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Archive for the ‘France Events’ Category
Pierre & Vacances’ Summer Petanque Party: A fantastique evening despite the British weather!
Forget Wimbledon, football championships and the ‘O word’ we can’t mention, the highlight of our sporting calendar is the annual Pierre & Vacances summer Petanque party.
This hotly anticipated event features wine, cheese and a fiercely fought Petanque contest, which is always guaranteed to bring out the competitive nature in all our lovely travel partners and francophile friends.
Getting into the French spirit: the Pierre & Vacances team
Here, the lovely Elodie from our team gives you a glimpse behind the scenes of organising our summer party, from choosing the wine and cheese in Calais, to hightailing it to a Parisian themed bar when the British weather threatened to spoil our fun!
‘At 7am the day before the party I took the ferry from Dover with P&O Ferries (thank you to Daniel Acarnley for organising!) and went to Calais to buy all the French food and booze needed for our summer event.
On the ferry!
‘A short hour and a half later we were in Calais and decided to buy the drink first, white and red wine from “Calais à vin”. They had a huge range, so of course we had to try a few – to be sure we made the right decision of course!
What to choose?!
‘The day of the event came and all eyes were firmly glued to the weather forecast. Last year’s event was bathed in glorious sunshine, but sadly this year the weather was not on our side, with heavy rain and strong winds howling down on our little gazebo – not ideal conditions for playing Petanque on the beach!
Fun on Brighton beach
‘However, being the true sport and Petanque enthusiasts that we are, we still managed a small competition with the help of the Brighton Petanque Club Association - with a few people holding our gazebos down…
Le chic Paris House, Brighton
‘After the short competition and a fast “aperitif”, everyone sheltered from the storm in our local chic French bar “The Paris House” to continue the party in drier conditions.
French goodies...
‘Martyn Summers and Ian Burgess won the hotly contested Petanque competition, and to reward their dedication they each received a basket full of French local produce such as the famous Saucisson from Ardèche, a bottle of Sancerre and paté.’
A very happy man
Someone didn't read the dress code...
Inspired by our Francophile fun? For Love France week we’re giving away two limited edition Pierre & Vacances Petanque sets over on our Facebook page!
Limited edition petanque set!
And thank you to everyone who braved the British weather and came along, the Paris House Brighton for taking us in at the last minute, and to KBC PR & Marketing Team for their contribution to the event.
Spanish cycling breaks – train with a professional team
Fancy following in the tyre treads of Tour de France riders this summer? We’ve teamed up with the professional 1t4i-Shimano cycling team at our Premium Altea Hills Residence on the beautiful Costa Blanca to offer a Pro Cycling Experience where you can explore the Sierra de Bernia and Spanish coastline with expert cyclists. 
The 1t4i Shimano team, which is named after its five guidelines; team, inspiration, improvement, integrity and innovation, includes a number of big name cyclists such as Marcel Kittel, Johannes Frohlinger and Koen de Kort.
The team is based in the Costa Blanca all year and is currently training for the gruelling challenges of the Tour de France this June and July.
There are 30 spaces a week for guests to take part in as many training and technical sessions as they like and join some/all of the daily excursions which range between 70 and 110 kilometres. The scenery along the routes varies between dramatic coastlines and stunning [but calf-stretching] mountains and all the routes include challenging uphill sections, to help you hone your cycling skills.
Each guest will be fitted with their own professional bike for the week, with preferences and heights received beforehand so you can get straight in the saddle on arrival.
The 1t4i Shimano professionals will also be on-hand to answer your burning cycling questions – from the essentials of bike mechanics to advice on the best sports diets.
And after a hard days peddling, rest those tired legs at the Pierre & Vacances Premium Residence Altea Hills which enjoys stunning views over a picturesque bay.
The Premium residence also has three outdoor swimming pools, sauna, hamman and spa with a range of treatments including thalassotherapy and volcanic stone massages, so you can relax those weary muscles.
Accommodation is available in one bedroom apartments [which include a kitchen and living area] or double bedrooms.
Our Pro Cycling breaks start at 640 € per person based on two people sharing. This includes seven nights accommodation, breakfast, cycling equipment, guided cycling excursions and workshops and use of Altea Hills facilities.
We also offers packages including all meals from 790 € per person and group rates for four to eight people from 740 € per person. Bookings for the Spanish cycling break can be made on our website or by calling 0870 0267 145. The nearest airports are Alicante and Valencia, and you can check the best flight deals on Skyskanner.
And For those of you who fancy a more leisurely paced, check out our guide to five great family cycling routes in France!
