| aroma tours ® |
| newsletter april 2006 |
|
THIS ISSUE
Welcome
A warm welcome to all of the members of our Aroma Tours newsletter in
more than 45 countries around the world.
Robbi is just back from a very successful time away teaching a series of workshops in Ireland and we are continuing with our preparations, full steam ahead.
With only a little over a month to go now before the start of our tour
season, we are very excited about the year ahead and feel truly blessed
to be able to share our passion for the places and experiences that we
love with so many wonderful people.
The next edition of our newsletter will be coming to you
"en-route" from either Tuscany or Turkey with the latest tales
of our adventures.
If you have not visited for a while we invite you to drop by for a peek at our latest details and photos on our Aroma Tours site As always detailed information, including pricing and itineraries are available via our Information Request Page Aroma Travellers, Our Thanks
It always feels appropriate to say thank you - so once again:-
One of the main reasons that we have continued to grow and flourish is
the on-going support we receive from returning Aroma Travellers who
consistently make up more than 20% of our bookings each year. Because we
will not be offering more than 10 or so tours a year ( to maintain the
character and quality of our offerings ), we look forward to this
percentage growing in the future.
Robbi and I would also like to give our heart-felt thanks to all of you who continue to support us with your kind words and referrals and by spreading news of our tours and retreats amongst your friends. Gratitude is an essential component of any flourishing business and we say thank you often! Our Current Booking Status
Our outstanding year continues and we are also starting to get a
healthy number of early bookings for our tours in 2007.
Our current booking status for 2006 is:-
We are now getting down to the last vacancies for our European
tours so if you are considering joining us in Tuscany or Provence this
year, please do get in touch with us shortly at info@aroma-tours.com
If you would like to reserve you place for either this year or next
year, please visit our Tour
Booking Page which now also includes secure on-line facilities in
addition to our previous off-line booking method of creating a printable
booking form to fax or post.
The Emperor of Scent Revisited
Back in our February
2004 Newsletter I wrote a piece about a wonderful book called
"The Emperor of Scent" by Chandler Burr.
It tells the story of Lucca Turin, a scientist with a passion to discover exactly how it is that we are able to smell the many thousands of aromas that are in our environment and developed a theory of smell based on the vibrational characteristics of odour molecules. Along the way he also takes us on a journey into the secretive word of the perfumery industry.
Since then two scientists: Richard Axel ( New York ) and Linda B.
Buck ( Seattle ), have been jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in
Physiology / Medicine for their work on "Odorant
Receptors and the Organization of the Olfactory System". If you
are interested in our sense of smell, it is an elegant explanation and a
fascinating read.
In summary they proved that our ability to recognize and
remember about 10,000 different odours is coordinated by a family
of approximately 1,000 different genes which in turn translate into
an equivalent number of different olfactory receptor types. These
receptors are located on specialized cells, which are located in the upper
part of the nasal lining.
Each receptor cell is populated with one specific type of
olfactory receptor [ this was very unexpected ] which in turn
is only able to detect a limited number of odorant substances. It
is the combination of the many different receptor/cell types working
together, sending complex patterns of signals [ characteristic for each
odour ] to our brain that give us our full sense of smell and the
ability, for example, to smell of a lilac flower in the spring and
recall this olfactory memory at other times.
So it has transpired that Lucca Turin's theories of olfaction based on
the concept of molecular vibration rather than the lock-and-key receptor
model have been disproved, but it is Lucca's prodigious
ability to discern, remember and characterise perfumes that remains his gift
to us.
Here are 2 more of his amazing perfume oratories for you to enjoy:
"Paradox" by Jacomo
"Beauty itself, as with faces, is not simple: perfumes can be
handsome ( 'Mitsouko' ), graceful ( 'Calandre' ), gorgeous ( 'Joy' ),
comely ( 'Shalimar' ), radiant ( ' Tommy Girl' ), exquisite ( 'Apres
l'Ondee' ), stunning ( ' Angel' ). Reader beware: 'Paradox' is , to
paraphrase something once said about Scriabin's music, a perfume of
'almost unbearable loveliness'. One of the properties of loveliness is
that it disarms all attempts to be serious, and turns all critical
machinery into a pile of whirring junk."
"What I find all the more irritating is that 'Paradox' isn't even
'my type'. It is after all, yet another fruit salad of the type
that has kept perfumers gainfully employed since 'Deci-Dela'. But this
fruit salad does something that it has no right to do: break hearts. If
this were music, it would be Bizet's Symphony in C. If it were a car, it
would be a Facel-Vega
Facellia. If it were an aircraft it would be a 1959 Caravelle in Air
France livery. Anyway, go smell it."
And just to prove that Lucca is not just a spokesperson for the
perfumery industry we have:-
"Python" by Trussardi "The absurdly named 'Python' is a poverty-stricken sweet powdery affair, a very distant relative of the wonderful 'Habanita' ( Molinard ). It belongs in a tree-shaped diffuser dangling from the rear-view mirror of a Moscow taxi." [ Ouch! ]
Tuscany Reminiscence
As we prepare to journey to Tuscany for our first tour this year - Aromas
of Tuscany - it is enjoyable to remember last year's experiences of
the Dolce Vita and reminisce with photos
of our adventures.
