Places I want to go (I)

One of the places that I hope I'll get to see--lavender fields at sunset. I heard that France has lots of them, but it could be anywhere in the world for me, really. I just want to run to the middle of it, close my eyes and take in a deep, deep breath of the intoxicating, sweet scent.

The problem about making lists of the places you want to go is that you're very likely to have been inspired by picturesque photos in National Geographic or some travel magazine or postcard which had been photoshopped down to its last pixel. Or the photographer had used some special lenses which made the colours more intense: the sky pristine blue and the clouds iridescent and fluffy, and the forest, emerald green.

It'd be kind of sad if you're enchanted by the facsimiles and yet be let down by the real thing--dull and raw and washed out in comparison.

Perhaps the lavender would not be a vibrant purple. Perhaps lavender would feel dry and coarse and prick me as I touch them. Perhaps the real lavender doesn't smell anything like the bottled scent. But I'd rather risk being disappointed than not having seen it at all.

I want to see the real thing, not just someone else's version of the place, no matter how artistic it is, or how poetical. Not a flawless, polished, frozen picture in a glossy magazine. I just have to find out for myself, so that even if it proves to be imperfect, I can still say that I know the real scent of lavender.