Pierre & Vacances at the France Show 2012
The France Show 2012! An eclectic mix of everything that makes France fantastique – travel, food, wine tasting, cooking demonstrations by talented French chefs, talks on France by well known writers and presenters, and cancan dancers!
The Pierre & Vacances stand at The France Show with the lovely Camilla
We had a very busy show, and met lots of lovely loyal Pierre & Vacances customers and new ones too. And there was of course the Pierre & Vacances petanque pitch, manned by our petanque expert Bruce, ready and waiting for intrepid fans to come and show us what their boules were made of!
Bruce and some budding petanque players
The pitch proved to be hugely popular, with Bruce kept busy playing, demonstrating and guiding the petanque players of the future who stopped by. And for those wanting to take the weight off their feet and have a rest, Jeremy was on hand to whip up a tipple of Marseille aperitif Ricard.
Jeremy shows us how to serve the delicious French tipple of Ricard
On Sunday we held a petanque pairs competition, featuring 18 teams from across the UK who battled it out for the first prize of a holiday to France with Pierre & Vacances and DFDS Ferries. The quality of the competition was fantastic and only a few players were distracted by the Ricard tasting available next to the terrain!
Lots of action on the petanque pitch
And the proud petanque winners were husband and wife team Lee and Angie Jamieson! With runners up Nick Goodheart and Mal Hanley from Harrow winning a limited edition Pierre & Vacances petanque set. All together now: oooh!
Limited edition petanque set!
Below are some more pictures from our The France Show weekend, hopefully tempting those who couldn’t make this year to put it in their diary for 2013!
Mr French Amabassador, with this France Show you are really spoiling us!
Cooking demonstrations
Delicious French food!
More delicious French food
Even more delicious French food!
Wine tasting
And Cancan dancers!
See you next year!
Pierre & Vacances at World Travel Market 2011
World Travel Market – where the whole world converges [literally] under one roof in November. Where months of planning comes down to just four days of meetings, networking, parties and sore feet.
The Pierre & Vacances team on our stand at WTM
Want to know what Pierre & Vacances got up to this year? Well read on…
A spot of Après Ski
What better way to get into the winter spirit than with an après ski party? And it wasn’t hard to persuade people not to ‘slope’ off on the first day of WTM with drinks, hearty nibbles and some fantastique live music courtesy of the 101s who will be playing the Little World Festival in Meribel in 2012.
The 101s rock our après ski party!
But it wasn’t just a great excuse for a party; we also held a raffle for the excellent winter sports charity Disability Snowsport UK, here’s a short video about the fantastic work they do:
Disability Snowsport UK – Accept No Limits from John Currie on Vimeo.
And with prizes such as a ski holiday to France, Meribel Little World Festival tickets, lift passes to the 3 Valleys ski area, lift passes to the Alpe d’Huez ski area, ski hire, a limited edition Petanque set and a magazine subscription up for grabs, it’s not surprising that we raised a great amount for such a fantastic charity.
A limited edition Petanque set
A glass of wine and a chunk of cheese
To celebrate WTM’s Responsible Tourism Day on Wednesday, we held a Green Wine and Cheese event on our stand – although it should be pointed out the cheese and wine weren’t actually green…
Delicious French wine and cheese
We plied people with delicious and authentic French wine and cheese from different regions in France, while our UK & Ireland Sales and Marketing Director, Cathy Rankin, presented the key elements of our sustainable approach, and the green initiatives being worked on for next year – and beyond! Interested? You can view Cathy’s presentation here!
Cathy presents Pierre & Vacances' sustainable approach
Here comes the cheese!
Plenty of cheese to go around guys...
Pierre & Vacances' Elodie dishes out French saucisson
And some green ideas
Going paper-free – To further support a sustainable message, the Pierre & Vacances’ press pack went paper-free this year! Instead of paper packs we handed out these nifty and specially designed USB sticks made from renewable materials.
A bag for [a ski] life – As French ski resorts are plastic bag free, we’ve designed an eco bag for life which can be used to lug back French delicacies from the supermarché, and is also designed to be big enough to hold a pair of ski boots as well as fit as carry-on luggage for the plane!
Educating the Brits – Plus front and centre of our stand this year was our Recycling in France infographic, to help UK and Irish tourists to clean up their recycling act while on holiday. There’s more about this initiative here.
Our recycling infographic taking pride of place
French ski resorts with outdoor ice skating
Who hasn’t been inspired by the recent resurgence on TV of Torvill and Dean to don their ice skates and perfect their figure skating skills? There’s something rather romantic about the idea of cutting a dash on the ice rink, complete with Argyll sweater, mittens and skates. Especially outdoors, of a winter’s afternoon in the warming sunshine, or of an evening with snowdrops on your tongue and twinkling chalet lights brightening the dusk. And the promise of a hot chocolate or vin chaud when you’re done! Perfect entertainment for all the family.
