We have five senses
 

We've had wonderful threads about memorable sights and unforgetable meals - sight and taste. What about the other three - sound, smell and touch? <BR> <BR>My submissions: <BR> <BR>Sound: children's choir in Notre Dame <BR> <BR>Smell: the rosemary plant outside a house in St Paul de Vence <BR> <BR>Touch: the mistral on my skin <BR> <BR>

Great idea Elvira! Here's mine: <BR> <BR>Sound: Basque music at a festival in Sare - haunting <BR> <BR>Smell: Any french park - I think it's the smell of the boxwoods <BR> <BR>Touch: Not in Europe - touching the moon rock at the Air and Space Musuem - I must have done that a dozen times during my visit and each time it took my break away!

Uh, that should have been "breath" - guess my "touch" typing needs work!

here it is, Elvira: <BR> <BR>sound: the sound of tundra crunching under foot near Trondheim, Norway <BR> <BR>smell: the musty smell of seriously shop worn merchandise in small towns, Ireland. <BR> <BR>touch: the feel against my skin of the purple polyester hooded dress get-up my mom bought me in london, summer 1970. hello, austin powers!!

Yeah, good one E. <BR> <BR>Sound: The trumpeter in the bell tower of the cathedral on the main square in Krakow. Every hour, I think 24/365, a trumpeter sounds the alarm commemorating the Tartar invasion in 13somethingorother. The trumpet call cuts off prematurely signifying the moment when the original player took an arrow in the neck. “Viktor, your turn to blow the horn is midnight to 6 AM on February 5th. Okay?” <BR> <BR>Smell: Not sure how current now, but the smell of coal smoke in the air in Edinburgh. The single most evocative odor in my memory. <BR> <BR>Touch: The stones in the Western Wall in Jerusalem. <BR>

Thanks Elvira - this is fun! <BR> <BR>Sound: Church bells anywhere in Europe <BR> <BR>Smell: OK - I know this is weird - I love the smell of the Metro in Paris - not the sometimes unsavory smells, but that "hot smell" - maybe it's the brakes??. Sometimes you even smell it from above ground when you walk over a Metro vent. When I smell something similar here in the U.S., I'm immediately back in Paris. <BR> <BR>Touch: Crisp bed linens and lovely linen towels my first time in Milan.

Sound: The carillon and tolls of the Westerkerk in Amsterdam as heard strolling the canals. <BR> <BR>Smell: Chestnuts being roasted by little old men on the streetcorners in Rome during the winter. <BR> <BR>Touch: A down duvet when awakening on a crisp English morn.

Memorable sound: F1 engines echoing in the hills of Francorchamps, venue for the Belgian Grand Prix. <BR>Smell: jet engine exhaust at airports, takes me to my days on the flight deck of the Intrepid where the love of travel was instilled. <BR>Touch: same young sailor on liberty in Villefranche-sur-mer, flight pay in pocket.

Sound -- The sing-song tone of ambulances making their way through the streets of Paris. Every time I hear it in a French movie I get nostalgic for Paris! <BR> <BR>Smell -- Ah, the pungent enticing aromas of the Parisian cheese shops. The scent of lemon groves in the Greek countryside. The smell of leather from the vendors in Florence. <BR> <BR>Touch -- The feel of wind through my hair while riding on a moped on the island of Poros.

The sight: A tie between the sight of the Grand Canal as we stepped out of the Venice stazzione and my wife's expression when she saw it! <BR>The sound: The awe-inspired quietness as we viewed The Pieta in St. Peter's. <BR>The taste: Our afternoon Italian pastries. <BR>The touch: The feel of my Botticelli mouse pad! <BR>

This is great Elvira! <BR> <BR>sound: Niagara Falls, Canadian side - when you are standing right next to it. <BR> <BR>smell: the variety of aromas as you wander rue Cler in Paris - if you don't like one wait for the next:); the bouquet of a good bordeaux sitting in a favorite wine bar. <BR> <BR>touch: the soft fur of Mouse, the house cat at the Colonnade Townhouse Hotel in London.

Sound-tie between lying in bed listening to Venice delivery workers on their rounds early in the morning, carts being wheeled down the Calles and Italian voices calling to each other and the constant "tink tink" of bells of cows grazing in the Swiss Alps, studying me with their inquisitive eyes as I hike past. <BR> <BR>Smell: The overpowering smell of the farmer's spreading the manure from those same Swiss cows on their fields with super-powered fireman-like hoses, a sight and smell to behold, I am at once disgusted yet intrigued. <BR> <BR>Touch: feeling the soothing embryonic warmth of the Coral Sea as I snorkeled above the Great Barrier Reef. <BR>

Sound: The chimes of the clock in London after waiting almost 20 years to get back. <BR> <BR>Smell: Waking to the smell of the breakfast coffe being roasted in the hotel kitchen in Addis Ababa. <BR> <BR>Touch: Let's not go there.

