Super chic summer shape up

LOU CASTEOU, which means ‘The Chateau’ in old Provençal French was purchased in 2006 by Chris and Morag Baxter, who restored it to its former historical glory, adding touches of modern luxury, such as a home cinema seating 40, heated outdoor pool, and commercial kitchen.

The chateau can accommodate 32 guests in luxury, with inside and outside reception areas, for events of up to 100 people. Lou Casteou offers weddings, with blessings at Lou Casteou’s small historic chapel, or within the chateau’s grounds. With a home cinema and board room facilities, Lou Casteou also caters for conferences and formal events.

Lou Casteou is situated in the Esterel Mountains between Cannes and St. Tropez; forty minutes’ drive from Nice airport and five minutes from sandy beaches, excellent sports facilities, boutiques and restaurants.

This Summer they are offering three luxury residential fitness retreats – salsa, tennis and Body Tonic.

www.loucasteou.com

Go Holiday news : www.govillasandcottages.co.uk

All your holiday needs: IN PRINT - ON-LINE - DiGiMAG - SMARTPHONE -TABLET - BLOG - TWITTER - G+ - FACEBOOK

Picture Credit: By Tobi 87 - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16843888

Pack your dancing shoes . . .

NEXT spring, South of France residence Chateau Lou Casteou, will be holding its next luxury dance and fitness break, to be held 6th - 9th April, 2017. The four-day, all-inclusive residential retreat will be led by dancers Juan Let’s Salsa and Simon and Becky Mascarenhas.

Guests will try out the different dance disciplines of Merengue, Bachata, Cha Cha Cha, Salsa and Kizomba. The retreat will cater for both beginners and experienced dancers wishing to improve their footwork skills.

Juan has performed as a dancer and teacher in top London venues and Simon has a steadfast reputation as a smooth and relaxed dancer, teacher and choreographer. Simon has made a number of big stage and film appearances, including ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ and the big screen hit Cuban Fury in 2014.

Dancing will also be complimented by fun fitness activities designed to improve the core and leg muscle groups used in dance. These include core strengthening and fun swiss ball sessions, plus water and Latino aerobics. Guests will also take in a visit to a local Provençal vineyard and the Cuban Club, La Bodeguita.

Go Holiday news : www.govillasandcottages.co.uk

All your holiday needs: IN PRINT - ON-LINE - DiGiMAG - SMARTPHONE -TABLET - BLOG - TWITTER - G+ - FACEBOOK

Picture Credit: Chateau Lou Casteou

Mardi Gras 2017

NEW ORLEANS the place to be Tuesday, February 28 otherwise known as Fat Tuesday.

Festive celebrations throughout the city take place over the extended weekend before #MardiGras February 24-28.

The first Mardi Gras parade was held in New Orleans on February 24, 1857 by the Krewe of Comus. They began the tradition of presenting a parade with floats and following it with a ball for the krewe and their guests. 

The colours associated with Mardi Gras came about when Rex, the King of Carnival, selected the Mardi Gras colors and assigned meaning to them in 1892. Purple stands for justice, green for faith, and gold for power.

Hotels start taking bookings in the previous August for Mardi Gras the following year www.bestneworleanshotels.com

Go Holiday news : www.govillasandcottages.co.uk

All your holiday needs: IN PRINT - ON-LINE - DiGiMAG - SMARTPHONE -TABLET - BLOG - TWITTER - G+ - FACEBOOK


Picture Credit: By Carol M. Highsmith - Carol M. Highsmith's America, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division. [1], Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9392953

Celebrating Christie

MARKING the 125th anniversary of the birth of the queen of the English crime novel, this year’s International #AgathaChristie Festival (September 11-20) has a nine-day programme of events in and around #Torquay, South Devon.

There will be film screenings, talks exploring Christie’s life and times, a professionally led workshop programme for aspiring writers of all ages … plus food, drink, and dancing.

