Wanderlust and Lipstick Newsletter – June, 2007

Hello Wanderlusters!

After recouping from a month in India and shaking off my withdrawal from some of the best food on the planet, I’ve been traveling domestically to ensure that I don’t also get withdrawals from cramped airline seats San Francisco, Lummi Island and New York City/New Jersey were my most recent haunts. With these little trips behind me, I’m looking forward to China in September. Won’t you join me?

All the Tea in China Cultural and Professional Exchange
At the invitation of the China Workers’ Center for International Exchange in Beijing, PRC, I will be leading a group of tea professionals and tea lovers to China this September. This is an opportunity like no other as it will center around China’s bustling tea industry. If you are in the business of tea and want to make top notch connections, or you simply enjoy a cuppa (as the Aussies say), don’t miss this unique experience. All arrangements are handled by a Redmond, WA company, WTE, Inc. which will tailor the program to meet your individual goals.

We’ll be spending ten days tasting tea, shopping for tea, connecting with tea associations in Beijing and Shanghai and visiting a tea farm outside of Hangzhou. In addition, we’ll also see the iconic sites of China including the Great Wall, Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City as well as many others.

On June 14th at 6:30pm, please join me at the Perennial Tea Room at Pike Place Market in Seattle for an orientation session to learn more about this program (please RSVP beth at WanderlustAndLipstick dot com). Space is limited for the China program and the registration deadline is June 30th.

New Forum for Wanderlusters Launches
You’ve been requesting it and it’s finally here. The new (very-easy-to-use) Wanderlust and Lipstick Forum. The forum is quite literally your area to sound off, ask questions and share information with other Wanderlusters. Take a moment to log in and share that hot travel tip or post a note to connect with other women travelers. (Pssst, if you were a member of my previous forum, your sign-in still works, so give it a shot!)

Got Blog?
I’m so excited to have some very talented and interesting bloggers contributing to Wanderlust and Lipstick. Please visit the Wander Blogs main page to catch up on the latest posts. If you would like to join in the blog-o-sphere and write about a specific travel-related topic, contact me at beth at WanderlustAndLipstick dot com. Food and Wine? Travel & Technology? Asia Travel? You name it – You blog it!
Share the Love!
Thanks to all of you whom have shared this newsletter to help grow the Wanderlust community. New subscribers are jumping on board literally every day and I welcome you all. Continue to share the love by telling your friends about Wanderlust and Lipstick – simply forward this email.

Wander Recommendations

Travel Book
The Wisdom of Forgiveness by Victor Chan and the Dalai Lama – I’ve picked up several books over the years that are both by and about the Dalai Lama. This is the one that I could not put down. Well-written and insightful, Chan’s biography/interview with the Dalai Lama presents an insightful and intimate portrait of Tibetan’s exiled leader. You finish the book knowing that the Dalai Lama is a strong and caring leader (yes, leaders CAN have both of these traits) and is human with his own faults and struggles.

World Music
Songlines – Rather than chat up a recent music release, I have to give a big plug to a world music magazine out of the U.K. Songlines is a bi-monthly that is packed with so much information and so many reviews that it takes me two months to get through the entire magazine (because I DO read every page). It also comes with a free compilation CD to introduce you to some of the trendiest global bands. The subscription price is a bit hefty (and gets heftier every year with the U.S. dollar’s decline), but I still find it worth the chunk of cash I spend on it!

World Film
Pan’s Labyrinth by Guillermo del Toro – In the vein of Life is Beautiful, this fairytale shows you at what length we allow our minds to go to in order to separate ourselves from the sometimes ugly world going on in front of us. It’s the story of a young girl during Spain’s civil war in the early 40′s. She lives with a violent and tyrannical stepfather and also lives in an imaginative and fantastical world filled with fairies and fauns. Not a feel-good movie but it will move you.

Hot Travel Tip
Having just returned from 5 days on a combination business and visit-the-family trip to the east coast, I learned something new. Prior to my arrival, I had my brother pick up some grocery items that I normally eat at home (soy milk and non-sugary cereal) so that once I arrived I wasn’t eating unfamiliar foods or scrambling for things that are more along the lines of my diet. This helped me settle in and not feel out of sorts.

New Subscribers
If this email was forwarded to you, don’t miss next month’s issue. Subscribe by emailing newsletter at WanderlustAndLipstick dot com or use this easy submit form. Your information is never shared.

Til next month,

Happy Travels!

Beth