| aroma tours ® |
| newsletter march 2005 |
|
THIS ISSUE
========================================= - Welcome - Aroma Travellers, Our Thanks - Latest Memorable Photos Page - Current Booking Status - Champagne, the Lees Have It - San Francisco Conference and Workshop - Turkish Aromatic Odyssey - Flavours of Provence - Wonders Down Under 2006 - Bali Women's Retreat - Smoked Salmon and Shrimp Terrine - Arranging your Travel, Bookings etc. - Previous Newsletters - Thought for the Day - Our Invitation WELCOME ========================================= A warm welcome to all of the members of our Aroma Tours newsletter in over 37 countries.
As Robbi and I prepare for our journey to the USA and continue with
arrangements for this year's tours we are becoming quite excited about
the year of journeying ahead.
February and early March have been quieter than normal for tour
bookings but after the fabulous start to the year and its associated
busy-ness we have both appreciated time to allow ourselves to take a
little respite and also bring most of our non-tour projects into
order.
It is now time to encourage those of you planning to make your
bookings for this year or who are considering the possibility of
joining us, to get in touch with us either by email at info@aroma-tours.com
or by phone on +61 3 5331 3254.
As always our current tour information, including pricing and
itineraries is available via our information request page at http://www.aroma-tours.com/info-request.htm
If you have recently joined our newsletter or haven't visited our web
site in a while we invite you to drop by for the latest updates,
photos and information about our tours at http://www.aroma-tours.com
AROMA TRAVELLERS, OUR THANKS ============================================ Once again returning Aroma Travellers are making up more than 20% of our bookings which is a wonderful result.
Robbi and I would 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 amongst your friends.
As always we are pleased to offer a 10% discount to those of you
travelling with us once again.
LATEST MEMORABLE PHOTOS PAGE ========================================= Jim has compiled a lovely page of memorable images of our travels in Tuscany, Provence, Australia and Bali for you to enjoy at http://www.aroma-tours.com/gallery/memorable-photos5.htm and we hope that you enjoy seeing some of the lovely places and experiences we have in store for our Aroma Travellers this year. CURRENT BOOKING STATUS ========================================= Bookings have been quiet for the last few weeks and there is still availability for all of our tours. We look forward to seeing these last places being filled in the weeks ahead.
Our current booking status is:-
Aromas of Tuscany: 4 vacancies
( http://www.aroma-tours.com/aromas-of-tuscany-tour.htm )
Turkish Aromatic Odyssey: 9 vacancies
( http://www.aroma-tours.com/turkish-tour.htm )
Flavours of Provence: 7 vacancies
( http://www.aroma-tours.com/flavours-of-provence.htm )
Provence Aromatherapy Retreat: 2 vacancies
( http://www.aroma-tours.com/provence-retreat.htm )
Heart of Provence Tour: 6 vacancies
( http://www.aroma-tours.com/provence-tour.htm )
Essential Provence Tour: 6 vacancies
( http://www.aroma-tours.com/provence-essential-tour.htm )
Bali Women's Retreat: 6 vacancies
( http://www.aroma-tours.com/bali-women.htm )
If you would like to join us this year and are ready to make your
booking, please visit our booking page at http://www.aroma-tours.com/booking-request.htm
to reserve your place.
If you have any questions or need to discuss your travel plans with us
please email us at info@aroma-tours.com
CHAMPAGNE, THE LEES HAVE IT ========================================= Champagne is the most romantic of wines but what is it that makes a truly great champagne or for that matter a great sparkling wine from Australia and elsewhere. ( only sparking wine produced in the Champagne region of northern France can bear the name Champagne ).
Always with wine making it begins with the fruit, and in the case of
champagne what we want is finest quality cool-climate Pinot Noir and
Chardonnay grapes. Still it is not simply good fruit and competent
wine-making that makes a great champagne. The secret lies in the
yeast, in fact dead yeast.
Champagne is made by fermenting crushed Chardonnay and Pinot Noir
grapes in what is called the primary fermentation, after which the
wine is placed in bottles with some added sugar to undergo a secondary
fermentation that produces all of those lovely bubbles. The other
by-product of this second fermentation is a sediment referred to as
the 'Lees', made up mainly of dead yeast cells.
