Aroma Tours Newsletter - February 2003

THIS ISSUE
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- Welcome
- Aroma Travellers, Our thanks
- The Time has come the Walrus Said
- More Memorable Photos
- Current Booking Status
- Bali Tours for 2003
- Provence Aromatherapy Master Class
- The Story of Pastis
- Lime and Gin Mousse
- Arranging your Travel, Bookings etc.
- Previous Newsletters
- Thought for the Day
- Our Invitation

WELCOME
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A warm welcome to the 1950 plus readers of our Aroma Tours newsletter.

We are all set for another wonderful year and are confident that all of our tours with the exception of the Turkish Aromatic Odyssey ( which we have postponed until 2004 ) will proceed successfully this year.

If you have recently joined the newsletter 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.

AROMA TRAVELLERS - OUR THANKS
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One of the most rewarding things for us is welcoming back past Aroma Travellers who wish to join us on tour once again. It is now normal for us to have about 20% of our group members joining us for a second or even third time.

Repeat Aroma Travellers and personal recommendations are important to our continued success and Robbi and I would like to offer our heartfelt thanks to all of you who continue to support us with your kind words and referrals and by spreading news of our tours amongst your friends.

As always we are pleased to offer a 10% discount to those of you travelling with us once again.

THE TIME HAS COME THE WALRUS SAID
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If you are considering enjoying a tour with us this year, we are now heading into the time of year where we normally receive the majority of our bookings, also demand for airline seats starts to increase.

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.

If you are ready to make your booking now, please visit our booking page at http://www.aroma-tours.com/booking-request.htm to reserve your place.

As always our current tour information, including pricing and itineraries are available at http://www.aroma-tours.com/info-request.htm

MORE MEMORABLE PHOTOS
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Jim has compiled another gorgeous selection of photos for you to enjoy. There are many delightful experiences that we share together during our tours and as they say a picture is worth a thousand words.

The pictures are included in our photos galleries at http://www.aroma-tours.com/gallery/memorable-photos2.htm

CURRENT BOOKING STATUS
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Bookings are progressing steadily and we expect that most groups will be full or nearly full as normal.

Our current booking status is:-

Turkish Rose Tour Bookings closed
Provence Aromatherapy Retreat 9 vacancies
Heart of Provence Tour 9 vacancies
Essential Provence Tour 10 vacancies
Flavours of Provence 12 vacancies
Bali Rejuvenation Retreat 12 vacancies
Bali Women's Retreat 8 vacancies

We are also running several tours for special interest groups which is great
fun and an enjoyable addition to our regular Aroma Tours programs.

For tour details including current pricing and itineraries you can go directly to our infomation request page at http://www.aroma-tours.com/info-request.htm

BALI TOURS FOR 2003
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As we mentioned in the last newsletter our Bali Women's Retreat ( http://www.aroma-tours.com/bali-women.htm ) and Bali Rejuvenation Spa Retreat ( http://www.aroma-tours.com/bali-retreat.htm ) are going ahead as planned in late August / September.

Robbi and I are greatly looking forward to returning to Bali and the very warm welcome that we always receive from our Balinese friends and associates.

For new members of the newsletter who would like to know a bit more about Bali there is a nice article at http://www.aroma-tours.com/articles/aromatherapy-uk.htm

PROVENCE AROMATHERAPY MASTER CLASS
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We are thrilled to have secured a lovely small hotel in the centre of a charming village right in the heart of Provence lavender country. It is the ideal location for our aromatherapy retreat and the mayor of the village has kindly offered us the use of a wonderful, light and airy room in the town hall for our seminar days.

We are looking forward to staying at this wonderful new location renowned for its colourful markets, distillers, quality lavender products and essential oils.

Because of our new location we will also be able to include a visit to a wonderful family owned rose garden with 700 different varieties and to see their painstakingly and authentically restored 12th century chapel.

Our speakers this year include Dr Daniel Penoel with Aromatic Medicine, Robbi Zeck ND. with Emotional Aromatherapy and world renowned aromatherapy expert, Dr Kurt Schnaubelt.