"We are home and contentedly swelled with happy memories
of our Tuscan tour. Thank you for your professionalism,
enthusiasm, and overall unflappability. You were wonderful. "
~ Deborah and Steven Greenbaum, Florida USA
There are still places available for both of our Tuscany tours this
May but bookings will be closing very soon.
We hope that we will have the pleasure of welcoming a few more Aroma
Travellers to share "Slow Food" and the "Sweet
Life" with us in the beautiful hills of Tuscany.
Balinese Dance
Balinese culture has developed from a mixture of Hindu and local
traditions and was heavily influenced by the migration of the
Javanese royal family along with their royal court in the 15th century.
One of the most important expressions of this rich cultural
heritage comes in the form of the many dances that are performed during
temple ceremonies and Bali's many festivals.
Balinese dance is an expression of devotion to the Hindu Dewa and Dewi
[ Gods and Goddesses ] and is based on the Ramayana,
Mahabarata and other epic stories from their history. It is also used
as a way of perpetuating the Balinese culture and teaching moral
values to the young.
Dance is taught from a very early age and many years of intense
training are needed to master the complex movements of body,
hands, fingers, eyes and expression, that allow the dancer
to undergo the self-surrender required in the proper
performance of Balinese dance.
The costumes used are always colourful and ornate and the
accompanying Gamelan music which is almost totally percussive and
based on the 5 note pentatonic scale, creates a haunting,
sometimes restrained, sometimes exciting, energy to the performance.
From our point of view as observers the results are magical.
One of the most popular dances is called the "Barong",
where a mythological beast with an immense coat of fur and the head
of a stylised oriental lion [ the Barong ] - representing
the forces of good - battles against the forces of the evil in
the form of the hideous witch Rangda.
During the battle the Barong's followers rush in to attack Rangda
with their swords [ called a keris ], but the hissing witch uses
her magical powers to put them into a trance and turn their keris swords
against themselves. Luckily the Barong is able to use his own
magical powers to protect his followers and in the end, the
Barong triumphs and Rangda is forced to retreat to recoup her
strength and plan for the next encounter.
This theme of the eternal struggle between good and evil, order and
chaos, is very common in Balinese tradition.
There is a photo of several Balinese dancers in full costume on the
Photos
Page [ 4th row ] of our Bali
Women's Retreat There is also is a lovely photo of
three talented young Balinese girls who enchanted Robbi and the guests
of our retreat with an impromptu performance.
Tropical Delights
One of our favourite meals includes the following two dishes,
both with a tropical influence - light, flavoursome and a
breeze to prepare.
Entree: Papaya, Avocado and Pickled Ginger Salad
Ingredients
1 ripe avocado
1 red papaya (Pawpaw) 1 packet of pink pickled ginger (buy in Japanese food shops) 1 lime
Method
Main: Poached Blue Eye with Coriander, Lime and
Mango Salsa
Ingredients
2 fresh blue eye or other firm flesh fish eg. snapper
2 limes
1 lemon
3 sprigs of fresh coriander
2 tablespoons of maple syrup
1 ripe mango
Method
While the fish stock is simmering prepare the
salsa.
Poaching the fish and finishing the
dish
Arrange the fish on a bed of steamed rice or sweet potato mash
then top with the cooled salsa mixture and mango slivers. Garnish with
the lime segments.
These delightful dishes are sure to give your taste buds a touch of
tropical bliss.
Arranging Your Travel
To join us on tour all your need to do is make your travel arrangements
to meet us at our rendezvous point, either with the help of your travel
agent, or for the more adventurous, by booking your flights and
connections yourselves. All of our rendezvous are easily achieved and
naturally we provide all of the information and assistance that you ( or
your agent ) will need.
Just a reminder that we have a Frequently Asked Questions Page to help answer the most common questions including how to book, travel arrangements, group sizes..... Previous Newsletters
Our past newsletters are well worth a browse and are available in our Newsletter
Archives
You may also enjoy reading a few of the stories that Jim has compiled from his writings over the years on our Stories of Interest Page Thought for the Day
"Human subtlety will never devise an invention more beautiful, more
simple or more direct than does Nature, because in her inventions,
nothing is lacking and nothing is superfluous."
~ Leonardo da Vinci Our Invitation
Robbi and I look forward to welcoming you to one of our delightful tours
or retreats and invite you to visit our Aroma
Tours website for more information as well as taking a peek at the
latest photos of our travels in our Picture
Gallery
As always if you have any questions or if you would like us to assist you personally with advice about your travel arrangements or with any other details please contact us either by email at info@aroma-tours.com or by phone on +61 3 5331 3254 ( afternoon/evening USA time zones, mornings from other countries ). 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 |
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