A view of the water and perhaps a hammock. Books and magazines. Long skirts and hats. Lazy days, bike riding to the grocery. No scent required. My grandmother has a house on the beach in Los Angeles, and honesty the aromas are complex and fulfilling – they cannot be beat. No reason to compete with what’s happening au natural.
KRL, I agree that the scent of the oceanside is wonderful in itself! And I love the sound of long skirts and hats, no makeup and no worries.
It’s hotter than hot here in Florida, and it will probably stay that way through the middle of October, so my dream involves a cooler climate! I was in South Africa a few years ago, and I’d like to return to the region since it’s winter there now. A Botswana safari would be wonderful, but no perfume while viewing wildlife! But I’d probably bring along a solid for when I wasn’t out watching cheetahs or elephants or birds. Solids are so easy to transport, and I have a few Pacifica solids that might work.
Botswana sounds like such an interesting country! And yes – solids are wonderful for travel, aren’t they? So portable and sociably modest. On a recent hot day, I pulled out a little solid of Pacifica Malibu Lemon Blossom (thanks, Tama!), and really enjoyed its pretty scent.
My dream vacation would be to travel to Norway; Bergen, Oslo, and some of the more out of the way spots too. The plan would be to hobnob with the aging black metallers I adore so much, hear some good music and see some beautiful scenery. In tow would be the spikiest perfume I can think of, D.L & Co. Thorn Apple.
An edgy vacation! Sounds different and lots of fun, sweetonpink! I haven’t tried the Thorn Apple.
Hey, H!
Nice to see you and your marigold here today. Honestly, my idea of a dream getaway right now would be getting away from work and not going anywhere. I’d love to never go back, but would settle for three months off. Just staying home sounds heavenly right about now. Sorry– can’t pick just one scent for staying home all summer. 
I’d be too tempted by a perfume cabinet full of scents. I guess if I had to choose it would be a fight to the death between Yvresse and Un Jardin Sur le Nil.
Oooh! Cage match!
Miss Kitty V., I’ve always loved vacations at home. Three months would be a dream, all right! I’m picturing your bottles duking it out, LOL!
I have to love them, they’re nearly the only kind I get! We did nip up to Canada a few years ago, and over to the Black Hills and Badlands last May (perfect time to go, btw… no bugs, no tourists yet bc kids are in school, and the weather was just right)… but that’s it for me. Many ambitions, few funds.
Well, we just poured our available funds into our house, so no big trips for us for a while! I’m looking forward to enjoying the house for a while and doing mundane things like cleaning closets (and organizing fragrance samples!). I hear that the Black Hills area is really interesting. In fact, I’m painfully ignorant about the whole middle part of our country! A leisurely auto trip across the states would be really fun, I think. A large bag of perfume samples would be a great accompaniment, too!
I definitely preferred the Black Hills to the Badlands, though both were fun.
Vacations at home are some of the most wonderful ones!
See below – I’ll be hanging out with you at the Perfumed House !
The Perfume House sounds like a divine stop! Maybe we all need a globe trotting dream Sniffa vacation!
Oh, yes!
Hi H!! These days, with a toddler, my idea of a dream vacation has changed a lot! So I am going to propose two different dream vacations, and I’ll let you guess which one is with and without toddler!
1. 3 month unlimited Eurail Pass for me and my hubby to wander around Europe…. including Greece and Turkey. I’d take Eau d’Hadrien and Chamade.
2. 3 months in Portland Oregon (visiting with family) staying somewhere fabulous like the Heathman or our friend’s house in NW, lots of trips to restaurants (hello Red Onion, I’m talking to you!), shops, long walks, an excursion or two to Bay Ocean Spit beach, one or two to the Gorge for hiking, and many trips to the spa! I’d take Mandragore and So Pretty b/c I suppose I’d be sharing it with Miss Kitty who is also taking some time off over the summer in her city!
Ann, I love that both vacations are THREE months long. Portland is such a great city (The Perfume House – yay!), and your rail trip sounds like a dream trip indeed. There’s something about travel by rail that has always captured my romantic imagination. Your fragrance choices sound like good all-purpose lovelies that would serve you well for all your adventures!
Hey, I almost said 6 months, lol! It *is* my dream vacation!!! I need a lot of time to unwind.
