Sniffing Out My New Surroundings

After living in Singapore the past fourteen years, my husband and I finally packed up and moved our belongings to Adelaide, Australia, which is his hometown but a place he hasn't lived in more than thirty years. It has been interesting setting up house in a city I've only visited in the past. I don't know if you fellow scent lovers are like me but when I get to a new place my nose is busy recording impressions. I've always thought the blogger, The Scented Hound, has the best named blog because I do feel sometimes feel like my dog, sniffing the air for new scent sensations.

Many years ago when I first came to Adelaide I remember stepping out of the airplane and being so taken with the scent of eucalyptus in the air. If you're a Californian I guess you would recognize the scent but for me it was an unknown. I've only seen one rain since I've been here, actually just a sprinkle, but when the water hits the eucalyptus leaves....heaven! Adelaide is known for the beautiful parklands which totally surround the city, and it is considered the rose capital of Australia and one of the best places in the world to grow roses.

I have been walking around my neighborhood, getting in my 10,000 steps, and trying to find my bearing here. My favorite time to walk is around six o'clock in the evening when the sun in waning and the air gets cooler, because that's when the flowers really start to release their scent. Front yards are fenced here, unlike my home in Texas , but in my neighborhood many have turned their front yards into beautiful cottage gardens. It is a short walk down the street to the grocery, the pub, or the bus stop and it's a fragrant journey all the way.

I walk past fragrant white roses, which smell delicate and pure. I of course stop and sniff all the roses that I pass and I can testify that the white ones really do have a different scent from the more colorful roses. I also walk past this beautiful stephanotis vine, the flowers smelling of a cross between gardenia and jasmine.

Some houses display their beautiful gardens.

 While others you can only peek through the gate.

My house has a beautiful old wisteria vine but unfortunately I just missed the blooming season. And don't forget the beaches. These are not the tropical smells I associate with the beaches of Asia which I have visited from Singapore. These beach smells are more akin to the northern coasts of the United States, east or west. The water here travels up from Antarctica and it takes most of the summer to warm it.

I look forward to exploring all the new sights and smells. Have a happy weekend, wherever you are!