We ran across the following marvellous tip at the Rick Steves web site on his Graffiti Wall page. People share their favorite tips there, and this particular one struck us as absolutely poetic:

While in Europe, buy a perfume or cologne that you have never used before. Wear it daily while you tour Monet's home in Giverny or circle Stonehenge in England or explore that castle in Scotland. When you return home, don't use the fragrance for several weeks. Then, on a day when you need to relax and remember...spray it on, take a whiff...the smell will transport you back to "the continent" and all of those wonderful memories faster than you can say CONCORDE. Try it! You'll be relaxed and in a great mood all day long. WARNING: Don't choose a fragrance that is too expensive...this "escape" can become habit-forming.

C. A. L. Gafford
DeSoto, TX   USA   10/13/00

Ms. Gafford's method creates a more controlled and aesthetically pleasing memory aid by choosing the scent to be associated with an experience. It's probably more preferable to the haphazard way it usually happens. Another warning to add is that you should probably choose a scent that will be available for a long time, lest the memory vanish through product cancellation. Taste and smell are the ultimate travel souvenir because:

Smell and taste memory takes no space in your luggage, is free, and uniquely personal.

Smell is the most primal sense you have, and these associations will unfailingly last the longest, longer than a bottle of wine, postcard or tube of toothpaste.

Expanded olifactory horizons add to enjoyment of everything good in life, like food. An educated palate is a good thing.

Sensational memories can be jolted with just a quick encounter with (in my case) diesel fumes, horse dung, Chanel No. 5, wet dog, cheeses wrapped in waxed papers, certain wines, Hai Karate, Maribou chocolates, damp stone, mowed lawn, old books, turpentine, aging cordura luggage, and Dektol.

You no doublt have memories of your own that are associated with specific smells and tastes... tell us yours! We'll print the good ones in a future issue of Get Lost Magazine.