I love trains anyway, and I was lucky and got to travel a Eurail pass after my last semester in college and I’ve always wanted to do it again. I got to spend three months wandering around with no itinerary really, so it was pretty neat. (I wish that I could travel like that with my husband now!!)
What a luxury that would be!
And as long as you’re in Portland, don’t forget the Rose Garden and Japanese Garden – both beautiful and fragrant.
Gosh, yes, there is just so much to see! I was so lucky that I got to live in PDX for three years, so there are a lot of places there that are special to my heart, esp. walking around downtown. I love the Rose garden!
I have a few dream vacations, but right now I’m feeling like Kauai, and I’d bring A Wing and a Prayer Flowers. Gorgeous, bright gardenia-based white floral.
ElizabethN, Kaua’i is my favorite place in the world (so far, anyway!). I have not tried the fragrance you mention. Thanks for the suggestion! From my wardrobe, I particularly like Saffron James Le’a, Diptyque Do Son, L’Artisan Fleur de Liane, and Jo Malone Lotus Blossom & Waterlily for Kaua’i, but I’m always searching for others.
Thanks for the suggestions for fragrance! Now what are your favorite spots in Kauai?
The north area – Hanalei and environs – is magical!
Oh! And if you enjoy birds, don’t miss the Kilauea Lighthouse.
Ha, I’m an avid birder! Thanks for the tip.
Perfect! I think they close the gates at 4:00, so don’t go too late.
My absolute dream–and I have done this before–is to go to Bavaria and spend a week eating and hiking and biking and visiting with the kindest, friendliest people in the universe. Then, off to the big city–Paris! I have lived there before and I will always love it and be excited by it and walk all over it and eat my way through it, visit with the other friendliest people in the universe!! Drink enough coffee to really float my boat.
What would I wear?? Well, in Bavaria, it is a lot about being outside and in the fresh air (Y by Yves St. Laurent) and baroque cathedrals (Bal a Versailles) and busy bustling villages in the mountains (Aromatics Elixir by Clinique).
In Paris, I would wear Bandit (by R. Piguet) and then find some real Diorissimo to wallow in. With my croissants, I would slip on a little Ambre et Diamant Noir by Ambregris, which I would buy at the Ritz and/or at the Ambregris shop.
Then, on the plane home, I would tone it down some by wearing Sinan by Marc Sinan. When I finally landed in Austin, Texas–home sweet home–I would spritz up with a little Aromatics Elixir. It seems to be a much-complimented favorite on me in Austin, so I do wear it much of the time.
And all that is assuming that none of the fragrances would clash and that each time I put a new one on, it would be pure and fresh and true to its own self…………………..
Jo, you are an amazing planner and dreamer – I can tell! Bavaria sounds particularly intriguing to me, too (I think of forests and pastries and sausages and beer, oh my). YSL Y sounds perfect for the pursuits you describe! The Ambre et Diamant Noir has me really intrigued. Sigh, need to start an overdue TPC order…
I actually am going on one of my dream trips in a matter of hours – Hawaii! And I’m talking more than one scent (samples and decants) but if I had to limit it to one, I’d take Le Labo Neroli 36, which is to me the perfect summer scent. Someday, I hope to go on a Sniffapolooza jaunt – that’s my other dream trip! But for now I’m quite content with my plans (make that deleriously happy…)
Lucky you! Have a wonderful holiday!
How many of us have family who understand our desire for the snifapalooza?
Not many, I’m guessing. That’s why we have our NST family!
Where in Hawaii will you be? We are going to Honolulu at the end of the month – I love it there! have a great time.
You enjoy your island trip, too, ElizabethN!
Thanks, I definitely will! Hawai’i is paradise, as I’m sure you agree.
Aloha ‘oe to you, maggiecat! Have a wonderful time, and give my love to the islands of my birth. I hear that the Le Labo is a gorgeous neroli. I imagine that it would work well anywhere in the world!
Thank you for hosting us this weekend, Haunani!
Ideal is an elastic term, is it not? If I could truly do anything that is possible now, I would take a trip to the space station. In that closed environment, perfume would not be appropriate, but perhaps I could get away with tucking a Diptyque L’Ombre dans L’Eau solid into my kit.
