Newsletter - October 2024

Greetings from Robbi and Jim

A warm welcome to all of the members of our Aroma Tours Newsletter in over 30 countries around the world.

Robbi and I have just completed another wonderful year of Aroma Tours adventures in Spain, France, Italy and Bali and feel truly blessed to once again be sharing our passion for the fabulous places and experiences that we love, with delightful people from around the world.

We are thrilled to see that demand for our Aroma Tours is going from strength to strength and if you have a desire to travel with us next year, please note that there are now only 6 vacancies remaining for 2025.

As always, it is our returning guests and their friends who are leading this fabulous response.

• If you would like to "seize the day" and journey with us, we invite you to visit our tour information page for more details or our make a reservation page to reserve your place.

Memorable Photos from Provence 2024

It is always a great pleasure for us to journey with our guests in beautiful Provence each year to explore the gorgious small villages, flowering lavender fields, colourful markets, fascinating history, delicious food and wines and many other delightful moments.

Our Current Booking Status

The enthusiasm for our Aroma Tours in 2025 has been outstanding with next year's tours now down to the last few vacancies.

We opened our 2026 tour season last month and already we are receiving significant bookings from past Aroma Travellers and others wishing to make their plans well ahead.

• For detailed information about any of our tours please visit our tour information page and if you would like to join us please visit our make a reservation page.
• It is our pleasure to assist you with any questions you may have and we invite you to get in touch with us at jim@aroma-tours.com

Please note

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

Flavours of Provence 2024

Delicious food and wines are an integral part of each Aroma Tour. From finest gourmet cuisine to delicious home-cooked fare, our meals are always colourful, authentic and flavoursome and are enjoyed in a leisurely fashion.

We love to create menus that tantalize the taste buds of our guests on tour and share the tastes and aromas of fresh seasonal ingredients prepared with practiced skill, care and pride in preparation, combine in a myriad of ways to bring us moments to savour.

For your enjoyment here are a few more images of the lovely gastronomic moments we shared during our adventures in Provence this year.

Provence Lavender Dreams

Whenever possible between our busy schedule of tours, Robbi and I like to take a little time off to relax and catch up with our local friends.

In Provence this year we were absolutely delighted to once again spend a few magical days with our dearest friends in Provence Jack and Sophie on their huge lavender farm, high in the Haute Vaucluse: one of the largest true French lavender farms in the world.

The lavender harvest was in full swing, so everything was a bustle, with harvesters plying their way gracefully along the long rows, creating swathes of aromatic purple blooms that could be seen in various stages of drying ( over 2 or 3 days ), in preparation for their journey to the distillery.

I found myself fascinated by the patterns the machinery left in the dusty soil and the wisps of lavender scattered randomly at the end of the rows. Also, the way the landscape was gradually changing from vibrant purple, to rows of green, set between the swathes of cut blooms.

The distillery with its twin "couldrons" was the heart of operations with deliveries of fragrant lavender constantly arriving by the tonne. Ready for their metamorphosis into this most precious of essential oils: the aromatic aroma of freshly distilled lavender was everywhere.

At evening meal times it was exciting to share with our friends and the farm workers ( freshly back from cutting, collecting and distilling ) their news of the day's work; weather, equipment breakdowns, essential oil yield and quality...... As always the conversation quickly turned to light-hearted banter as we sat - glass of wine in hand - watching the amazing sight of the sun setting over 80 hectares of lavender fields.

During the daytime, I took to rambling amongst the fields and through the nearby forests which were absolutely bursting with wild lavender - we were after all in the natural home of this amazing plant.

In one spot, I found a veritable carpet of wild lavender and nearby, dozens of hives with their nimbus of bees busily gathering nectar to make lavender flavoured honey.

I can't begin to describe the beauty and incredible joy we felt during those precious few days except to say:-

"To drift off to sleep in the true darkness of night, as the gentle lavender scented breeze outside, dances across the flowering rows of purple - all is bliss, all is bliss...."

Lavender is one of our strongest anchors to Provence and has always welcomed us. It is always a joy for us to share our love of this amazing plant with our Aroma Travellers in Provence each year.

• If you would like to journey with us to create your own lavender scented memories amongst the purple fields of Provence please visit our tour information page for more details.
• Lavender fields await you on our make a reservation page.
• It is our pleasure to assist you with any questions you may have and we invite you to get in touch with us at jim@aroma-tours.com

Travelling Solo in a Group

As well as couples and friends travelling together, we are regularly joined by solo travellers - mostly women, who appreciate being able to journey with liked minded people from around the world, without the need to do all the planning and take on the daunting task of touring by themselves.

Joining one of our small group tours is easy and we have already made all of the arrangements on your behalf to ensure that you have a delightful, stress-free holiday with the focus on having fun.

Having a ready-made group of friends to travel with, and us to take wonderful care of you is the way to go!

• There is no extra charge for solo travellers who are willing to share a room with another same gender guest from our group.

We have carefully crafted off-the-beaten-path itineraries that are the perfect balance of structure, experiences, details and free time to enjoy in your own way.

Our Invitation

Robbi and I look forward to welcoming you to one of our delightful Aroma Tours in 2023 or 2024.

• For detailed information about any of our tours please visit our tour information page and if you would like to join us please visit our make a reservation 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 at info@aroma-tours.com

Warmest regards,

Jim and Robbi