Aroma Tours Newsletter - September 1999

THIS ISSUE
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- We're Back
- Pre-release information
- France 1999
- Bali Women's Retreat 1999
- Feedback from this year's participants
- Australian Aromatic Tour
- Turkish Rose Tour
- Incentives and Aroma Tours
- Improved on-line booking
- Protecting your privacy
- Arranging your travel
- Champagne anyone?
- Previous Bulletins
- Thought for the Day

WE'RE BACK
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After a wonderfully successful time away we are back from our wanderings at last. It has been very gratifying for us to see people so thoroughly enjoying the programs we have arranged, with some people joining us for the second time.

This year we were joined by participants from Canada, USA, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Hong Kong and Australia, which added to other years, means that we have now shared our tours with people from more than a dozen different countries.

PRE-RELEASE INFORMATION
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Jim has now completed our website update including some lovely new pictures he took this year, you can take a look at http://www.aroma-tours.com

We will soon be sending out our general invitations for next year as well as several ads coming out and promotions taking place. As members of our newsletter you are being given prior notification of the availability of next year's tours, including our new programs in Turkey and Australia, to allow you to secure your place before normal bookings begin.

Already some people who were unable to join us this year and others keen to ensure their places, have contacted us and have made their bookings.

If you have received information about next year's programs recently please re-check the dates as a few of them have changed.

FRANCE 1999
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This year we had a very busy time in France with three tours back to back and several people joining us for both the Aromatherapy Retreat and Heart of Provence Tour.

The Aromatherapy Retreat was held in the beautiful foothills of Drome Provencale and all agreed that the retreat was a total success. The teaching was inspirational, the visits, especially to the organic Melissa fields and distilleries were wonderful and everyone commented on how much they enjoyed the accommodation with its wonderful views, yummy food and friendly people.

The Heart of Provence Tour was next and gave us an opportunity to treat our group to some of the beautiful areas of Provence that we have discovered over the years. Fields of sunflowers, countysides full of lavender in bloom, hidden villages and places of beauty and wonder. Leisurely meals in delightful restaurants were the norm and we shared some truly wonderful and memorable moments.

And for our Soap Makers group perhaps Nancy Engels who joined us says it best:-
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"I remember lavender fields... helping a farmer fill his essential oil still with pitch forks full of rosemary branches to make oil and flower water.... beholding a centuries old french village that is carved into the side of a mountain.

I am overwhelmed by such beauty!! I woke up in a chateau this morning. It makes me smile to think of going to the huge window, half asleep, to see the flowers, trees, pools and statues. I heard the bullfrogs, swans and ducks singing last night! It was a loud concert and I laughed!"
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BALI WOMEN'S RETREAT
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Having returned from Bali a few days ago ( Sept 12th ) I can only say how fabulous it was to spend such delicious time with a warm, wonderful and heartfelt group of women. Given the situation in Timor as I write, I trust that we will be able to offer this program again next year, as the delight of the women attending touched my spirit in so many ways. The Balinese people are truly gentle of heart and spirit and much of their livelihood depends on the custom of visitors such as ourselves. In Bali, Aroma Tours makes a point of visiting and staying at small family owned businesses and we endeavour to support the economics of the local people.

One of the highlights this year during the retreat, occurred the day we learned to make an offering which we used in our closing ceremony. Afterwards, we invited our teachers, three beautiful Balinese women, to learn a circle dance that we enjoyed dancing during the retreat. It was truly a moment of magic that transcended boundaries and cultures.

Other wonderful pampering experiences included Mandi Lalur which includes Balinese massage, exfoliation with traditional herbs (jamus), a yogurt rub down and a relaxing soak in a warm bath strewn with fresh flower petals. Every woman in the group returned during the week to relive this delightful sensory experience.

We also enjoyed a fabulous cooking class conducted by an Australian woman who has lived in Bali for the past 15 years with her Balinese husband. She imparted a great deal of information about the Balinese culture, as well as introducing us to some tasty aromatic dishes, that we could all make easily when we returned home.

On our last day we made a pilgrimage to the Mother Temple in Bali (Bali is primarily Hindu) and a curious looking fellow arrived, dressed in white, smiling broadly and began blessing everyone individually by flicking holy water over our heads with a vibrant red hibiscus flower. Priests in Bali are evident at any special event and we felt honoured that he came to bless us!