In a more expansive sense, my ideal getaway would be time travel. Of course, I’d take the opportunity to stock up on vintage perfumes and sniff the frags of the future
Nozknoz, you are a person after my own heart! I would love a trip on the space shuttle – that would be the ultimate for me! Perhaps a little dab of Stephen Jones would be appropriate?
And time travel would be incredible, in both directions. Dream trips for sure!
Time travel! Oh, yes that could be fascinating. Imagine being able to go back through time smelling all those perfumes we’ve only read about.
Time travel – what a wonderful idea! But that deserves its own poll.
Yes!
It’s the ultimate lemming! For example, every time I see photos of those Egyptian tomb paintings of the banquet guests with cones of fragrant perfume ointment on atop their elaborate wigs I’m dying to know what that smelled like.
Aha, now I am inspired to try the quite possibly extraterrestrial Stephen Jones.
Stephen Jones is on my full-bottle wish list. I was surprised that the sparkly aldehydes didn’t bother me, and who could resist a fragrance that lists “meteorites” among the notes? But really, it’s just the best violet fragrance I’ve found.
My dream holiday at the moment would be New England in the autumn. Crisp air, blaze of coloured foliage, leaves crunching under my feet, woodsmoke in the air. I would visit my family and friends, go choose huge Halloween pumpkins for my daughters to help me carve and have my
Mom
FragrantWitch, I am very much a Fall Fanatic….your trip vacation sounds soooooo lovely!
That’s a nice one, too. I lived in NH briefly (March to November one year), and it’s easy to see why that’s such a popular fall destination.
Fall is my favorite season, too. The colors, the smells, and the fragrances. What fragrance(s) would you wear on this trip? Or would you just enjoy the woodsmoke-scented air?
Like much of the southern U.S., Tennessee has been pretty hot lately. Oooh. Rain this morning. Now hot and steamy! And I’ve been dreaming of a long weekend vacation to Seattle. Specifically, I want to be back high on the trail up Mt. Rainier.
You see, there’s this big rock just above the timber line, facing the peak. I was up there once, sitting there eating a peach, and smelling trees, snow, and hot rock. And a big, ripe peach.
I think I’d take Asphalt Flower. It’s interesting, but not overpowering. I’d want to be smelling the mountain and Puget Sound in Seattle.
Gosh, I really do want to be there right now!
Love, love, love Mt. Rainer! Did you stay at the Paradise Inn there?
Not quite
I was on a temporary duty assignment to Ft. Lewis. I was staying at the BOQ on base. I went up to Rainier on a day off. BEAUTIFUL! But I came down with the worst sunburn of my life. Blistered, oozing sunburn. A local took pity on me and gave my a long-sleeved shirt while I was up there or it would’ve been worse. But I’ve been longing to go back for a long time now. If I could just find a job in Seattle…
The picture you describe (leaving out the sunburn – ouch!) looks and smells beautiful to me. I love that feeling being above it all and really should visit more mountains. I looked up Asphalt Flower – it sounds just right for such an outdoor scene.
umm we’re going to Tenerife in August.
and that’s hard, I was just going to take Alien but that would only do for night abroad. and either Moschino Hippy Fizz or Calvin Klein Crave plus Clinique Happy for men deo would do through the day
I actually cannot take just one.
but if I had to choose, it would be Alien, and I’d only wear it at night.
We went to Tenerife a few years ago and really enjoyed it. Be sure to go up the volcanic park- it is quite impressive. Also, Playa de la Arena has a lovely little beach with black volcanic sand and some reasonable restaurants. Enjoy!
I just looked at an article about Tenerife. It looks like an interesting and beautiful place! It sounds like you’re planning day and nighttime fun, so at least two fragrances are in order!
I think this will be the 3rd year in a row !
I will check those out FragrantWitch
and thanks Haunani for granting me 2scents aha
Dream travel! One of my favorite topics! I’d love to get a group of friends together and rent a house on Vancouver Island. I love the Pacific Northwest in general. Great hiking and great food. I’d bring Sel de Vetiver and Fleurs de Sel.
Jirish, I think Vancouver Island is beautiful (though I’ve just seen a small piece of it). Your two fragrance choices are favorites of mine, too. Both are perfect for outdoor adventures AND dining.
