Newsletter - December 2014

Greetings from Robbi and Jim

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

Robbi and I are now at the end of our journeys for the year, which has been our most successful season to date and we are greatly enjoying some quiet time at home to relax and catch up with friends and family.

We are also reflecting on the many delightful moments that we have shared with our guests this year and the many reasons that we have for being grateful.

Robbi and I most sincerely wish you a wonderful, fun-filled festive season with family and friends and hope that your year ahead will be filled with prosperity, peace and many joyful moments.

We hope to have the pleasure of your company in 2015 and we invite you to visit our information request page for the latest details of our tours and retreats.

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.

This year we enjoyed an outstanding number of returning Aroma Travellers and new guests who joined us because of direct referrals - over 63% of our guests!

For Robbi and myself, it is such a great delight to welcome 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.

Guest Comments from 2014

• My fifth and sixth tours with Aroma Tours - this time in Tuscany and northern Italy - were the icing on the cake! Thank you Jim and Carol for guiding us through this glorious part of the world in such a fun and exciting way. The choice of hotels and restaurants were superb - we were utterly spoiled. - Life has never been more "dolce" and the beautiful memories will linger on and on. Grazie Mille!
   ~ Susan Troxell, New York City USA
• Walt and I so treasure how special you made one of our mutual Bucket List Dreams. So seldom in life does ones reality completely outshine ones fantasy!!! And this indeed was the case. So many of our dear friends have commented on the way we talk of you and our trip and how really special it was. Everyone is so surprised at how many photos we have of you both along with photos of all the places we ate and visited.
   ~ Chanel Bouvier and Walt Olsen Greenville USA
• This week has been a feast for the eyes, nose and palate. Thank you for the memories that will last a lifetime and for creating an environment that fostered laughter and friendship. ~ Barbara Brown Trumbull USA
• What a wonderful way to experience Provence, through the eyes of those who love it. Its been amazing! Thank you Robbi and Jim.
   ~ Kerry and Paul Hogan Warrawee Australia
• Thank you both for an enjoyable tour. It was a nice mix of things to do, sightseeing, cooking lesson and perfume making. And we were fortunate with the company. We were rather fearful of being stuck with strangers for a week but they all turned out to make good travelling companions. The food was excellent and you obviously have had the experience to make the right choices. ~ Allein Moore Singapore
• What a trip! Thank you both for sharing your passion for Provence with us. You made us feel like we were being entertained by good friends. Jim, when we looked at Van Gogh paintings in Paris all we thought about was how it felt to stand in his room and look out the window. Those are the special moments and there were a lot of them! Hoping to join you again in Northern Italy 2015.
   ~ Brenda and Marty Libman Asheville USA
• What a blessed gift to have you lead us in Bali Robbi - back to ourselves, healed, pampered, radiant, happy and centered. ~ Pritinder Kaur Australia
• I want to thank you and Robbi for a truly memorable and really fun vacation. I have regaled friends with stories. I loved the long leisurely luncheons outdoors under the trees. (Just like in all the French films). The guided tour of Arles was wonderful. Helene was knowledgeable and passionate about her subject. Carriere et Lumiere was an astounding experience. I could have stayed there all day. These are all experiences I couldn't have had traveling on my own. And to have viewed the olive trees in Van Gogh's paintings!! ~ Nancy Turaj Reston USA
• Bill and I want to thank you for putting together such a delightful tour of Provence. Not only were we in an incredibly beautiful part of the world with lovely people, you helped us to experience it intimately with activities (cooking, petanque, shopping, wine tasting, perfume making, Gregorian chants, market day) in addition to tours and information.
  We're looking back at our vacation with many smiles.
   ~ Barbara and Bill Haddon Kelseyville USA
• We were given so many memories. I'm still talking about the food and hotels. I bought many bags of the fine lavender from the distillery and made little pillow squares of organza filled with the fine lavender to give to friends. The scent is such a memory in itself. I put one under my pillow� such sweet dreams. It would be such a blessing to do another tour with you two. ~ Kitty Courcier Chico USA
• Forgive the delay in following up after our fantastic trip to Provence with you. It was a great experience and I just want to say how much we enjoyed ourselves, loved the restaurants and delicious food, and most of all the fascinating places we went to and experienced. I hope some time in the not so distant future we be able to go on another tour with you. Thank you so much for creating such a fantastic experience for us. We had a wonderful time. ~ Jane Bay San Rafael USA
• What an amazing time we had in Bali. I sincerely want to thank you for this amazing retreat, in which I felt loved, safe and beautiful. Each day was a new experience full of wisdom, wonder and surprise. I have returned home feeling rejuvenated, relaxed and ready to move on with my life. ~ Sharryn White Sydney Australia

Our Current Booking Status

Robbi and I are thrilled to see that we are well on track for another fabulous season of tours with most of our offerings now down to the last few places.

We look forward to sharing many wonderful places, people and experiences with our guests next year and hope that you will be able to join our merry throng as well.

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

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, please let us know if you would like us to add you to that tour's waiting list in case a place becomes available  due to a cancellation or transfer.
• We will be gradually changing our schedule of tours over the coming years to allow us more time for other projects and activities.

Memorable Photos of Provence

One of the best ways to enjoy the spirit of our Aroma Tours adventures is by taking a peek at a few of the 1000's of photos we have taken during our travels as well as some of beautiful images taken by our guests during their journeys with us.

With that in mind we have compiled a few of our favourite photos of Provence for you to enjoy.

We also invite you to visit our Picture Gallery where you can enjoy browsing through dozens of pages of lovely photos from Spain, Dordogne, Turkey, Provence, Italy and Bali.

Robbi and I hope that you will be able to join us next year to create some of your own lovely Photos of Provence.

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

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

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.

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 dialing prefix: from the USA/Canada it is 011 from most other countries it is 00.

Warmest regards,

Jim and Robbi