The smell of Summer, at least in the South of France, is oil of gardenia, or huile de monoï.
Apparently it evokes memories of sunbathing at the beach in the same way that the smell of coconut oil does the same for Kiwis. At least it does to people of my vintage, who can remember tanning oil and “sunblock” that came in SPF 4. Hopefully it’s not the same for today’s youth.
People here still like a “healthy tan”, which, combined with their ongoing love of smoking, leads to premature, if very stylish, ageing.
Here is me at a trip to the beach last week, with my fellow French language students, the only one hiding from the sun.
