The phrase "absorb the essence" is a valid usage in written English.
You can use it when you are referring to learning the fundamental elements or qualities of something. For example, "I read the book in order to absorb the essence of the author's message."
But travelers are not reasonable people, and it is distinctly possible to absorb the essence of India in CliffsNotes form.
But in Africa even furniture has a spiritual life: beds and stools absorb the essence of their owners' souls.
Somehow it was thought that by entering these spaces, the key to unlocking the secret of literary creation could be had, and that by inhaling the very atmosphere which celebrated authors once breathed, one could, by a strange alchemy or osmosis, absorb the essence that animated the writer's imagination and made possible the realization of native talent.
No matter what people say about the power of sites like MySpace and YouTube, you can't absorb the essence of an artist until you see him or her perform live.
The Zerg were created from the native lifeforms of Zerus, who had the natural ability to absorb the "essence" of creatures they killed, transforming their bodies to gain new adaptations.
Although DRM-52 Scale was meant to absorb the essence of former instruments [ 11, 12, 33- 35] and had relatively satisfactory psychometric properties, this scale might not be totally comprehensive and might need further refinement.
It looks like Google absorbed the essence of that little mind boggle, and are now deploying it, Mega Man-style, against the robot masters of our minds.
In a state of juvenile innocence, the mind absorbs the essence through all the dross.
And Rogue (Anna Paquin) absorbs the essence of others, which makes her an energy vampire; she discovers her power when she steals her first kiss and almost kills the boy.
After absorbing the essence of international safety standards and adapting China urban transit construction practice, the safety management and system integration method of CBTC system came into being.
Yes, you could drive across it in a day – but you could also spend several lifetimes walking its paths and absorbing the essence of each hill, dale and cove.
