FAB PO Christmas market is back!

The FAB-PO Marché de Noël is back!!!

FAB-PO (www.fab-po.com), an international non-profit making business network based in the Pyrénées-Orientales, is pleased to announce the return of its phenomenally successful Christmas Market.  This year’s market will take place on Sunday 29th November from 11am until 5pm  at the Salle Polyvalente in Saint Jean Pla de Corts – make sure you put the date in your diary now!

It promises to be a fun day out for all the family with Father Christmas making an appearance, pottery and facepainting for the kids, wine tasting and French language workshops, carol singing, a tombola with fantastic prizes, stalls selling local produce, cards and Christmassy delights and much much more.  Cyberia Café will be serving delicious sandwiches, soft drinks and snacks, and there will be a bar run by local winemakers, so come along and make a day of it.

It’s all for a good cause too as 25% of the profits from the day will be going to Cancer Support France (www.cancersupportfrance.info) , which provides English speaking support to cancer sufferers in France.

We hope to see you there!

It's Christmas Fair time!

Christmas is fast approaching and as you know, this year FAB PO are hoping to repeat the phenomenal success of last year’s Christmas Fair. We hope to be able to confirm the venue to you next week. The Fair will take place on either Sunday 22nd or Sunday 29th November in the afternoon.

We are currently compiling a list of stallholders and are offering precedence to members of FAB PO. The fair was well publicised last year on local radio and in the local press (including Anglo Info and L’Indépendent) and attracted over 2000 visitors, with a great mix of French and other nationalities.

If you are an artist who would like to exhibit your work, or you have a product or service that you would like to promote by taking a stand at this unique event, please contact Louise Sayers at louisesayers@wanadoo.fr to register your interest.

There will be a nominal fee of around 30 euros for each stall, the amount will be confirmed once a definitive venue is found.

It goes without saying that we hope to be able to count on your support to promote and attend the fair.

Best wishes
The FAB PO Christmas Fair Committee

An open invitation to an exhibition in Ceret

FAB PO member and internationally acclaimed textile artist, Gem Melville is hosting an exhibition in Ceret from 25 September to 10 October.
She invites you all to the opening night tonight at 18h00 :

Helle Frosterod and Gem Melville are having a joint exhibition of sculpture and hand painted textiles.

You are invited to attend our vernisage at ESPACE Pierre MAU in Céret which is at the Sant Roch ART centre at 18h00.

FAB PO in French Property News

FAB PO secretary, Louise Sayers of Med and Mountain, as well as running her property and translating business and looking after two small kids, also contributes to a number of magazines in France - FAB PO gets a mention in this interesting article about ex pats in France in French Property News : go to page 82 to read all about it here

Wine Harvest and Spa Tour

FAB PO members , The French Tour Co and Frogbus are organising a fantastic 3 day trip to the Pyrenees Orientales around the atmospheric wine harvest festival which takes place on the 17th October in the Catalan capital of Perpignan.

From Thursday 15th October to Sunday 18th October.

Catch some late summer sun, Pamper yourself in a luxurious spa hotel, relax and unwind at the Perpignan wine festival and enjoy an unforgettable gourmet wine tour. The French Tour Co and Frogbus.com have teamed up to put together a weekend package filled with fun, sun, wine, cuisine and culture.

From ONLY €379 pps, THIS AMAZING OFFER INCLUDES:

3 nights at the top quality spa hotel Résidence Cela Alenya, 3 breakfasts and 1 evening meal, full day wine tour to top winemakers in the Perpignan area with 4 course lunch, discover Perpignan at the Nouveau Roussillon Wine Festival and visit the beautiful fishing village of Collioure which is ranked in the Top 7 most beautiful towns in France.
Full use of all luxurious spa facilities at the hotel during your stay.

Fly to Girona - Transfer to/from Girona airport (1 hour) and all other bus transfers included. Flights are currently 0€ from Dublin to Girona on these dates with Ryanair.

Click here for the full itinerary and booking details. Numbers are limited so hurry and reserve your place now!

FAB PO in the Irish Times

In March of 2009, FAB PO invited a couple of journalists from Ireland to the PO to show off our fantastic adopted new home.

Gemma Tipton ran a great article on the Irish Times this Saturday 22 August - you can read it here

Well done to all involved

FAB PO conquers Canigou!

As Dora would say:

We did it
We did it
We did it
lo hicimos!
Hurray!

With our qualified and experienced guide, FAB PO member, Christian , we made it to the top of the Canigou, the sacred mountain of the Catalans here in the Pyrenees Orientales.

The peak , which can be seen from nearly every point in the Roussillon plain, dominates the landscape and holds a special place in the hearts of the locals. After living here for nearly 8 years, I felt it was time to get to know this stunning mountain more intimately and off we set, all 18 of us, bright and early on Friday morning 3 July to put our legs to the test.

Our guide, Christian, was fantastic ; cool, calm and collected, he guided us at our own pace to the summit, unobtrusively keeping an watchful eye on us all.

On this trip, we took 4x4 vehicles to "base camp" at Chalet de Cortalets and then started walking from there. It took approx 2 hours to reach the 'pic' from here where we enjoyed a well deserved lunch with amazing views. At the summit, there is a cross , where people have left their flags and momentos - we made our own mark and left the Munster flag flying there. Apparently, the USAP team had been up to the summit the week previous with the Bouclier de Brennus ( the Champion de france rugby trophy!)
It was a great achievement for everyone to make it to the top and we look forward to doing it again , maybe taking a different route the next time.
Most people were dreading the descent, but , guided by Christian , we all made it without a hitch.
An ice cool beer was the perfect finalé to a perfect days walking.

Bravo tout le monde!

Contact www.fab-po.com for tours and nearby accommodation for climbing the Canigou