Hi Crew. Yes, Jin and I are off on another adventure. This time Jin let me pick where we are going! YAY! Obviously I always get a say but having seen so much of the world before we met I like to defer to Jin’s wishes because it’s all still new to him. Anyway, you may remember that in November 2023 we toured Turkiye with the Ciconia Tours group. It’s good to look out for their 50% off deals, they happen a couple of times a year. We loved it. So we are now going to do Morocco with them. 11 nights, 4 & 5 star hotels, 10 breakfasts, most dinners, all our sights entry fees and both airport transfers. It includes tips. We are paying AU$3000/US$1900/€1750. Here’s our tour.
Morocco 2025 for Jin and Portia
The Morocco weather gang have said to expect averages of 15-27C so we have expanded that from 10-35C just in case. For me that means mainly polo shirts and shorts but a pair of jeans, a couple of long sleeves and a hoodie. OH, and some swim trunks because most hotels have a pool and they can double as a spare pair of shorts in a pinch.
Because of Decant Demolition 2025 I’m going to take a few of my larger decants and hope to hit them hard. These decant have been bought from FragranceNet, Surrender To Chance and USA & Aussie splitters.
Decant List
2150 Reverie by Victoria Beckham
Corpus Equus by Naomi Goodsir
L’Eau Papier by Diptyque
La Fumee Intense by Miller Harris
Ombre Nomade by Louis Vuitton
Onde VdE by Vero Profumo
OR White by UERMI
Paddock by Hermès
Our Morocco 2025 itinerary includes:
Paris three nights to hang with Neela Vermeire, Nicolas and Enno from Le Galion, Aether, Headspace and a new one SHHHHH! Also, Anna Maria, her husband Johnny, son Rocco and DIL Vera will be in town. So really big catch ups. Probably only a very little sight or scent seeing.
Morocco for 11 nights
Fly Back through Paris and pick up Val the Cookie Queen
We three head to South Korea, a few nights in Seoul and a couple of nights with Jin’s family in Ulsan near Busan (yes we take the Train To Busan! HA)
Then we bring Val to Sydney for a fortnight and there will be a couple of adventures in that too.
So, there you have it, where we’ll be, who we are with and what I’ll be smelling like.
Two questions. If you were offered the chance to go somewhere in the world for 11 nights and money is no object, where would you choose? What fragrances would you wear when you got there?
Portia xx
Love it!! What a great trip — have fun!
Thanks OH!
Watch out for zombies!!!!
Trip: sooo many places! But Summertime? Venice to see the gardens ( following Monty Don’s route) the ( again Monty ) a leisurely trip along the Dalmatian coast
Winter? I’d come see you!
Hey Musette,
We are not good Summer travelers. If Jin and I were to do 6 months divided we’d probably do Winter/Spring then turnabout.
Summer in Sydney can be lovely
Portia xx
Portia, your trip sounds amazing! I get starry eyed just imagining your adventures. I’d love ALL those places—Paris, Morocco and Seoul (and Busan). You’re a real globetrotter.
If I could go anywhere for 11-14 days and money was not an issue? Italy—Florence, Venice and Rome. I know it’s super touristy, but such amazing art, culture and food. I might have to pop over to Milan… as for perfume to take?
I normally take a few samples but hope to find perfume along the way that I cannot get at home. (On the plane I wear a tiny amount of either Molecule 1 or Original Vetiver which are fairly inoffensive) I try to find perfume from local companies and then the bottle always reminds me of the trip. Perfume pilgrimages in a way. Usually I do those in the afternoon while my travel companions nap.
I wish you and your group grand adventures, travel safety and joy as you go. I look forward to any parts you share. Bon Voyage!
Hiya HemlockSillage,
We have done a little perfume shopping. Jin bought a Parfums de Rosine and I scored the new Guerlain L’Homme Ideal Spirit. It’s always exciting getting the newest.