Whoops! and have my mom cook a joint of beef and an apple pie. I would also spend a day, ideally Halloween, in Salem MA wandering into the shops and down along by the harbour. I would definitely stop for an extended sniff session at AromaSanctum. I would either wear Chaos, my personalised Fire of Isis from AromaSanctum, or CB IHP Burning Leaves.
Found this! It answers my “What fragrance?” question!
My dream vacation would be to visit Spain & Portugal. Spain to go to Barcelona and see the Gaudi and Portugal to go everywhere, especially Madeira, which is where my Dad’s side of the family is originally from, long long ago. I’ve looked at pictures and it looks so amazing. Perfume would depend on the time of year – if it were now, something like AA Herba Fresca or Jardin Sur le Nil.
Odonata9, a trip related to family heritage would be wonderful! Madeira is another island I’d like to visit, and the fortified wines made there can be amazing! Jardin Sur le Nil sounds like a good all-purpose summer touring fragrance, I think.
And my other dream vacation would involve all the things I miss about the east coast (I’m originally from MD, but live now in San Diego) – rent a big house on a lake somewhere, get all my friends to come, we’d swim and canoe and drink Yuengling (beer not distributed on west coast), play board games, have fires at night, there would be a summer rainstorm or two, and FIREFLIES!
That sounds like more fun to me than all of the grander ideas put forth today. Great idea!
It sounds like great fun. Good beer and BOARD GAMES! And I’ve never seen a firefly. Need to fix that one day.
H. – I cannot conceive of your not ever having seen a firefly! But i’m sure there are plenty of things you take for granted that I’ve never seen!
Yes, Haunani, you must see fireflies! My boyfriend is a native San Diegan and when I took him back east last summer, he was AMAZED. Spent the whole time sitting outside trying to photograph them. They are so magical and I miss them every summer.
My husband and I are planning a vacation to Tuscany sometime in the next five years, and I’m really really looking forward to that.
Don’t know what I’d take with me, though… I’m thinking Ta’if for evening and Le Temps d’une Fete for everything else.
I’ll take you to the UK if you’ll take me to Italy… that’s #2 on my places to go list!
Didn’t used to be, but my aunt and uncle have said of all people they know, they think I’d most enjoy Italy. My younger sister was mad. 
Don’t forget I’m part of this group!
Mals, my husband and I are hoping to get there, too. Italy is really high on his list, especially! The two fragrances you’ve picked sound perfect! (Ta’if is getting a lot of love today, isn’t it?)
Mals, San Gimignano was one of our stops on our honeymoon 5 years ago. Don’t stay in town – you’ll miss the view. We stayed 3 nights at a hotel set in a vineyard & olive grove with a view of the hill town right out our window that doesn’t even require us to get out of bed! The town was less than a 5 min drive. Many wonderful towns nearby – from Sienna to Volterra. Highly recommended!
My parents, sister & her husband did central Italy a few years ago, and did San Giminango (yes, I can’t spell!). They said it was the highlight of their whole experience, even diplacing the cinqocento seaside town/resort area (can’t spell again!). THey stayed in this amazing hotel that had a view of the entire valley – just gorgeous! I am partial to the lake country (Lago di Gardo, etc.) and Venice, which I was fortunate to visit in my younger days! I think Mariella Burani would be perfect for your trip to Italy, Mals!
Sounds wonnnnnnderful.
And yep, Mariella Burani could probably do the whole trip happily. That’s such a versatile fragrance.
Never heard of that fragrance. Looked it up – it sounds appropriately elegant for Italy!
Thanks for the info! (Madly scribbling…)
We, too, are remodeling. Right about now anywhere else sounds great. I’d like to return home and find it all finished!
My first thought was a trip to Ireland especially with my youngest son. Find family that’s still supposed to be there. But then I thought, no, an African safari would be awesome. So different from my normal life. Then I jumped to a house on the shore of Lake Superior with a porch and a hammock where I could read all day long. At night would be amazing star gazing and watching the freighters. But no, I think an Alaskan cruise would be nice.
I just can’t make up mind on where I’d go so can’t even begin to imagine what scent I’d pack!
Lake Superior is lovely too. My first remembered family vacation was there…and I only have vague memories, of the type that could be invented from hearing other people talk. But we stayed on the shore for part of our trip up to Canada a few years back, in October I think.