This was followed by a soak in hot spring baths amongst terraces of lush green rice paddies, a delightful dinner at a restaurant located right on the beach, surrounded by the light of a dancing moon. This was a perfect sensory ending to our nurturing, reflective, fun-filled, Bali retreat.

http://www.aroma-tours.com/bali-women.htm

FEEDBACK FROM THIS YEAR'S GROUPS
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Jim has added some lovely new photos to our website and feedback from this year's attendees at http://www.aroma-tours.com/feedback.htm We will be adding more photos and feedback as time allows.

Please remember that all photos on our site have watermarks and are protected by copyright.

AUSTRALIAN AROMATIC TOUR
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At last, the long awaited Australian tour has been scheduled for next year just prior to the Olympics. For all those people who have enquired we thank you for your patience and we look forward to welcoming you "Down Under".

The first part of the tour will be held in sub-tropical Byron Bay the most eastern point in Australia. This area grows a significant amount of tea tree for essential oil production and we will enjoy several aromatic visits as well as golden beaches that stretch for miles, a whale population that visits regularly, a world heritage rainforest hinterland and an absolutely fantastic variety of tropical foods and seafood, as well as a superb array of crafts reflecting the talents of the local people.

In addition to Byron Bay we will also visit the Darwin area including some of the most remarkable wild beauty of Australia at the Kakadu world heritage area in the Northern Territory. We will experience tropical wetlands, towering escarpments, abundant wildlife as well as an exploration into our rich Aboriginal heritage and culture.

http://www.aroma-tours.com/australian-tour.htm

TURKISH ROSE TOUR
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Next year we are also proud to be offering our first Turkish Rose Tour.

We will journey from exotic Istanbul at the cross roads of Europe and Asia, with its elegant mosques, ancient sites, vibrant markets and rich history, to fields of fragrant roses and rose oils distilleries, then on to the sun drenced Mediterranean to enjoy some of the most beautiful coast line in the world, visits to sites of aromatic interest as well as some of the incredible ancient sites that Turkey is famous for.

We will be accompanied by Dr Peter Wilde, acknowledged rose expert and Turkey enthusiast who will share his knowledge and wonderful humour with us.

http://www.aroma-tours.com/turkish-tour.htm

INCENTIVES AND AROMA TOURS
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Next year we will be taking our first two lucky incentives participants for our Turkish Rose Tour. We are now reserving two places in each of our programs for companies to use for employee incentives.

If you have a company and would like to offer an aromatic reward to your best performing employee(s) or if you work for a company and would like them to consider offering employee incentives, you can contact Jim at info@aroma-tours.com for details.

IMPROVED ON-LINE BOOKING
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Our on-line booking facility at http://www.aroma-tours.com/booking-request.htm has now been streamlined to make it easier to use. Simply select the program(s) you wish to attend, your accommodation details and payment method and a printable booking form is produced which you partly fill out on-line, then print and complete by hand.

The completed form can then be faxed or posted to us with your payment. This ensures that absolutely none of your personal information is available via the web.

Of course you can also email us to send you a booking form by fax or mail if you prefer.

PROTECTING YOUR PRIVACY
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We consider the protection of privacy to be a very important issue and have created a privacy statement at http://www.aroma-tours.com/privacy.htm which outlines our policies regarding the protection of your personal details both on our website and as our clients.

ARRANGING YOUR TRAVEL
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Once you have decided to join us, you will need to co-ordinate your travel arrangements to meet us at the appropriate rendezvous point at the appointed time. We provide all of the necessary information for you and your travel agent to make this a simple matter and are happy to assist you further if necessary.

CHAMPAGNE ANYONE? !!!!!
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The 1998 grape harvest was hugely successful in the Champagne region, producing unparalleled stocks. With more than 1 billion bottles in cellar, there will certainly be no shortage of bubbly for the millenium celebrations. Viva la France!

PREVIOUS BULLETINS
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For those of you who have recently joined our list and would like to read our previous bulletins, they can be viewed on our web site at http://www.aroma-tours.com/newsletters/

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
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"Work like you don't need the money. Love like your heart has never been broken. Dance as if no-one is watching".
Anonymous

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If you have any questions about our programs, comments or suggestions for either the list or our website please contact us at info@aroma-tours.com Also, if you would like to chat with us about any of our programs please let us know how to contact you by phone.

Find happiness in every moment.

Fragrant regards,

Robbi and Jim

ITALY

TURKEY

PROVENCE

LOIRE VALLEY

BALI

AUSTRALIA