Aroma Tours Newsletter

THIS ISSUE
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- Welcome
- Memorable Photos
- Current Booking Status
- Please Contact Us
- Gastronomy Conference
- Robbi's triumph in Provence
- Provence Aromatherapy Master Class
- Paris Vinotherapie Spa
- Truffles, the Black Diamonds of Provence
- Bali Blessings
- Poulettes au Pastis
- Arranging your Travel, Bookings etc.
- Previous Newsletters
- Thought for the Day
- Our Invitation

WELCOME
=========================================
A warm welcome to the 2250 plus readers of our Aroma Tours newsletter.

If you have recently joined us or haven't visited our website in a while, we
invite you to drop by at http://www.aroma-tours.com for our latest updates,
photos and information about our tours.

As we mentioned in our last newsletter we are all set for another wonderful
season of tours and despite the recent world events, people are continuing
to travel and our bookings have been steadily growing.

MEMORABLE PHOTOS
=========================================
Because of the busy time of year and our commitments to writing articles for
several magazines we have not been able to find the time to add more
memorable photos to the site this time but rest assured we will have a new
batch for you on our return in August.

The response to the memorable photos pages has been overwhelming and we look
forward to sharing more images of our aroma travels with you in the next
newsletter.

For those of you who have not already seen the memorable photos pages they
can be found in our photo gallery at
http://www.aroma-tours.com/picture-gallery.htm and are well worth a visit.

CURRENT BOOKING STATUS
=========================================
Slowly and steadly our bookings have been progressing and with things now
returning to normal we are looking forward to a welcome flurry of bookings
especially from folks who wanted to join us this year but were waiting to
see.

Our current booking status is:-

Turkish Rose Tour                                Postponed till 2004
Provence Aromatherapy Retreat     6 vacancies
Heart of Provence Tour                       5 vacancies
Essential Provence Tour                    6 vacancies
Flavours of Provence                           7 vacancies
Bali Rejuvenation Retreat                10 vacancies
Bali Women's Retreat                          8 vacancies

Tour details including current pricing and itineraries are available via our
information request page at http://www.aroma-tours.com/info-request.htm

To reserve you place simply visit our booking request page at
http://www.aroma-tours.com/booking-request.htm where you can make a
printable booking form that you can complete by hand and fax or post back to
us for confirmation.

PLEASE CONTACT US
=========================================
Because we stay in small specialty hotels run by people who are in many
cases our good friends, it is very important for us to be able to give them
our booking requirements well in advance. This is especially important this
year with the slow start to our bookings - with the exception of our
aromatherapy retreat we expect that all of our tours will be smaller than
usual. If you are planning to join us or if you are considering the
possibility, would you kindly get in touch with us right away in order to
help us with our planning activities.

We invite you to make contact with us at info@aroma-tours.com or by phone on
+61 3 5331 3254 to let us know of your intention and also so that we can
help you with any questions or assistance you require.

GASTRONOMY CONFERENCE
=========================================
Jim has been invited as a special guest this year to the Riva del Garda
Gastronomy Conference in northern Italy. The conference is the largest
gastronomy event of its kind in the world and with the focus firmly on fine
food and wines Jim will be in his element and will report on his gastronomic
adventures in the next newsletter.

ROBBI'S TRIUMPH IN PROVENCE
=========================================
Last year after saying farewell to our final group of happy aroma
travellers, Robbi and I spent several well earned days relaxing with our
friends Jack and Sophie, whose family own the largest lavender farm in
Provence. We stayed in their traditional "mas" (stone farmhouse), surrounded
by sweeping fields of fragrant purple lavender with the Mistral blowing
across the plateau.

On Saturday morning Robbi was up early - 'a woman on a mission' to visit one
of Provence's most popular markets in the delightful village of Apt. Being
one of the most popular and busiest markets, Robbi found it very difficult
to find a park and so in true French tradition, gallantly parked her car on
the nearest piece of footpath, just like a local.

She plunged into the market stopping only momentarily for a fortifying cafe
au lait and to watch the colourful passing parade of characters. The market
stalls wind their way through the town which is alive with boisterous
merchants, musicans and people carrying baskets filled to the brim with
fresh market produce.

