Approaching Europe
CONTRAST TOURS
THE COOL TOUR, 2027
January 1st - 10, 2027
In collaboration with Seaboard Wine, Savi's Wine, Wine and Words.
Limited to 6 travelers.
Our hotel seen from the beach on the south side.
High Speed Train
The Street of our Paris Hotel in Saint Germain des Près
Le Petit Carroussel, in January light
Eternal Paris in early January
Des Amants dans mon Café
Vue Imprenable
Our spectacular home in Brittany
Our hotel in Brittany
The poetry of low tide in Brittany
Quite a Cool Jacuzzi. Can you imagine yourself there, especially in a storm?
The charm of houses in Brittany
Same café as on the left side, 35 years later during last year's Cool Tour. We'll have a drink there! Not far from the hotel.
ABOUT THIS TOUR:
When I try to negotiate better pricing with the Director of the hotel where we go in Paris, he typically responds "but Monsieur Rostagni, you always come at the highest seasons of the year, what do you expect? I you come in January, you will have better prices !" We pull each other's leg all the time, and one day I took him at his word. After all, the idea of taking advantage of one of the lowest tourist seasons in the year, and experience Paris in Winter, had floated in my mind for a bit. This is how the first Cool Tour happened, last year..
But going just to Paris did not feel right, so I inserted a small dose of Brittany. I think the tour was a great success, and so this year we change the Brittany location for one just as exotic and maybe even more fulfilling.
The Cool Tour is a contemplative tour. In Brittany we will walk along the ocean, and watch it from our windows, as our hotel there is the most on the ocean one that can be. Yet it is on the edge of a small port and town with good food resources. We'll eat ultra pure and fresh seafood: lobster, local fish, local oysters raised in the purest possible water. A selection of wines and cider from my producers will materialize, as all meals whether in Paris or elsewhere, will be paired with wines and cider that I import. This is the case in all my tours, but there is a bit more of logistics involved here. Also, there will be some crêpes typically in the evenings, can't go to Brittany without eating crêpes, and hearty lunches with a definite gastronomic side.
In Paris, days will be free, and dinners will be in my favorite restaurants. None of them is starred, but I guarantee that you will eat very well. During the day I will look at Paris with a camera, maybe shop a tad since that will be sales season, and you will do whatever you'd like, we'll just walk to dinner. Our hotel is a four star one in Saint Germain des Près, a five minutes walk to the River, can't beat the location and the style.
But going just to Paris did not feel right, so I inserted a small dose of Brittany. I think the tour was a great success, and so this year we change the Brittany location for one just as exotic and maybe even more fulfilling.
The Cool Tour is a contemplative tour. In Brittany we will walk along the ocean, and watch it from our windows, as our hotel there is the most on the ocean one that can be. Yet it is on the edge of a small port and town with good food resources. We'll eat ultra pure and fresh seafood: lobster, local fish, local oysters raised in the purest possible water. A selection of wines and cider from my producers will materialize, as all meals whether in Paris or elsewhere, will be paired with wines and cider that I import. This is the case in all my tours, but there is a bit more of logistics involved here. Also, there will be some crêpes typically in the evenings, can't go to Brittany without eating crêpes, and hearty lunches with a definite gastronomic side.
In Paris, days will be free, and dinners will be in my favorite restaurants. None of them is starred, but I guarantee that you will eat very well. During the day I will look at Paris with a camera, maybe shop a tad since that will be sales season, and you will do whatever you'd like, we'll just walk to dinner. Our hotel is a four star one in Saint Germain des Près, a five minutes walk to the River, can't beat the location and the style.
ITINERARY:
NOTE: I like this trip for its balance between two polar opposites, a small port in veery western Brittany, surrounded by a rocky ocean, and on the other hand, Paris, the City of Lights, all about sensuality, elegance, luxe and sophistication. BTW, while I do not expect balmy weather, we are not going to Florida, by experience we are not going to Siberia either. Brittany is likely to be windy and have showers, but given that it is on the ocean, it is actually not very cold, less than paris, and let's just say that paris is warmer than Washington, let alone New York.
For me who has always been attracted by monacal experiences, the latter will be even more enjoyed after the former, which is the wild card. BUT, if you have no time or interest for the Brittany part, it is conceivable that you just arrive in Paris on January 6, or maybe earlier than that. The pricing for that option is ?% (I have not figured that yet) of the tour price. And you may arrive earlier in Paris and/or leave late.
* Friday January 1st: Departure from RDU (or wherever you depart from) to Paris.
* Saturday January 2nd: Land in Paris, connect to the Air France Flight to Brest. In Brest Airport we'll get a van and head to our hotel on the Ocean. Gastronomic dinner at the hotel.
For me who has always been attracted by monacal experiences, the latter will be even more enjoyed after the former, which is the wild card. BUT, if you have no time or interest for the Brittany part, it is conceivable that you just arrive in Paris on January 6, or maybe earlier than that. The pricing for that option is ?% (I have not figured that yet) of the tour price. And you may arrive earlier in Paris and/or leave late.
