Newsletter - September 2012

Greetings from Robbi and Jim

A warm welcome to all of the members of our Aroma Tours Newsletter from around the world.

Currently Robbi is in Bali for our women's retreat and I have just recently arrived in the beauty of autumn in Tuscany.

As I sit here overlooking grape vines fecund with ripening fruit and olive groves bursting with the promise of the harvest to come, it is strange to recount that only a few days ago I was sitting in our lovely little cottage amongst the golden wattle and blossoming fruit trees of spring in Australia.

Robbi and have had a wonderful time remembering the many delightful moments that we shared with our dear guests from New Zealand, USA, Canada, Netherlands, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, China, UK and Croatia in May, June and July this year. The wonderful diversity of cultures and characters, sense of fun, perfect weather and nature's beauty in full array, has left us all with many joyful memories to cherish.

We are enjoying adding the final chapter to our Aroma Tours chronicles for this year and will share some of the stories of Bali and Tuscany with you in our next newsletter.

Now that spring/autumn has sprung/fallen ( depending on your hemisphere ), Robbi and I are turning our attention to our 2013 tour season which we are thrilled to see is off to a flying start with 4 tours already more than half full - our best result ever for this time of year!

Robbi and I are greatly looking forward to sharing many more delightful moments with our Aroma Travellers next year and invite you to visit our information request page for the latest details of our tours and retreats.

Memorable Photos From Our 2012 Adventures

One of the best ways to enjoy the spirit of our adventures is by taking a peek at a few of the 1000's of photos we have taken during our Aroma Tours' 2012 season.

We also look forward to sharing more of the lovely images taken by our Aroma Travellers during their journeys with us this year in our upcoming newsletters.

In the meantime we have added two new pages of memorable photos for you to enjoy at:-

Please remember to take a peek at our Photo Galleries Pages where you will enjoy many beautiful images of our past adventures.

Aroma Travellers Our Thanks

Without doubt, the main reason that we continue to grow and flourish, is the on-going support we receive from our past Aroma Travellers.

Currently we are seeing an outstanding number of returning Aroma Travellers and new guests who are joining us because of direct referrals - currently over 50% of our guests!

For Robbi and myself, it is such a great delight to be welcoming back so many good friends and to see our Aroma Tours continuing to flourish.

We would also like to give our heart-felt thanks to all of you who continue to support us with your kind words and referrals as you spread news of our tours and retreats amongst your friends.

Robbi and I also greatly appreciate your wonderful words of thanks, it means so much to us to know that we have shared a special time with you during our journey together.

If you have not already done so, please take a peek at our Guest Comments from 2012

Our Wonderful New Flavours of Provence Tour

Next year Robbi and I are pleased to announce that we have moved our delightful and delicious Flavours of Provence Tour from early June to late July and added some wonderful new changes to the itinerary, including: lavender fields in full bloom, several amazing new gastronomic restaurants and an exploration of the fabulous Chateaneuf du Pape wine region.

Also, one of our favourite small hotels is being fully refurbished and redecorated later this year, and as a result, it will be the perfect first base for us to launch our gastronomic explorations next July. One happy consequence of this is that the price for Flavours of Provence will now come in to line with our other offerings.

So if you would like to experience a gastronomic "Tour de Force" of some of the finest restaurants in Provence wrapped in a leisurely exploration of this most glorious region of hilltop villages, sweeping fields of purple lavender, colourful markets, rich culture and joy for life, have we got the week for you.

For the latest details of this exciting new tour please visit our information request page.

Our Current Booking Status

All is now well under way for next year's tour season and Robbi and I are thrilled to see the fabulous early response to our 2013 offerings, with Flavours of Spain, Flavours of Dordogne, Essential Provence Tour and our first Bali Women's Retreat already booking strongly.

Our booking status at the time of this newsletter is:-

Robbi and I hope to have the pleasure of welcoming you to one of our aromatic adventures next year and to sharing a wonderful and memorable time with you.

For detailed information about any of our tours please visit our information request page and if you would like to join us please visit our booking request page to reserve your place.

It is our pleasure to assist you with any questions you may have and we invite you to get in touch with us either by email at [email protected] or by phone on: +613 5331 3254 (afternoon/evening USA time zones, mornings from other countries). 

Please note

• Our up-to-the-minute booking status is available via our calendar page

• If the tour you would like to attend becomes fully booked you may like us to add you to that tour's waiting list as sometimes we receive late cancellations or transfers.

The Sound of Two Glasses Gonging

Every year there are a number of events that help Robbi and I to realize that we are now "on tour", and allow the newness of the moment and our sense of adventure to overtake all of the planning and busy-ness that always builds up just prior to our leaving.

Driving on the opposite side of the road and communicating in a foreign language are a big clue of course, but for me, the defining moment that signals that I have arrived in the land of the "Dolce Vita" is the particular deep gonging sound that Italian wine glasses make when they knock together.

This almost Pavlovian response is due to the memory of a wonderful experience that we shared during one of our first Aromas of Tuscany tours ( and ever since ).

Can you imagine a gentle afternoon in a tiny Romanesque village in Umbria, sitting in the beautiful courtyard of one of Italy's finest enotecas ( wine bar and cafe ) tasting exceptional wines from across Italy with one of the country's most famous wine experts.

We laughed, chatted, sampled finest olive oil ( including the oil that is exclusively used by Alain Ducas in his 3 star restaurants ), as well as tapenades, white and black truffles and other yummy aromatic goodies: all the while accompanied by the unique and joyful sound of our gonging glasses!

Blossoming Heart Retreat in Provence with Robbi Zeck ND

Next year for the first time, Robbi will be offering her wonderful Blossoming Heart Retreat amongst the beautiful lavender fields of Provence.

Robbi's pioneering work on the mood enhancing and stress releasing properties of essential oils integrated with her extensive
background over more than 35 years in the healing arts, has empowered individuals, practitioners and educators around the world, to enhance their abilities in gently reducing stress and increasing internal balance and wellbeing.

You will enjoy a unique series of lectures, field trips and events and learn from local experts in aromatic plant cultivation and essential oil production who will also share a wealth of knowledge and experience with you.

 For more details please visit our information request page

Arranging Your Travel

Once you have reserved your place via our tour booking page, all your need to do is make your travel arrangements to meet us at the tour rendezvous point. You can either ask your travel agent to assist you, or for the more adventurous you can book your flights and connections yourselves. All of our rendezvous are easily achieved and naturally we provide all of the information and assistance that you 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 etc.

Previous Newsletters and Stories of Interest

Our past newsletters contain a lot of interesting stories and are well worth a read. You can find them by visiting our newsletter archives

You may also enjoy reading a few of the stories that we have compiled over the years on our stories of interest page

Thought for the Day

"We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open."
 ~ Jawaharial Nehru

Our Invitation

Robbi and I look forward to welcoming you to one of our delightful tours or retreats in the near future and invite you to take a peek at the latest photos of our travels in our photo galleries

If you would like detailed information about any of our tours please visit our information request page

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 [email protected] or by phone on +61 3 5331 3254 ( afternoon/evening USA time zones, mornings from other countries ).

Please note you need to replace the '+' in our phone number with your country's international dialling prefix: from the USA/Canada it is 011 from most other countries it is 00.

Warmest regards,

Jim and Robbi