Have you ever heard the church bells of Notre Dame in Paris? The buzz from a Moroccan souk? The Islam calls to prayer in Jerusalem? The subway trains in New York City, the car horns in India? The trumpet of an elephant in northern Thailand? The splash of ramen in Japan?
Travel allows for the most incredible experiences, from the big to the small. And our travel memories are often disambiguated. It’s those random sounds from a trip way back when that can trigger the most obscure travel memories.
The experience of traveling encapsulates all the senses. I think that’s why it’s such a magical feeling when we travel. It’s almost like a high: the sights, the sounds, the smells, the taste, the tactile feelings.
And our souvenirs reflect those. Increasingly, people travel more and more for the food from a place. We all know how Instagram has changed how we travel—always for the ‘gram. Our souvenirs are often tactile, sometimes tasty and even olfactory.
But what about the sounds we hear when we travel? How do we capture them?
The sounds we hear when traveling
My first trip to Italy was really special. I know that’s something a lot of people say; Italy seems to have that affect on a lot of travelers.
Italy is unarguably one of the most beautiful countries in the world. Everyone tells you this before you go. They’ll also tell you the food is amazing and the Italians are beautiful.
But one thing you don’t hear (hah! get it?) is how beautiful Italy sounds. From church bells ringing in old Medieval cities, to the buzz of tourists through St. Peter’s Basilica. It’s not all the sounds of ancient churches, though, it’s the lyrical timbre of the Italian dialect and the sound of a scooter whizzing past you on the street. The sound of an accordion player on a bridge or the plop that pizza makes as it falls onto a plate.
Italy is beautiful, yes. But it’s not just a feast for the eyes and the belly—but also for the ears. And it’s all those sounds that are stuck in my travel memories from that very first trip.
But that’s it: they’re just in my memories.
How to send sounds
Sound is a powerful trigger. And it’s also just really hard to capture and to keep them. That’s why when I learned about MyPostcard’s new audio greeting cards, I was excited.
Just using their app (which I already use regularly to send postcards online), you can record your own audio, attach it to a custom greeting card with your own images and graphics, and send it to someone you love. It’s the perfect kind of travel memory—even more personal than a postcard because not only is it something you can touch, it’s something you can hear.
On the MyPostcard app, you can choose from 13 different greeting card templates, and then you can add a 60-second audio message which you can record right in the app from your phone.
When the recipient of the card opens it, the audio file stored on the sound chip is played over the integrated loudspeaker. There’s also room in the greeting card to add your own personal note and message! And since it’s all done through your phone, it’s easy to complete the whole process in under three minutes!
Send an audio greeting card for under $9. Learn more at MyPostcard.com.
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4 Fun Uses for Audio Greeting Cards
- For language learning—send a message practicing a foreign language!
- Karaoke—send a sound clip of you singing your favorite tune to someone you love.
- Record a personal postcard-like message while traveling to capture the sounds of the destination.
- Send a personal singalong birthday greeting!
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Learn more about sending personalized greeting cards with recorded audio messages or your own sounds on the MyPostcard.com app.