Some hours later, weary but triumphant, Robbi returned to the farm just in
time for le dejeuner (lunch) of succulent fresh Rascas (fish) BBQed
Provencale style. As we sat drinking and chatting Robbi leapt out of the
car, crispy baguettes and golden loaf of olive bread in hand, carrying her
"piece de resistance" - a beautifully packaged white box tied gaily with
coloured ribbon, containing a most sumptuous tarte citron (lemon tart). All
of our faces lit up in anticipation of the coming lemony delight and Robbi
received a rousing round of applause.

As we were eating our lunch looking out across the lavender fields, Papa,
the patriach of the family said to Jack with a hearty laugh, "Yesterday it
was my 74th birthday, even I forgot". Jack ran over to the house and in the
cellar found a fine bottle of champagne so that we could toast the birthday
boy. Most importantly though, Robbi had inadvertently saved the day by
purchasing her tarte citron which turned out to be Papa's favourite dessert.
Not only that, she had bought it from the most prestigious patisserie in
Apt. As the love of good eating is central to French culture, this raised
Papa's estimation of Robbi's shopping prowess greatly. And oh yes, the tarte
citron? It was fantastic!

PROVENCE AROMATHERAPY MASTER CLASS
=========================================
We are thrilled to once again have Dr Kurt Schnaubelt as our special guest
speaker this year in addition to Dr Penoel and Robbi as well as our lovely
new hotel right in the centre of lavender country. This year is set to be
our best retreat ever and once again deserves the mantle of master class. To
date we have aromatherapy enthusiasts from USA, Canada, Ireland, UK, New
Zealand and Australia joining us and we are looking forward to having
another fully booked retreat again this year.

PARIS VINOTHERAPIE SPA
=========================================
If you are spending a few days in Paris before joining us in Provence you
may like to enjoy the delights of the Espace Bien-Etre at the Hotel Meurice.
This vinotherapie spa, features an exclusive range of wine-based beauty
products created in Bordeaux. Road tested by Robbi, who has a passion for
seeking out the glorious experience, you can choose from a variety of
beautiful treatments in a tranquil and refined setting. Indulge in the Pulp
Friction massage using fresh grapes to invigorate the skin, the Crushed
Cabernet skin polish which uses a blend of grapeseed, honey and essential
oils, or enjoy the luxurious Caudelie Premier Grand Cru facial. Heavenly
after a long flight and a great way to begin your French sojourn. ( 228 rue
de Rivoli Ph 1 4458 1077 )

TRUFFLES - THE BLACK DIAMONDS OF PROVENCE
==========================================
Every winter in Provence between mid January and mid February is a very
exciting time for lovers of fine food. This is truffle season, full of
fevered activity, colourful characters and Machiavellian mischief.

To one side of the colourful weekly market in Carpentras with its olives,
sausages, cheeses, vegetables and household goods a crowd gathers, people
jostle and the atmosphere is conspiratorial with whispers and seruptitious
glances into baskets and plastic bags. People sniff, grunt and feel the
wares before scales are produced and significant sums of money changes
hands.

The object of all of this activity are what appear to be small lumps of
dirt. In fact they are the aromatic and highly prized Tuber Melanosporum,
the Truffle or "Black Diamond" of Provence. Quality truffles will bring well
over US$600 per kilo!

Truffles almost exclusively grow on the roots of oak trees in a very few
regions of Provence and the Perigord. There are other varieties that grow in
Italy and other countries but they are no substitute and lack the flavour
and aroma of a fine Provencale specimen.

In the past pigs were used to help find truffles because of their acute
sense of smell but they have now been replaced by dogs who unlike the pigs
are easier to handle and not hell bent on eating the prize. There is a
lovely story from the Perigord about a man who found to his horror that his
prize truffle pig had broken out of its pen and gone on a truffle eating
spree - quelle horror!

Truffles are left in their covering dirt to help preserve them after harvest
and they last for 3-4 days before starting to loose their aroma and flavour.

One of the best ways to enjoy truffles is to make an omelete with lovely
fresh farm eggs and add slivers of fresh truffle - absolutely delicious.

