Been There, Smelled That explores the aromas of places around the world. Travel writer Maggie Downs investigates some of the world’s most potent smells, looks at how odor cultivates a connection to place, and presents how humans engage with smells, from scents that have endured generations to the latest innovations in aroma-making.
My guesthouse in Naxos looked better in the Airbnb listing. In reality, the room was tiny. The beds were thin and dorm-room-like, covered with flat sheets, no blankets. The air smelled slightly mildewy.
But just outside the hotel door was a world transformed. Each morning the sun painted the sky gentle gold and pink, while flowering trees bent like a billowy awning over the slender, cobbled path. As I made my way to the sea, mere steps away, blossom petals stuck to my feet. The perfume of night-blooming jasmine clung to the air. In those early hours, while the surrounding village stirred awake, there was a magic to the quiet, an intimacy with the landscape that felt sacred.