Italy is so good. We love any time there and your city choices are touristy because they’re so full of magic and history. Oh for a month in the Uffizi or Peggy Guggenheim’s treasure troves.
Portia xx
That sounds wonderful! The trip I’ve been daydreaming about lately would be to revisit Norway, where my spouse and I went for our honeymoon a decade ago. We’d spend a little time in Oslo, head to Bergen and hopefully visit with friends who spend part of their summer there for work, and then head up north to the Lofoten islands. As much of this as possible would be by train and ferry, my favorite way to travel. Scentwise, I could see myself bringing Fracas and possibly Annick Goutal Neroli; and then my wedding perfume, Penhaligon Iris Pallida. It feels like more of a floral trip than a lush leather or musk destination.
Train/ ferry is my favorite mode of travel as well!
Musette, we are tribe
Ooohhh Calrayo! We too love train trips. Later this year we are going to India and hoping to train from Amritsar to Goa. So excited!
We’ve not been to Norway and your tour itinerary is inspiring. I’m going to put the idea to Jin. Thanks, what a fabulous trip it would be.
Portia xxx
Portia, your trip sounds fantastic.
To answer your questions, it’s hard to imagine 11 nights and money being no object, but I’d love to take a trip to Ireland and Mr. SP would love to go to New Zealand. Those two don’t really go together, but maybe the same magic that makes money no object could help us out. Fragrances that I’d take: Carthusia Mediterraneo, Chanel No. 5 L’eau, Byredo Bal d’Afrique, Goutal Le Chevrefeuille.
Heya SpringPansy,
WOW! What a beautiful fragrance selection.
Funny you should mention Ireland and New Zealand. They are both high on our wish list too. Jin wants to do a two week camper van tour of NZ! I’m willing but not super thrilled by the prospect of.
Portia xx
Travel is out of the question for the foreseeable future for us.
If I put that aside my perfect trip would be Athens, a tour of the sites of Ancient Greece & Greek Islands
Hey Alityke
Yeah, your current situation precludes travel. Hug and hug
OMG! Yes, Greece. I’ve only done one island there, Zakinthos. Loved it so much and would so wish to see much more.
Portia xx
Our elder son should have been named Zakinthos wink.
I love the Aegean Islands. Angina, Aegistri, Poros, Hydra & Spetses. All just a few hours from Piraeus on the Dolphin hydrofoil.
One of the best days of my life was getting the 4am Dolphin to Piraeus from Poros, the overground to La Plaka, at the foot of the Acropolis hill, breaky of hot chocolate & fresh donut in a workmen’s cafe then walking up the hill to the Parthenon in time for sunrise. We were all alone. It was fabulous!
We then walked down the other side through the Agora & ate a late lunch outside one of the cafes around there.
Back on the Dolphin & in Poros harbour for dinner.
If you get a chance to do a day like that you must. It has stayed with me for the last 20 years
I think I would go to Europe since I have never been outside the US. Although Australia and New Zealand would be cool. Or Argentina for cheap plastic surgery..
TOM! You are so gorgeous. Please, no plastic surgery.
One day you’ll come hang with us for a week in Paris or some fab destination. We’d bloody love that. Imagine all the window shopping and food!
Portia xx
Your vacation plans sound wonderful, if somewhat exhausting! 🙂 I hope the vacation is wonderful! When I hear the name Morocco, I always think of exciting and exotic. It’s very nice that Val will be with you and Jin after your Morocco trip. I hope she is doing well.
There are places I want to visit but many if not most have become overwhelmed by literal hordes of tourists – not fun – and resorts don’t interest me at all.
Happy and safe travels! Morocco seems like it will be wonderful fun and I always look forward to your amazing photos.
Don’t think I will ever actually get to go but Japan has always been my destination vacation. As to scents? Yep I’d realize at some point I left the lot of them sitting back home on the bureau. (roll eyes emoji)
Thanks JenniferS
Ha! So many times I’ve left the decants on the dining table.