THE STORY OF PASTIS
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One of the typical scenes to be found throughout Provence is men gathered around the town square playing petanque and drinking the aniseed flavoured liquor, Pastis.

In the 19th and early 20th centuries it was a tradition for wine makers and bartenders to create their own Pastis liqours by combining 45% alcohol distilled from grapes and other fruits with sugar, caramel and combinations of plants, herbs and spices to be sold "under the counter".

Some of the recipies are supposed to contain as many as 72 different ingredients, including Mint, Birch leaves, Maize, Vervain, Sapwood, Licorice, Chamomile, Blackcurrant leaves, Poppy seeds, Thyme, Coriander, Parsley, Cinnamon, Star anise, Fennel, Summer savory, Cumin, Licorice and Aniseed.

The notorious liqour Absinth also called "The Green Fairy" due to it's greenish hue was the favourite tipple of writers and painters like Monet, Oscar Wilde and Vincent Van Gogh. Sadly it was responsible for severe problems as it contained the herb wormwood which is in fact toxic to the nervous system. As a result Absinth and all other liqours containing anise such as Pastis were banned by about 1920.

Fortunately the ban was lifted in 1932 after it was realized that the problem with Absinth was in fact the wormwood and Pastis made a come back through men like Paul Richard, a disgruntled seller of "vin ordinare", who decided that there was an great opportunity to commercialize the production of Pastis and from humble beginnings in his parents back yard created a huge world wide business; all from the humble Pastis.

Pastis is the perfect aperitif; every time you sit down for a meal in France there is the inevitable question, "un aperitif?". So next time order a Pastis which will come in a short glass with a jug of chilled water. The Pastis is a slighly viscous, pale straw coloured liquid which as you add water turns a milky white due to the oil of mint crystalizing out.

Pastis for me is "Provence in a bottle" and it is clear that sitting in the shade of a linden tree on a hot summer's day sipping a cool glass of Pastis either watching the world go by or contemplating the heavy responsibility of the menu selections is what "savoir vivre" is all about.

TROPICAL LIME AND GIN MOUSSE
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This is one of our favourite desserts at which was given to us by Vesna Bragagnolo who attended The Bali Womens Retreat ( http://www.aroma-tours.com/bali-women.htm ) two years ago. It is a perfectly light and delicious finish to almost any meal and is ideal for dinner parties.

Ingredients for 6 people:

4 eggs, separated
1/2 cup of castor sugar
1 teaspoon of grated lime rind
2 teaspoons of gelatine
1/3 cup of lime juice
1 tablespoon of gin
1 tablespoon of sugar, extra
2/3 cup of thickened cream
1 or 2 drops of green food dye

Beat egg yolks, sugar and lime rind in a small basin until thick and lemon coloured.

Gradually sprinkle gelatine over combined lime juice and gin in a small heat proof bowl and dissolve gelatine by floating the bowl in a large saucepan of hot water, Cool mixture to room temperature.

Gradually beat gelatine mixture into the egg mixture and transfer to a large mixing bowl.

Beat cream until soft peaks form and fold into the mousse mixture. Add a tiny amount of green food dye for colour.

Beat egg whites until soft peaks form, add extra sugar and beat until dissolved.

Fold egg whites gently into the mouse mixture in several batches.

Pour the mousse mixture into 6 ramekins or glasses and refrigerate for several hours; ideally overnight.

Absolutely heavenly! Jim and I have been known to indulge in the one large bowl when the mood for a succulent dessert has come upon us!

ARRANGING YOUR TRAVEL, BOOKINGS ETC
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We have now created a frequently asked questions page at http://www.aroma-tours.com/faq.htm to answer the most common questions including how to book, travel arrangements, group sizes.....

We are of course always available to assist you personally with any questions or advice you may need at info@aroma-tours.com

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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"A closed mouth gathers no foot"

~ Anonymous

OUR INVITATION
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We are looking forward to another wonderful year in 2003 and invite you to join us in France or Bali for one of our delightful tours or retreats.

If you haven't visited our site in a while please drop by at http://www.aroma-tours.com for our latest information and photos of our travels.

As always if you have any questions or would like our advice about your travel arrangements or with any other details 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

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