Friday Favorites: On the Right Track with Jean Paul Pessoa
Fast and Furious—à la Française
When we say Jean Paul Pessoa of Luxury Side, our personal concierge in southern France, can arrange almost anything for anyone, we mean it—from the wildly fantastic to the even wilder and more fantastic. Read on . . .
POE TRAVEL: What’s something unique you’ve planned for clients?
JEAN PAUL PESSOA: Unique is your guideline as we provide only à la carte exceptional experiences. It would take too long to explain by details, and even like this, it’s already hard to choose for me. Several ones come straight up in mind.
The first has been the organization a “Fast and Furious” day. First, we privatized a car race track with professional instructors for a speed emotional day. We had 10 cars available for them: Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Porsches and Formula 2000 Renault race cars. Guests flew helicopter and landed directly on the race track. Everybody joined the lounge we specially had set up for them with special furniture, hostesses, and private catering, while the professional instructors started their brief for a wild day. At the end of the day, we flew them back to Monaco, where they had a private party with the Famous Gipsy Kings band on board, and dancers all the way around.
The second fun adventure was a “James Bond Life Style” day, arranged with helicopters and Off shore speed boats. We were simulating a race between two Cigarette Off shore boats and two helicopters trying to catch them. A third helicopter was making a movie on the top of them all. Helicopters were landing in Cannes Helipad to exchange passengers, so people from the boats could then fly and guests who had just been flying could be the bad boys in the boat. Once done, we had chartered a yacht for a party on board. During the party, a laser was writing on the pier wall “Tomorrow Never Dies.”
The third was also a strong emotional adventure day. We organized a trap, sending four fake military staff with two vehicles arrest a group of four people at the exit of their hotel. Two were accomplices and two were the victims. We drove them to a private local airport where a full team was there with two retired military aircrafts. Their wives were there waiting for them, and we flew each of them during 20 minutes each.
The fourth crazy adventure was a “Hangover” movie remake in Thailand during a couple hours while we were organizing a birthday event in Koh Samui. It was a quick trap where we pretended someone stole their phone and documents. Then we went to the a fake police station where someone was pretending to arrest them because we were driving without documents. The door of the room where the jail was supposed to be was finally a massage store to calm them down! We are now working on a project for a very bad trip during couple days for some friends of this family who want something bigger?
PT: What is one travel essential you never leave home without?
JPP: Everybody would think about an item of his suitcase, but for me the most essentials are your smartphone and your credit cards!
PT: When you go on vacation, where do you like to go?
JPP: I love three destinations for different reasons:
I love Florida, because I love USA. In this area, weather is very pleasant, and I like the atmosphere all over the state with very different ambiances. I love Miami for the fun and wild side, but I also love Delray for the atmosphere. Orlando is pleasant, so is Tampa and Clearwater area. Shall you have never been to northwest Florida, you must visit Seaside/Grayton Beach. This cute place seems to come straight from a dream. Everything is so peaceful.
My other destination is Thailand because this country is a dream for body and mind wellness. Thai people are so very kind, with such a developed attention of senses. They keep smiling, they are positive, and we all know the positive attitude is the base of balance. Getting a massage every day is part of the trip, of course. Thailand has all kind of accommodation offers, from wonderful villas to the best hotel brands. While visiting, Asian food is a must, but you can find any type of worldwide food with the hundreds of expats holding all types of establishment, from simple to modern. For people wanting activities, the country has pretty much everything you can find anywhere but ensuring the exotic flavor to bring back home the energy you came to collect.
And finally Portugal. This country is the closest to France and it’s been improving a lot. From Porto, to Lisbon, and farther on Algarve, there are wonderful architectures, restaurants, bars, beaches, landscapes. Portugal gives you a marvelous feeling of security. Food is great, and everybody is so helpful. Hotels have been improving to welcome everybody. I speak fluently Portuguese, and I have been travelling with quite a few clients there as well.
PT: What are the most popular places to visit (in France) at the moment?
In the northern area, Paris remains one of the main attraction for the monuments, the architecture, and the city atmosphere. In south of France, St Tropez is the place to live the dolce vita, under the sun, with great shopping, and all the beach clubs for a delicious day, shall it be calmer, trendy, or totally wild. More south, few people know Corsica, but it’s definitely one of the nicest worldwide Islands. It’s very preserved.