In lesser quality champagne the lees are removed ( once a satisfactory
quality of bubble is achieved ) through a cunning process involving
keeping the bottles partly inverted and regularly and carefully
turning them ( referred to as riddling ), so that the lees gradually
accumulate in the neck of the bottle. The end of the neck is then
cooled so it freezes and when the temporary metal stopper is removed
from the bottle the icy plug of frozen sediment is ejected. Then the
familiar popping cork is inserted et voila, champagne!
In fine champagne however, the lees are not removed but rather stay
with the wine to do their magic. A minimum of 18 months is required
for the yeast cells to break down and release their amino acids and
other complex components into the wine and slowly transform its
character. In some of the finest champagnes this "Lees
Ageing" can last for 5 years or more.
This extra contact with the lees does all sorts of wonderful things to
the champagne, adding to it complex biscuity aromas, a more delicate,
savoury flavour as well as giving it fine, persistent bubbles.
Next time you enjoy a meal of light flavoured fish such as butter
fish, blue eye or monk fish, rather than reaching for a Sauvignon
Blanc try a lovely fresh champagne preferably one that has been
blessed by extended lees ageing.
SAN FRANCISCO CONFERENCE AND WORKSHOP ========================================= Robbi has been invited to speak at one of the world's most prestigious Aromatherapy conferences run by the Pacific Institute of Aromatherapy in San Francisco this April.
After the conference she will also be offering a 2 day workshop for
those of you in the states interested in learning more about her
unique and ground-breaking approach to aromatherapy and to experience
her wonderful work. The dates are on 11,12 April and more details are
available on Robbi's site at http://www.aromatic-kinesiology.com
or by contacting us by email at info@aroma-tours.com
We will also be using our time in the USA to catch up with a few of
our many American friends, something we are greatly looking forward
to.
TURKISH AROMATIC ODYSSEY ========================================= After this year's tour in Turkey we will not be offering our Turkish Aromatic Odyssey for open bookings again until 2008.
So this is the year for those wishing to experience this amazing
country. Turkey is filled with a glorious past and a wonderful present
and our tour offers you many fabulous experiences to enjoy.
Last year we rolled in rose petals, bought spices and carpets, swam in
clear Turquoise waters, visited palaces, marvelled at antiquities,
enjoyed massage, hamams and spa treatments, watched whirling holy men,
relaxed by the pool, journeyed through mountains and amazing
countryside and were charmed by the warmth and generosity of the
people.
If you have not see the latest pictures of our journeys in this
wonderful country please visit http://www.aroma-tours.com/gallery/turkey-pictures.htm
FLAVOURS OF PROVENCE ========================================= A passion for fine food and wine are an integral part of the Provencale way of life and our Flavours of Provence tour is the perfect way to enjoy these gastronomic delights in some of Provence's finest restaurants.
You will experience and savour a tantalizing contrast of flavours and
aromatic delights in gorgeous settings, such as hillside villages,
shady terraces, lovely gardens, Provencale mas, historical hotels and
charming country inns, all at a delightful leisurely pace.
We have many wonderful experiences for you to enjoy including tutored
wine tastings, garden visits, gourmet cooking class with master chef
Robert in a beautiful refurbished 19th century kitchen followed by
dinner in our own private dining room decorated with tapestries and
antiques. Also visits to Provencale markets, antique and brocante
stores, Provencale gardens, lavender fields and gorgeous villages.
We stay in a magnificent 18th century Chateau, set amidst acres of
serene and peaceful gardens in the Bouches du Rhone and in a lovely
riverside hotel in the delightful village of Fontaine de Vaucluse.
More details can be found at http://www.aroma-tours.com/flavours-of-provence.htm
and via our information request page at http://www.aroma-tours.com/info-request.htm
BALI WOMEN'S RETREAT ========================================= If you are living in Australia and planning to come to the Bali Retreat this year please book soon as airfares can be tricky to find later in the year. Airfares from other parts of the world are usually very accessible. Also, on an organizational note, as we do not return from our European tours until late July, I usually book the accommodation for Bali in May, just before we depart for Italy and Turkey.
This year I am honoured to have a beautiful woman joining us all the
way from Rhode Island with her two daughters. Mary travelled with Jim
and I in Provence last year on the Heart of Provence Tour. This is
only the second time that we have had a family joining the retreat and
it is truly delightful seeing mothers and daughters come together for
a time of purification, nurturing and quiet reflection.
