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Our next stop? The
sumptuous One and Only Ocean Club – where Bond gives parking lessons
and also meets Dimitrios and his beautiful wife, Solange. After
winning her husband’s Aston Martin DB5, Bond offers Solange a lift
then takes her a back to his villa. We were given exclusive access
to all the filming areas along with a fully guided tour of the
resort and, of course, the James Bond villa. Developed by
millionaire – Huntingdon Hartford – in the 1960s for similarly
affluent people, it retains its air of exclusivity. The spectacular
Versailles Gardens, Spa rooms and luxurious suites were all geared
to the well-heeled and the well-known; after all, Cindy Crawford
chose to get married there and James Bond had his winning streak
there also. So, starting at a paltry $8,000 per night for the villa
– up your credit card limit and book yourself in for some serious
pampering! Fabulous stuff!
Our final
destination was the British Colonial Hilton, used in Never Say
Never Again. Situated on downtown Nassau’s only private beach
and the site of Old Fort Nassau, we were again given an excellent
guided tour by a member of the management.
Back aboard the
Carnival Valor we were wined, dined and entertained by a first class
crew. We visited two more islands in the Caribbean, St Thomas and St
Maarten and, on the latter, found one 'Casino Royale'. We celebrated
4th July the only way it should be – with Americans. Tom Stroud gave
lessons in Texas Hold’em Poker, wine tasting with Sir Donald Munger,
Goldfinger golf using anything but a club, and Vesper
Martinis. There were over 50, yes 50, languages to deal with and the
cruise management had at least one cunning linguist capable of
paying lip service to each.
This brings me to
another language – the language of friendship. Two years before
filming took place there for Casino Royale our friend Alan
visited the spectacular Villa del Balbianello, on the Western Shore
of Lake Como, for his son’s wedding. The Villa became the sanatorium
where Bond recuperates from his ordeal at the hands of Le Chiffre –
sadly, our friend never recovered and died soon after the release of
Casino Royale. He did, however, leave us with something very
precious – an appreciation of friendship and of those who give it
freely and without any agenda. To Rich and Leslie for organising
such a special event, the comedians who entertained us during the
private functions and all those who helped make the experience so
very special – thank you.
For further
information:
www.oceanclub.com
www.themepartypeople.com |