Wow, Tiara, we really got you going! Another dreamer, eh? I will join you in the escape-from-the-house-and-return-to-find-it-completed fantasy!
It’s cool to see where everybody wishes they could go or where people plan to go, I long to travel. It’s odd to think I’ve only read about that place in a book or seen it in a movie or TV.
The world is so big! I want to see sunrises and sunsets from all corners of it…
I would wear Tauer’s URC and love to go to Ireland and walk around everywhere and when I get tired , go sit on the cliffs overlooking the ocean. Simple.
I like simple.
I would also like to visit New Zealand, same idea , different fragrance. For that trip I would wear DelRae’s Amoureuse body cream, and revel in it. The perfume is lovely and heady but I imagine the BC would be more my style with that scent.
Hi Tamara! I like simple, too. There’s nothing like a sunrise or sunset over the ocean, is there? New Zealand is also on my dream vacation list, for many reasons (plants, animals, natural beauty, wine). Your suggestion of DelRae Amoureuse body cream intrigues me. That fragrance is on my wish list, but I’ve held back partly because it’s SO powerful. The cream, though, may be my perfect solution! Thanks!
NZ really is very beautiful, and so varied.
Hi dear H! What a wonderful topic. There are too many places I’d love to visit and too many fragrances I’d love to take with me….hmmmm…..Greek Isles, love the New Zealand idea, or possibly Fiji, now that that awful coup is over
As for the scent? l’Artisan Cote d’Amour or Saffron James’s L’ea.
Hi there, lovethescents! All I can say to your post is ditto, ditto, ditto… Cote d’Amour is perfect for just about any summer vacation, I’d say!
Ah… so many dream vacations and so little time and financial resources… *Sigh*
Ironically, the first place I always think of to go to is Yosemite Nat’l Park, yet that is the one place that I wouldn’t dream of bringing any perfume with me because it would interfere with the smell of Yosemite.
So another dream would be to return to Paris, and there, why would I ever want to bring anything with me when all I’d want to do is to go shopping for perfumes?
Guess we can look at heli-hiking in the Canadian Rockies or an Alaskan cruise – Okay, maybe Cologne du 68 or Jicky, or SSS Winter Woods, perhaps – which is also warm and comforting.
I love Yosemite – I go there every December and last time, I did bring perfume! Can’t remember what, though…I would like to go in summer, now.
Elizabeth – Lucky you! I’ve never been to Yosemite in the winter, only the period between late May and late Sept. Waterfall in the snow must be quite a sight. I really enjoy the high country as well. Have seen snow as early as the first week in Sept. The smells in the summer are intoxicating with so many different conifers depending on the elevation.
Hello, Yosemite fans! I have seen the park in spring (gushing water everywhere), and summer (yes to the good smells!). My husband has never seen it, though. We are within a four or five hour drive, and we are seriously looking at a trip there in early fall! I think I see your point about no fragrance…
Oh Do – Do bring your husband there, and don’t miss any part of the park! Each area so different from the other, and if you’re in good health and up to hiking, more glorious vistas await your discovery. Someday, I’d like to loop around the High-Sierra campgrounds, which you can only reserve if you win the lottery (the campground lottery, that is). Please feel free to contact me to share my experiences with you (hotmail name is “mollyseb”). Back in the ’90s, just about every year I’ve managed to travel to CA from NJ just for the purpose of visiting Yosemite.
Thank you, OperaFan! I will keep your info and contact you for tips!
I *almost* got to go to Banff a few years ago and stay at that fancy hotel for a conference…. it is still a fantasy of mine to do the Trans Canadian Rail trip in 1st class & stop up there!
Ooooh. The CEO is going to a conference for work next summer in… Calgary, I think… and he might take a side trip to Banff. He wants me to go with him, but I’m not sure we can really manage that.
Do they still do that train ride?
Banff and a Canadian train… what fragrance for that???
I got to stay 2 nights at Banff Springs Hotel with my parents in May of ’96 as part of a Tauck tour package. I cried when we left – it was sooooo beautiful!
Thank you, Haunani!