* Friday January 1st: Departure from RDU (or wherever you depart from) to Paris.
* Saturday January 2nd: Land in Paris, connect to the Air France Flight to Brest. In Brest Airport we'll get a van and head to our hotel on the Ocean. Gastronomic dinner at the hotel.
* Sunday January 3: Last night we had a big dinner, and this morning a great breakfast, so weather permitting we'll walk the three miles of the coastal path to a mythic restaurant that is very good.
We'll visit the Pointe Saint Mathieu after lunch before heading back.
Crêpes dinner in town.
* Monday January 4: lunch today is at the hotel, a bit lighter than for our first night.
Crêpes dinner in town.
We'll visit the Pointe Saint Mathieu after lunch before heading back.
Crêpes dinner in town.
* Monday January 4: lunch today is at the hotel, a bit lighter than for our first night.
Crêpes dinner in town.
* Tuesday January 5: we go back to the Pointe Saint Mathieu for a super lunch at the big sister restaurant of where we ate Sunday. If we walked Sunday, we'll then probably drive today, unless you all are willing to exercise again.
Crêpes dinner in town.
Crêpes dinner in town.
* Wednesday January 6: After breakfast, drive back to Brest Airport to turn the van back, then a cab to the train station. High speed train to Paris for an arrival just after 17:00.
Short taxi ride to hotel in Saint Germain des Près.
Dinner will be where "Le Tout Paris" goes, and we will walk there, across the river.
* Thursday January 7: I plan to have a leisurely breakfast, hopefully in the company of some of you.
Days in Paris are free, and then we meet in the lobby of the hotel to go to dinner. Dinner is typically at 19:30, and we will leave the hotel in time to get there, typically walking, unless it is too long a walk, and/or weather is not conducive to walking.
Dinner where few know.
* Friday January 8: same drill as yesterday and tomorrow.
Dinner where a few French Presidents and artists interested in food are known to have gone, and still go.
* Saturday January 9: same menu, so to speak!.
Dinner in the Parisian temple of Alsacian cuisine.
* Sunday January 10: This is it until the next tour with you folks, unless you are staying longer, I will be leaving Paris for some scouting in the South tomorrow. If you fly to RDU, today is a direct flight day, the next one will be Wednesday January 13.
As I said before, I am happy to arrange your stay in Paris for as long as you wish, except that starting the 13th there is a big show in town, and there might not be many rooms available at our hotel. Just let me know what you'd like to do, and given that it is still early at the time when this is typed, I probably can get you an extension beyond the 12th.
Please take a look at the options page to choose your room category.
La Tartine
ABOUT THIS VOYAGE:
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Jean-Christian Rostagni
COST OF THE TRIP:
$4,960 per person based on double occupancy, travel insurance and airfare are additional, if 6 participants in "Classique Room" in Brittany and "Double Classique" in Paris. $5,230 if 5 participants, $5,640 if 4 participants, $6,325 if 3 participants.
Please see options page to see all room choices, beyond the rooms listed here. Please note that 'Classique" rooms in Paris do not have A/C, but they do have fans and windows, and there should not be any problem of over heating in January! These rooms are also on the courtyard, and you will not have street noise if you chose to open the windows.
The single accommodation supplement is $815 with "Classique Room" in Brittany and "Single Classique" in Paris .
The prices includes hotels, meals, wine during meals, transportation, entrance fees when applicable, and should be considered all-inclusive, save for beverages in your room or at the bar, spa and other services you might want to enjoy that are not part of the group activities.
Travel Insurance: you will be quoted a rate based on your tour cost and other parameters if you'd like. If you chose to get some Travel Insurance from Travel Insured International, a highly rated Travel Insurance Company with which I partner, you will get a 10% of your cost as a credit toward your Contrast Tours costs if you choose a trip plan, 5% on an annual plan to which you may add trip cancellation/interruption as well. See here.
Please read our Viral Policy. and the way of the meals.
And here is how your deposit and payments are handled.
Photography: I will happily provide photographic assistance and share my photographer's perspective throughout the tour.
During this journey you will be able to compare wines and ciders from different origins, see what the differences are, and get to understand why there are such differences. Our meals will always be paired with wines and ciders that I import. Those wines and ciders are imported by Contrast Wines, a sister company to Contrast Tours, and are available in wine stores and restaurants in NC, and may be shipped to other States.
The exact itinerary is subject to modification due to scheduling and interest of the Tour considerations. Please note that this is an epicurean journey, and I cannot guarantee being able to accommodate all dietary needs. Should you have any, please let me know your dietary restrictions prior to booking. Contentious foods expected in this tour are and are not limited to: oysters, escargots, foie gras. This tour will be rich in the freshest seafood.
Please email me (use Contact Us button below) if you want to book or have any questions. You may also call me: 919-416-1111 or on my cell: 984-312-5315.
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