Japan is best on a tour. I know it sounds bleaugh but you get to see the highlights in an extremely comfortable way. We are doing tours for our first visit to most off the beaten track destinations now. It’s also MUCH cheaper than travelling on our own bat.
You can do it.
Portia xx
I hadn’t thought of tours quite this way before. It’s genius. That would work so well for the first time in a some places.
That sounds AMAZINGGGGGGG. All the sights and sounds and smells!!!! Coincidentally, I got to smell Onda on my housemate (she’s doing her own decant demolition) and got a little on myself and smelled fantastic all day. WAIT I just googled and LuckyScent has a rerelease of 3 – 4 of them?!? I wonder how they are…
Heya March
The rerelease Vero are really good. Quite a few Aussie perfume peeps grabbed them.
Mildly amusing story. We get out of the plane at Casablanca yesterday evening and walk to a bus on the tarmac. Even over the smell of aviation fuel all we could smell was camel and cow! We laughed so hard. Casablanca airport is very barnyard!
Portia xx
What a wonderful itinerary! Sounds fantastic! So happy for you and Jin, Portia. I’ll be excited to see photos and hear your stories.
As for me, I’d love to go back to Paris to see the things we missed in November, then Chunnel over to London and see all those sights, museums, shops, eateries, etc. My dream travel list goes on and on!
Heya DinaC!
Your dream travel is so doable. The chunnel has fabulous deals and both destinations are awaiting you.
We have found though that many of the places we used to stay have priced themselves far out of our reach. Book an AirBnB early for best deals.
Portia xx
Hi Portia, what a wonderful trip in such good company! Please pass on my love to Val, we haven’t had on-line contact since 2021 I believe, also because I am rarely on instagram, but I think about her regularly. Seeing Neela, ofcourse I hope your report on Eshal! If money were (really) no issue I would go to Morocco as well, and only stay in one hotel…the Oberoi in Marrakech. We stayed once in an Oberoi in the Emirates…spoiled for life :-). Japan would be second choice, my brother and his family travelled there for a month or so, they could stay in an appartment via family, and he found the costs of living very doable. I think I would take a sample of Grossmith Shem-el-Nessim to Morocco, and Osmanthus Yunnan and Cuir d’Ange to Japan. Wishing you unforgettable travels!
Oh Hamamelis! I bloody love Oberoi! They really know luxury. I’ve only stayed in their properties in India but they are fabulous.
WOW! A family residence in Japan! The most expensive part of travel is accommodation so with that covered you’re laughing. You must do it.
It was wonderful seeing Neela and we too are excited to spend time with Val.
Cuir d’Ange. Yum
Portia xx
Oh, Portia, that all looks like amazing travel. I hope you post about it on your return. As to your end-query, my answer is sort of two-fold. First destination will likely be accomplished in the next few years. Venice. But I wouldn’t mind if I could do it 5-star all the way, including travelling via the Orient Express. Second, and more difficult, would be Japan. We were meant to go in 2020 (and guess what happened). So, I’d like to pretty much replicate that trip and it would be nice if someone else paid.
It would have been Tokyo, Hiroshima, Kyoto, and then back to Tokyo, booked with a UK specialist travel agency. All kinds of things: a day in Tokyo with a tour guide, a half day one in Kyoto, Onsen, a baseball game, the Studio Gibli museum. Biggest sigh.
Oh, perfume. What would I bring? Trip no 1: probably Shalimar or maybe Goutal Ninfeo Meo. Trip no 2: Lutens Dompteuse.
Have a great holiday!!!!
Hey Cinnamon,
Have you done either destination before? Such good choices.
There’s an art island in Japan featuring a Niki de Saint Phalle park. I’m dying to go but it just never seems to fit with our plans.
Hug
Portia xx
Not done either. Venice is a hopeful in a couple of years as part of a longer Europe trip. Japan much more complicated. Please post pics of Essouira! Long wanted to visit.