Well, I don’t know if this is my dream vacation, but it is one in my head. I want to fly to Nashville, spend a day or two, then drive to Natchez via the Natchez Trace highway, stopping at various historical spots. Then a few days in Natchez in a converted plantation manor, followed by a drive to New Orleans, a few days or a week there, then fly home. I have never been to the south. I would want to do this in the spring.
Fragrance-wise, of course I wold have to have some SIP Magazine Street, and some simple floral fragrances like Opus Jitterbug or JM White Jasmine and Mint. For evenings, some l’Heure Bleue and Joy.
A tour of selected southern US locales! That sounds marvelous, Tama! I want to go with you!!! Legendary food, music, and magnolias in bloom. What’s not to love? Your fragrances sound well thought out. I’ve tried Magazine Street – it’s an interesting one!
Hey Haunani! As you know, I’m currently on my idea of a sort-of-fantasy summer vacation — back east, ready to head down soon to Long Beach Island, New Jersey (the ads really are honest, folks: NJ beaches are nice, and not all of them are crowded with townies). And though I’m not at the beach yet, this evening I’ve been wearing Escale de Pondichery, which really is pretty close to a perfect vacation scent.
As for actualy *fantasy* vacations:
Well, though I’d love a month there (wearing Carnal Flower or a Saffron James scent, perhaps?), Hawaii does NOT figure in UNTIL the good people there see fit to elect a governor who won’t veto civil unions for same-sex couples (gee, I thought it was just the word “marriage” that was problematic… apparently not). /soapbox rant (sorry)
And anyway, my REAL fantasy destination would be Mediterranean: probably somewhere on that Catalunya coast of Spain, quiet and blissful but still close enough to my beloved Barcelona to enjoy culture and fun. Minimum three weeks, of course… ideally more like five or six. HA! (I was tempted to pick a Greek isle, though I’ve never been… but I think I might get too much island fever in such a place.)
And if I could bring only ONE scent I might just choose a recent love, Le Labo Fleur d’Oranger, which seems perfect for Spain and as if it could go from beach to town with little problem.
Hi Joe – great trips! And yes, veto Hawaii as long as you need to! There are plenty of other tropical desitnations around the world where you can go to enjoy yourself! ….
As far as Greece, let me recomment Santorini (no brainer) but mostly Crete which is just amazing! I wish I had tried harder when I was in college abroad to stay there longer as a research assistant to one of our profs who had a villa there. Sigh… The western side of Crete has a charming little town called Chania with all these old Islamic influenced sections of the city that are wonderful, romantic, etc. And heck, looks a lot like those old coastal towns in Spain, lol. You could also visit Naphlio which is a mainland seaside town in the Peloponese. It is gorgeous too – romantic, venetian style, with tons of wonderful food!!!
Hi Joe! (I’ll let the soapbox rant slip by – that was an unexpected disappointment, wasn’t it?). I hope you are having fun and catching some real summer warmth, finally. Spain sounds great – fascinating, beautiful, and really friendly people, so I hear. I like the music of that region, too. Le Labo Fleur d’Oranger sounds special and perfect for that trip!
Oh, all those vacation fantasies are balm to the soul in a year where I probably won’t get to holiday. *Sad face*
My favourite tropical vacation thus far has been spending 2,5 months in Surinam. I’d love to go back someday, visit friends & friends’ families (how incredibly hospitable people are there!) and trot around the jungle some more. It’s not a touristy country by any means, very shoe-string. Only the capital and to a lesser degree the coastal areas are populated much, the inlands are hard to get into and hard to get around in. But so worth it.
I wouldn’t bother with scent though; I’ve had too many near misses with dangerous sorts of insects and other animals attracted by foreign smells. You don’t want to have a medical emergency when you’re 24+ hours from the nearest hospital.
For a less swelteringly humid alternative, Tuscany and Catalunya are perennial favourites – though I’d also love to revisit the Rhineland area in Germany. Lush, green valleys with ridiculously precious medieval villages. And it has Trier. Gorgeous city.
Surinam! Now that is exotic! A quick bit of research reveals that they speak Dutch there. Interesting! And it has a hot, tropical climate. What fragrance would feel “right” there, zeezee? Your alternatives sound like great fun, too!
Zeezee, I love Trier and have great memories of a brief trip there. I’d love to spend a few weeks there in the Mosel valley.