Ice Skating champions Torvil and Dean
Why not take the opportunity of your next skiing holiday in France to venture out onto the ice?
Here is a guide to French Alpine resorts with outdoor patinoire (ice skating rinks!).
Alpe d’Huez
This south facing, sunny resort of Alpe d’Huez has lots of self catering ski accommodation, and is the ideal place to perfect your figure of eight whilst soaking up some rays.
The ice rink is located on the Avenue des Jeux in the heart of the resort and is open daily from 11.30am to 10.45pm. Figure skating tuition is offered by Alpe d’Huez Patinage Club for ages three and upwards.
Entry costs €6 for adults/ €3 children under 13 or is free with a Visalp ski pass. Skate hire costs €4.
A class pratices their triple salcos on Alpe d'Huez's open air ice rink
Les Deux Alpes
It comes as no surprise that this international winter sports resort has an Olympic-size outdoor ice rink, located next to the swimming pool on the Rue des Sagnes, close to the central Place des Deux Alpes. The resort is a huge playground for mountain lovers, with lots of self catering accommodation for those wanting to experience the fantastic restaurants the area has to offer.
Entrance to the ice rink is free for all holders of a six day lift pass. There is a small charge for ski hire. Open daily from 10.30am to 12.30pm, 3pm to 6.30pm and 8.30pm to 11pm.
At certain times of the week you can also try your hand at ‘ice gliding’ – bumper cars on ice!
‘Ice gliding’ – bumper cars on ice!
Megève
The outdoor ice rink is situated in the centre of this picture perfect Alpine village on Place de la Résistance, surrounded by accommodation with views of Mont Blanc.
It’s open daily from 2pm to 8pm (Tuesday from 2pm to 6pm, special children’s session from 6pm to 8pm). It costs €4.80 per adult and €3.80 per child (5 to 14 yrs). Skate hire costs €3.20, free for children under 5.
Megève open air ice rink
Avoriaz
There is a brand new ice rink opening in the 2011/2012 season in the centre of this family-friendly resort – which is also the home of Pierre & Vacances. The rink will be open daily from 3pm to 8pm. Entry costs €5.20 for adults and €4 for children under 12, including skates. Holders of a Family Pass can get in for free.
La Plagne
La Plagne has two natural open-air ice rinks situated in majestically high Aime La Plagne and sporty Plagne Bellecôte.
The rink at Aime La Plagne offers fantastic views of Mount Blanc. Open daily from 3.30pm to 10.30pm. Cost is €7 per adult and €5 per child under 12.
The rink at Plagne Bellecôte is located behind the main gondola and is open daily from 10am to 7pm for the same price.
Les Arcs
Skiers heading to the heart of the Paradiski region can take advantage of Les Arcs’ two outdoor ice rinks, one in Foret du Beauchet 1800 and the other in Place Haute 2000.
Val d’Isere
The natural ice skating rink at this world-renowned ski resort is in the middle of the village of Val d’Isere, which is full of family friendly self catering accommodation. It is open every day from 3pm to 8pm. The cost is €6 per adult and €5 per child, or you can buy a child week pass for €20 which includes entry to the rink and skate hire.
Natural ice skating rink in the middle of the village of Val d'Isere
Les Houches
Skate in front of the Mont Blonc massif at the natural rink in Les Houches, located in the centre of the village. The best news is, it’s free.
Young girl ice skating in Les Houches
During French holidays, the rink is open Tuesday to Sunday from 2pm to 5pm and from 8pm to 11pm. At other times it is open Tuesdays from 8pm to 11pm, Wednesdays from 2pm to 5pm, Fridays from 8pm to 11pm, Saturdays from 2pm to 5pm and from 8pm to 11pm and Sundays from 2pm to 5pm.
And you can also stay in the view of the Mont Blonc massif in one of Pierre & Vacances’ self catering apartments in Les Houches.
Open air ice skating rink in Les Houches
La Clusaz
La Clusaz, renowned for cross country skiing, has a 1000 m2 open air ice rink located in the centre of this typically Savoyard village, and is even covered in the event of rain. And if you fancy a stay in one of the most laid back resorts in the Alps, Pierre & Vacances has self-catering accommodation in the area.
Les Menuires
The outdoor skating rink in Bruyères, in the heart of Savoie Olympique, is open from 4 pm to 8 pm. So if you want to ski in one of the sunniest spots in the French Alps, check out the self catering apartments on offer!
Have we missed your favourite skating spot? Let us know over on our Facebook page!