BALI BLESSINGS
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Last year, Robbi created an exotic aromatic perfume to bless each woman as
she arrived at our Bali Women's Retreat. It contained essential oils of
jasmine, sandalwod, lime, lemongrass, cinnamon, clove, ylang ylang and rose.
This lovely perfume was applied to the forehead and was followed by a touch
at the heart with a red hibiscus flower that had been dipped in Balinese
holy water. The red hibiscus is considered a high or holy flower in Bali.

Made ( pronounced: Mar-Day ), a beautiful young woman from our hotel
happened to be there when Robbi gave the blessing to the women and so Robbi
blessed her too with the oils and touched her heart with the red hibiscus.
Made was moved to tears with the blessing as her heart fully opened to that
moment. Later that evening, she told Robbi that when she touched her heart
with the hibiscus flower, she felt a great warmth move through her heart and
beyond her. It did not matter that we were not of her Hindu religion. The
importance was in setting the intention to open to the love and beauty that
resonates in all of us. Made understood that clearly. And in that silent
moment love was there.

Bali still holds that special magic and we looking forward to returning
there again in September, to support in our own small way, these beautiful
and gentle people who depend totally on the presence of travellers to
sustain their livelihoods.

POULETTES AU PASTIS
=========================================
Following on from our last newsletter and the story of Pastis we thought
that is might be nice to give you this lovely authentic Provencale recipe.

Ingredients for 6 people:

2 young chickens, quartered
2/3 cup of extra virgin olive oil
2 onions
6 cloves of garlic
4 tomatoes, blanched and skinned
1 stem of fennel
2 stems of parsley
4 potatoes

Marinade:
2.5 tablespoons of pastis
Pinch of saffron
1/3 cup of extra virgin olive oil
Freshly ground salt and pepper

Prepare the marinade in a shallow dish, add the chicken pieces, cover with
cling film and marinate overnight.

Finely chop the onions and garlic and sweat them in the olive oil - do not
overcook.

Blanch the tomatoes briefly in boiling water, remove their skins and chop
coarsley.

Add the tomatoes, fennel and parsley to the onions and garlic and place the
chicken pieces on top and pour over the remaining marinade.

Cover with boiling water and simmer for 10 minutes.

Peel and slice the potatoes and add then to the pan, relace the lid and
simmer for a further 20 minutes.

Shortly before serving, boil strongly for a few moments to concentrate the
sauce.

This hearty and delicious dish is full of the flavours of Provence and is
perfect served with fresh crusty bread.

ARRANGING YOUR TRAVEL, BOOKINGS ETC
=========================================
All of our rendezvous are arranged to be easily achieved either with the
help of your travel agent, or for the more adventurous, by booking your
flights and connections directly with the airlines. Naturally we provide all
of the information and assistance that you ( or your agent ) will require.

If you have any questions or would like our advice about your travel plans
or with any other details we are most happy to assist you. You can either
contact us at info@aroma-tours.com or if you would like us to give you a
call please let us know the best number to contact you on.

Just a reminder that we now have a frequently asked questions page at
http://www.aroma-tours.com/faq.htm to help answer the most common questions
including how to book, travel arrangements, group sizes.....

PREVIOUS NEWSLETTERS
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If you would like to browse through our previous newsletters, they can be
found at www.aroma-tours.com/newsletters/

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
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"There is a difference between 'knowing the path' and 'walking the path'"

~ Anonymous

OUR INVITATION
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We invite you join us for one of our delightful tours or retreats and thank
everyone who has supported us with their referrals and kind words, and
especially to those of you who are, or will be travelling with us this year.

Please remember our FAQ page at http://www.aroma-tours.com/faq.htm if you
have any general questions or if you would like us to assist you personally
please contact us at info@aroma-tours.com

Warmest regards,

Robbi and Jim

Aroma Tours (R)
Ballarat Australia
p: +61 3 5331 3254 f: +61 3 5331 3254
e: info@aroma-tours.com
w: http://www.aroma-tours.com

ITALY

TURKEY

PROVENCE

LOIRE VALLEY

BALI

AUSTRALIA