Thanks Elvira! <BR> <BR>Sound: The sound of a dozen street vendors saying "bonjour" as they put out their wares for the day in the markets near Montmatre! <BR> <BR>Smell: Peat burning fireplace smoke during chilly months in Ireland <BR> <BR>Touch: The time our host at a B & B in Cornwall (who sadly has since passed away) allowed me to take a letter written by Lady Jane Grey (the Nine Day Queen) while she was in the Tower awaiting execution, OUT of it's protective covering and HOLD IT IN MY SHAKING UNWORTHY HANDS!!!! This particular B &B host was ,once upon a time, caterer to the Queen. Followed in a close second, by the time my husband put his hand on my knee and, upon seeing a castle for the first time, said "God, look at that! It's REAL!"

<BR>Sound: The quiet sing-song Cork accents of old men in my best friend's 'local'. <BR> <BR>Smell: The lilac bushes in full bloom under my windown in Heidelberg last April. <BR> <BR>Touch: Sounds strange - but any human physical contact is wonderful when you're traveling for two weeks on business. When all you're normally allowed is a handshake, a hug from a new friend can be soul saving.

Sound: the splash-splash-splash of just about any paddle-wheeler boat on about any Swiss lake. <BR> <BR>Smell: London diesel buses. <BR> <BR>Touch: the dry, rough, brush-like texture of donkeys' hides as you ride them on Santorini.

Great thread. <BR><BR>Sound: Bleating goats rambling over the ruins near Mt. Olympus, and the whistling wind there <BR><BR>Smell: Lemon blossoms wafting in the hills above Amalfi. <BR><BR>Touch: the fur of a B&B owner's old dog I bonded with in England

Sound: My grandmother falling back into her native German tongue <BR> <BR>Smell: Rome for the first time, a very unique - kinda stinky smell! <BR> <BR>Touch: A wonderfully comfortably bed (with an incredibly fluffy down comforter) in Stuttgart after a long day on the train <BR> <BR>Audrey

Nice question, Elvira: <BR> <BR>Sound: Monks chanting the Gregorian Mass in the basilica at the top of the Aventino in Rome (name escapes me). <BR> <BR>Smell: The bay leaves from the hedges along the Forum. I always pick one and crush it in my hand--it's the smell of Rome for me. <BR> <BR>Touch: Trying to walk on the still rough lava on the island of Ustica, north of Palermo

Hmmmm, this is tough. <BR> <BR>Sound: There are so many, but the one that keeps coming back is the tinkle of goat bells from a herd of goats that an old farmer walked by the window of our personal "farmhouse" every afternoon in an small inn near Montesaraz, Portugal. <BR> <BR>Smell: My husband says I can smell in parts per trillion, so I have a very senstive smeller and can tell you every country smells like (Japan smells like soy from the moment you get off the plane!), but the most memorable is the mixed smell of wood smoke and copal insense in Chichicastenango, Guatemala, that was everywhere we went. <BR> <BR>Touch: Right here in North Carolina, standing in the ocean, way out on a sandbar, about 11pm, when the wind was just about body temperature and the water was a little cooler, and we felt we could see forever. It was a feeling that is haaard to describe, but I will always remember.

Sound: church bells ringing in Venice, sound of gondola passing by our hotel in Venice, children choir in Arles' forum <BR>Smell: lemon groves in Amalfi and Ravello, Rue de Cler in Paris (mixture of fruits, flowers and pastries) <BR>Touch: touching the tomb of St. Anthony in Padua <BR>AAAAAhhhhh! the thrills of travel

Sound: Being awakened by church bells chiming the hour (4:00 a.m.) in Leysin, Switzerland. <BR>Touch: The feel of the cool air when I stepped out onto the balcony in the moonlight to look for the church. <BR>Smell: The aroma when you step through the door of pastry shops in Austria or France. <BR>What am I doing here at my desk?

