V off !

The French Tour Co attend the much more relaxed sister exhibition to Visa pour l'Image, the appropriately named "V Off"
There was a great exhibition of USAP photos in the Rive Gauche gallery in Perpignan centre, celebrating their fantastic years success.
Perpignan is still celebrating USAP's success and, after hammering Montauban this weekend in the Top 14, is looking forward to a another great season.
Allez USAP!

I love Paris in the Springtime,

I love Paris in the fall,
I love Paris in the summer when it sizzles
But being with the lassies on our college reunion is the best of all!

Wow, what a weekend avec les filles! There is nothing like heading off for a weekend , leaving your cares and troubles behind , a whole three nights sans enfants and hanging out with your mates from college in the most beautiful city in the world, wee hawww!

Paris, and France in general has so much to offer and as the sun shone down on us, we discovered fab restaurants ( La Table d'Anvers , the highlight of the trip), funky cool bars, excellent live music and did what the locals do .. had cafés in bars and people watched...

I was surprised to find a vineyard tucked away behind the Sacre Coeur as we meandered through the cobblestoned streets, soaking up the sights and sounds of our eclectic neighbourhood. According to the blurb pinned to the locked gates, the harvest finishes every year with a huge "fete de vendange", harvest festival with people dancing and singing in the streets.
The small vintage ( they produce about 2000 bottles a year) is auctioned off publicly and the proceeds go to the town hall coffers.
Whether the wine is drinkable or not, is debatable, but the bottles become collectors items because of their scarcity and also the labels - a different artist designs the label every year.

Don't forget our Wine Harvest tour running this October in Perpignan - a great deal for three nights B&B in a luxurious spa hotel, evening meal, one full days wine tour with gourmet lunch, one day at the wine festival and another full day in Collioure, transfers and all local transport included for 379euros
Click here to book online

Well done to the Munster girls team

Bravo to the Munster womens team who travelled this weekend to the South of France, to play the french champions , Montpellier.
Arriving on Friday for a whistle stop tour , they played local team Villelongue de la Salanque on Friday and Montpellier on Saturday before catching the early flight out of Carcassonne on Sunday. Phew!
There was great support for the victorious Munster team at the match on Saturday with a loud , proud irish crowd cheering them on.
We caught up with the girls that evening where they were wined and dined with gusto in Villelongue's town hall. A huge paella was followed by yummy dessert ( bras de venus) and a delicious cheese platter. The girls were blown away by the generosity of their hosts and the huge welcome they received from the local catalans.
After the speeches, the pourrou was brought out - this is a special bottle with a long thin spout from which you pour the muscat ( sweet wine) directly into your mouth from a height. Good clean fun!
After the pourrou had done its rounds and the vocal chords were truly doused, the singing commenced and the French contingent were regaled to the sounds of Christy Moore, Puc ar Buile, The fields of Athenry etc etc.
We left them at it in the wee hours to party on ..
Bravo Les Filles!