So many great destinations on this thread; I wish I could afford so many of them… nice fantasies…
So many places, so little money….
It would be a toss up for me between Tuscany (I’d like to live there for six months), Paris and Loire Valley and Vancouver/up to Banff. Second tier would be Wales/Scotland, New Zealand, Greece, or Tahiti.
My “vacation” this year (and maybe next!) is a new bathroom. Sigh…
So many of us are putting off our travel dreams this year! But the planning and imagining parts are free and fun, no? Will you be fragrancing your new bathroom with any special candles or room spray? I just picked up some L’Occitane Verbena room spray and a candle for our upstairs bathroom. Nice!
Sigh! Repairs and upgrades that cannot be put off any longer are eating up my discretionary funds, as well. Not to mention stalking vintage scents on ebay – but perhaps that counts as a bit of time travel
Ha! That’s the way to think!
I live in an old house, and I join you in lamenting over all the would-be vacation dollars poured into repairs and home improvement investments. With all the $$$$$.$$ we’ve spent over the last 3 years, we probably could have cruised around the world on the Queen Mary…
Gosh, you all have made me feel a lot better and not nearly so alone and forlorn! Thank you!!
This all got me fantasizing about a dream getaway for myself! Perhaps I’d take a whole year to explore the most beautiful and interesting islands of the world. I adore islands – they give me a great sense of freedom and well-being. For the sake of packing light, I would take a magic bottle of perfume that would morph into the perfect fragrance for each island. Example: I wore Stephanie Saint-Aignan’s Li Altarelli yesterday. It was inspired by the fragrances of Corsica, which is an island high on my list.
My dream vacation would be going to the perfume bottle museum in Barcelona. I would also take in all things Gaudi and then head up to Bilbao to see the Frank Gehry-designed museum. I would fit in a trip to Grasse because I would like to make my own perfume in one of the places that affords this opportunity to tourists.
An art and perfume centered trip that sounds truly wonderful!
Celestia, I love the way you think!
We probably won’t be going on vacation this year, as practically everything we own has decided to break this year. I figure for what we have used up for these unplanned expenditures (new stove, new TV, new refrigerator, major car repairs, two crowns and a root canal on my teeth), we could have had a month in Alaska, which would be one of my dream vacations. We did spend a week in Juneau a few years ago, and it was the best vacation of our lives. For a return trip, we would probably like to spend a week in Anchorage, take the tour through Denali, another week in Fairbanks, and a few days to go to Barrow and see the Arctic Ocean. If we had still more time (and money), I would add a trip to Nome to see the gold-flecked beaches and a tour through the Alaska panhandle–a return visit to Juneau, taking in the Russian heritage of Sitka, and of course Ketchikan with its abundant liquid sunshine (rain). As far as fragrance–I don’t know if I would take any. I would not want to attract any untoward attention from the bears, and anyway, it is hard to beat the fragrance of really clean, fresh air.
Alaska is one of my dream trips, too. I hope you get to do your in-depth tour of that state one day soon. Oh, yes, and the money we spend to keep our teeth! I suppose it’s worth it, but wouldn’t it feel good to just spit back all that money and go traveling!
If you have no issues going overseas, I suggest you try to spend some time in Bohol or in Palawan, Philippines.
Shelley, I just Googled some images of those islands. Gorgeous! I need to start a list. Thanks!!!
I won’t be going on vacation anytime in the foreseeable future, so all I can do is dream! My fantasy destination has been Tahiti for as long as I can remember. What’s not to love? The most beautiful scenery, delicious tropical fruits, balmy climate, and all those gorgeous Polynesian men with wavy black hair, golden skin and…oh, what was I saying? Oh right, what perfume would I take with me? Frederic Malle’s Carnal Flower of course!
Snap your fingers and I’m with you in Tahiti AND Carnal Flower!
Just a quick note to thank all of you for sharing your wonderful travel dreams and fragrance notes. This was a lot of fun!
Hi all-I’m way late to the party.
My ideal summer getaway would be St. Barts, and my scent choice would be either Le Labo’s Bergamotte 22, for it’s lovely citrus opening and spicy/floral drydown or PdN’s Eau Turquoise with it’s juicy mango and lime-it’d also be a great choice.
I think I’d have to flip a coin to decide which one to take!