More details can be found at http://www.aroma-tours.com/bali-women.htm
and via our information request page at http://www.aroma-tours.com/info-request.htm
AUSTRALIAN AROMATIC TOURS ========================================= We have been delighted with the amount of people enquiring about our Australian tour even though it is privately booked for this year with a wonderful group of aroma enthusiasts from Taiwan. Jim and I are very excited about the unique program we have created and most importantly we are able to support many of our dear friends in the aroma industry at the grassroots level.
We will enjoy the sights of Sydney including an exclusive visit to
Australian Bush Flower Essence headquarters and the stunning Botanical
Gardens. Then we travel north to explore the aromatic heart of
Australia with its beautiful beaches, organic farms, lovely
rainforests, delightful coastal towns, local markets, native gardens,
tea tree fields, aboriginal culture, distilleries, native medicine and
unique wildlife. Not to mention our fabulous food and wines.
Please email us at info@aroma-tours.com
if you would enjoy joining this unique aromatic tour in Australia in
late October 2006. We are very much looking forward to sharing
the "Wonders Down Under".
SMOKED SALMON AND SHRIMP TERRINE ========================================= In Provence the terrine is an art form with many variations from vegetarian, to wonderful game versions using wild boar ( sanglier ) or rabbit ( lapin ). Today we will explore matters terrinase with this delightful seafood creation.
Ingredients for 4-6 people:
14 oz thinly sliced 'A' grade smoked salmon
2 cups natural mayonnaise 0.25 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice 2 tbsp. grated lemon peel 1 tbsp. green peppercorns ( softened in brine ) 1 tsp. dry French mustard 0.75 cup chilled whipping cream 3.5 tsp. gelatine 2 tbsp. brandy 2 tbsp. water 8 oz cooked shrimp 3 tbsp. fresh chives 1.5 tsp. fresh thyme
Garnish:
fresh dill sprigs
lemon peel assorted crackers
Method:
Line a bread loaf baking dish ( hereafter referred to as the terrine
dish ) with plastic wrap, making sure to leave a generous over hang.
Place half of the smoked salmon slices in the bottom of the terrine
dish, trimming as necessary to make a neat layer.
Finely chop the softened green peppercorns and blend them with the
mayonnaise, lemon juice, lemon peel and mustard in a large mixing
bowl.
Beat the cream until stiff peaks form, then carefully fold into the
mayonnaise mixture.
Sprinkle 2 tsp. of gelatine over 2 tbsp. of pre-warmed brandy in a
small saucepan and stir over low heat until the gelatine dissolves.
Pour the brandy mixture into a separate medium sized bowl and fold in
half of the mayonnaise mixture.
Finely chop the shrimp and chives then blend into the mixture.
Spread the shrimp mixture over the layer of smoked salmon slices in
the terrine dish then cover and chill.
Place the remaining smoked salmon in a food processor with 0.5 cup of
the remaining mayonnaise mixture and puree until almost smooth.
Sprinkle 1.5 tsp. of gelatine over 2 tbsp. of warm water in a small
saucepan and stir over low heat until the gelatine dissolves.
Fold the salmon puree, gelatine and finely chopped fresh thyme into
the remaining mayonnaise mixture.
Spoon the salmon mousse evenly over the chilled shrimp layer then
cover and chill overnight.
Place the terrine dish face down on a large platter and gently remove
the terrine contents.
Peel off the plastic wrap and garnish with dill sprigs and thin strips
of lemon peel.
Enjoy!
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 yourselves. Naturally we provide all of the information and assistance that you ( or your agent ) will require.
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 ========================================= If you would like to browse through our previous newsletters, they are available in our archives at http://www.aroma-tours.com/newsletters THOUGHT FOR THE DAY ========================================= "Follow your bliss and doors will open where there were no doors before."
~ Joseph Campbell ~
OUR INVITATION ========================================= We look forward to welcoming you to one of our delightful tours or retreats this year and invite you to visit our website at http://www.aroma-tours.com for more information about our Aroma Tours as well as the latest photos of our travels.
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/f: +61 3 5331 3254 e: info@aroma-tours.com w: http://www.aroma-tours.com |
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