Sound: My son asking for 'un coppa ciocolato e limone, per favore' <BR>Smell: Truffles just before lunchtime in Orvieto; nosegay of roses on my bedside table in Heidelberg; diesel fumes (always reminds me of European train stations) <BR>Touch: Cold air on my face, warm down comforter as the scent of above roses woke me in Heidelberg; my son's little hand as we made our way through crowds in Rome

This is a lovely posting! <BR>I will have to get back to this one. <BR>Just wanted to bring it to the top. <BR>Nancy

Sound: 2 things - the Glockenspeil(SP) at the Marienplatz in Munich. & also the distinctive sounds of the European trains as they take me from my current favorite place in Europe to me new favorite place. <BR>Smell: The smell of a bakery in Paris, as I go into it in the early morning to get some French bread. <BR>Touch: Touching the walls inside the various towers in the Tower of London, while reading the many inscriptions made by the prisonners. Chilling.

Sound - the chicken sound vendors make on their chicken-shaped toys that they are trying to sell in Old Town Square, Prague, before they hush so we can all hear the Astronomical Clock do its special chimes on the hour, every hour. <BR> <BR>Smell - fresh roasted strong coffee brought to my Wuertzberg hotel room my very first morning in Germany, as I gazed out my window at the fortress across the river <BR> <BR>Touch - the softness of the cashmere sweater I watched Rod Stewart buy at Harrod's in London <BR> <BR>This is no doubt the most poetic thread I've ever seen on fodors. Leave it to Elvira!

<BR>Sound: Churchbells in Hungary- Every noon every church, and even the radio. My mom always turned on the radio when cooking and when we heard the bells from every direction, it was time for lunch. <BR>sound 2: A train going past when you are standing very close to it <BR>sound 3: birds singing from 2am all the way into morning when I sleep with an open window here in Canada. I smile in my sleep. <BR>Sound 4: The complete silence deep within the Hajnoczi cave. Every once in a while you can hear a drop of water falling from the ceiling onto a stalagmite. (or stalagtite??) It's a strange feeling to know that you are "4 hours into a mountain". <BR> <BR>Smell: lilac bushes in Europe <BR>The smell of German magazines. They smell different than anywhere else! <BR>The smell of langos in Hungary. (It's a fried pastry, and it's often made at markets and pools.) <BR> <BR>Touch: Going down to the beach in Greece at 5 am for a swim. We were alone, there was a slight mist above the water, and it's surface was smooth like a mirror. <BR>The touch of a stranger as he was saving me from drowning when I was seven.

Smell: In Beijing, the strong smell of what I think was garlic amost everywhere, even the elevators <BR> <BR>Sounds: Cow bells in the Swiss Alps; approaching a waterfall while hiking in the NC mountains; hearing "prepare for arrival" over the intercom when going on vacation <BR> <BR>Touch: the names on the Vietnam Memorial in Washington; the feel of my shutter button when I am about to take what I know will be a special photo; the feel of the fresh, brisk morning air as we stepped out that first morning in Interlaken

On the "down" side of our use of the senses, I have two nominations; both Parisian. One is the smell of the Metro tunnels and platforms -- like they had a breath of fresh air 50 years ago. A second is the smell of the air in Paris. It is the odor of engine exhaust. <BR> <BR>On the positive side there is the sense of feel I get when sleet in the Alps is pelting me in the face. It is invigorating. Then there is the sense of cold when I go sliding along a snow bank. And there is the feel of hard, granular snow that packs into icefields that are at times hard as bricks late in the summer. To gain traction on those formations I have had to stab my hiking pole into the surface as hard as I could thrust. <BR> <BR>And the sounds of Switzerland: bells everwhere - cows, sheep, goats, and churches. In Saas Grund our apartment was within 150 yards of the church. <BR>It had a most melodious bell that clanged regularly. The church bell in Lauterbrunnen is equally soothing. <BR>Then there are the lovely fragrances associated with high alpine pastures and forests. And, of course, the sound of water flowing off the mountain faces and rushing past you in streams. <BR>And, of course, there are the water falls such as Trummelbach, which has a roar like no other, and then there is Staubach Falls with its cascade that strikes the rocks with considerable velocity. But there is no sound to rival that of a giant serac toppling over and crashing to the ice below. <BR> <BR>Swiss farms have a different fragrance, that of cheese being made, along with that of the barnyard animals. <BR>

What fun to remember! <BR> <BR>Sound: Organ music in various churches and cathedrals. I have stumbled on impromptu concerts many times. <BR> <BR>Smell: Lavender soap from Provence, a smell you can bring home with you! <BR> <BR>Touch: Okay, it's weird and smelly, but that warm air that blows up from the Metro or the Underground as you walk by a grate on the street. It is so evocative for me of Europe. It probably happens in New York too, but I don't live there!