Torre Abbey will be the festival’s hub. The entrance ticket will enable access to the house, gardens, Book Tent, a programme of daily activities, and an exhibition: Agatha Christie … Unfinished Portrait.

Ticketed events will also be held in The Spanish Barn at Torre Abbey, The Grand Hotel, The Imperial Hotel, the Princess Theatre, the Palace Theatre, The Little Theatre, Torquay Museum, Cockington Court, Greenway (National Trust), Churston Church, and Oddicombe Beach.

Tickets for most of the festival events are available through a dedicated festival online bookings system.

*Agatha Christie died on January 12, 1976, aged 85. She wrote: 79 crime novels, 19 plays, 22 short story collections, six romantic novels, and two non-fiction works, including her autobiography.

*Christie’s daughter, Rosalind, gifted Greenway, her mother’s summer residence in South Devon, to the National Trust in 1999.
www.agathachristiefestival.com

Go Holiday news : www.govillasandcottages.co.uk

All your holiday needs: IN PRINT - ON-LINE - DiGiMAG - SMARTPHONE -TABLET - BLOG - TWITTER - G+ - FACEBOOK

Picture Credit: www.agathachristiefestival.com 

Fringe fun kicks off in Edinburgh

SAID to be the planet’s largest arts festival, the #EdinburghFestivalFringe (to August 31) is under way, with 50,459 performances of 3,314 shows from 49 countries in 313 venues across the city.  

Established in 1947 as an unofficial alternative to the Edinburgh International Festival, it’s a showcase for the performing arts – cabaret, children's shows, comedy, dance, circus, exhibitions, music, and the spoken word.

In addition to ticketed, programmed events, there are street shows every day on the #RoyalMile and at the Mound Precinct.

Kath M. Mainland, festival chief executive said: ‘The Fringe is a festival like no other.  Completely open access – where artists don’t need to wait for an invitation, where anyone with a story to tell is welcome.  Where there’s no curator, no vetting, no barriers.  Just incredible talent from almost fifty countries all over the world.

‘It’s also an incredibly important festival for #Scotland, the UK, and our performing artists.  A vital platform to showcase the range and diversity of creative skills on offer.  A profoundly international market place which can have transformative effects on careers.  An explosion of culture which can be life-changing for the audience.  And lots and lots of fun.’

For full events listings, go to www.edfringe.com

Go Holiday news : www.govillasandcottages.co.uk

All your holiday needs: IN PRINT - ON-LINE - DiGiMAG - SMARTPHONE -TABLET - BLOG - TWITTER - G+ - FACEBOOK

Picture Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/15441925@N00/213284703">Strong Man Circus Show for Festival Fringe on Edinburgh's Royal Mile</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">(license)

Join the dance in Bath

VISITORS to the Jane Austen's Bath exhibition (to October 4) at the Victoria Art Gallery in Bath will be able to see a display of Georgian and Regency dancing – and learn a few steps themselves – this August. 

The Bath Minuet and Jane Austen Dancers will be dancing in period costume at late openings of the exhibition on Thursdays during August. They will also be talking to visitors about the dances, music, and their Georgian and Regency costumes. The Thursday evening openings have been made possible by funding from Arts Council England to the Bath Museums Partnership.

The Bath Minuet Dancers will be in the gallery from 5-7pm on August 6 and 13; and the Jane Austen Dancers on August 20 and 27, also 5-7pm. The groups will perform twice each evening.

The standard entry charge is £3.50 with concessions available, and no booking is required.

The Jane Austen's Bath exhibition features some of the gallery's best watercolours and prints, so visitors can see the city as she saw it on her visits, and as she depicted it in Persuasion and Northanger Abbey.

There is also a programme of talks, tours, and walks.

www.victoriagal.org.uk

Go Holiday news : www.govillasandcottages.co.uk

All your holiday needs: IN PRINT - ON-LINE - DiGiMAG - SMARTPHONE -TABLET - BLOG - TWITTER - G+ - FACEBOOK

Picture Credit: www.victoriagal.org.uk