I can't resist any longer. I agree with an earlier poster, this thread is so poetic. And Dan Woodlief, wow, you nailed two of mine I would never have thought of: hitting the shutter with the exhilarating feeling, "this is it," and the Vietnam memorial. <BR> <BR>Here go my others, although heavily edited, there are so many. <BR> <BR>Sound: My first morning in Italy almost 20 years ago, somewhere beyond Brindisi, after coming over from a ferry from Greece. At the bar, where we are getting morning caffe, the barista--unabashedly, unselfconsciously--breaks into beautiful baritone, singing along with the opera going full blast on his portable radio. This was the exact moment I fell irrevocably in love with this country. <BR> <BR>Smell:The earthy, musty smell of fresh porcini and truffles in the fall in the open market, at the bottom of the stairs of my apartment. If you have little boys, it is the same smell they have after playing all afternoon outdoors. <BR> <BR>Touch: (And I believe others have mentioned this), the rough feel of a <BR>Roman wall or bridge or a Lombard column, centuries old and still enduring. Or, alternatively, scuffing my foot along the oxen tracks at Pompei. <BR> <BR>On a somber note, I have a friend who is dying of cancer. Please remember those special times and how lucky we are to be able to experience them.

!!

Came on and saw this thread, it is interesting. For me <BR> <BR>Sound -: I was in the Buchenwald concentration camp in Germany (not a pleasant place to be) In the crematorium there was a group of Israelis beautifully singing the Israeli National Anthem "The Hope". It was so moving and a very special moment. <BR> <BR>Smell -: Chocolate shops in Belguim, the wonderful smells in L'occitane shops in France. Freshly made croissants and cafe au lait. <BR> <BR>Touch -: This is difficult, I am tempted here to agree with the stones on the Western Wall there is definately something about touching history. Also my own bed after I have come home from a wonderful holiday. <BR>Angela

Sound: Our late-night footsteps on Venice cobblestones as the mist swirls and a cat crosses the bridge ahead of us. <BR> <BR>Touch: the feel of the mistral blowing through the open balcony door of our room in Auberge du Noves outside Avignon as we watched the dark shadows of the olive trees dancing. <BR> <BR>Smell: early morning coffee in Salzburg. <BR>Runner-up: hamburgers grilling outside an on-mountain restaurant at almost any Colorado ski resort. <BR> <BR> <BR>

.. and people wonder why we love having Elvira on this forum ... <BR> <BR>I'll put all three sense experiences together in one wondrous morning in Venice: <BR> <BR>We were in a room rented from a couple who ran a bakery downstairs. It was very early morning, which is when funerals in Venice must take place in order to keep the canals open during the day. <BR> <BR>I'm lying in bed in very soft sheets, with my hand on my sleeping husband's. The bakers downstairs have their day's goods in the ovens and we are surrounded and immersed in the smell of baking bread. The sun has just risen and is reflecting off the water below, up through the colored-glass windows in pastel rainbows rippling across the ceiling and walls of the room. A church bell is tolling and some mourners are singing in the funeral procession gondolas as they pass below. <BR> <BR>I probably won't go to heaven when I die, but at least I have an idea of what it could be like.

Great thoughts and memeories rushing back reading this.... <BR>Sound-Street musicians in Galway...some of the best I had ever heard <BR>Smell-fresh baked bread and scones after a long chilly walk in Ennis <BR>Touch-The hug and kiss I got from Jerry the Dublin Cab Driver...We found out he knew someone in NYC that worked with me (Really is a small world)

topping!

Sound - a tie between rain falling on my roof and the total silence on a bright crisp morning in the Alps. <BR>Smell - Night Jasmine blooming outside my front door in the spring. <BR>Touch - Holding hands with a loved one anywhere in the world. <BR>

Fragrance of wild herbs in the countryside in Provence and Greece <BR> <BR>The feel of smooth cool marble inside an Italian church after a hot walk <BR> <BR>Sound of neck bells on the goats returning home in sicily and Crete <BR>

Sound: the cockle-doodle doo of chickens waking you up in any destination...I know I am not at home. The sound of tree frogs croaking in costa rica at night. The sound of children laughing at my attempt to read them a story in their native danish. Water lapping on the side of our chartered mediterranian yacht. <BR> <BR>Smells: the pungent smell of danish cheese on fresh baked bread for breakfast. The green grass in ireland (also a good "touch" memory). The smell of dankness and death in the dungeon of Warwick castle, england. <BR> <BR>Touch: The tiny sticky feet of tree frogs in the rain forest as they hop on your arm. The prickly thorns on a puffer fish. The various types of hands of people I have had the pleasure to shake on my travels. The soft leather shoes I bought in amsterdam that never gave me blisters!