{"id":845,"date":"2011-05-06T15:55:04","date_gmt":"2011-05-06T22:55:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/traveltattler.com\/?p=845"},"modified":"2011-05-06T15:59:16","modified_gmt":"2011-05-06T22:59:16","slug":"a-short-flight-to-bermuda-s-shorts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/golf\/courses-and-travel\/845\/a-short-flight-to-bermuda-s-shorts","title":{"rendered":"A SHORT FLIGHT TO BERMUDA’S SHORTS"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"HAMILTON, BERMUDA \u2013 I had heard Bermuda was a favorite getaway for refined celebrities. I was convinced it was true when I recognized actress Brooke Shields next to me in the customs and immigration line at the airport. I showed her my business card. \u201cThe spelling of my last name \u2013 Shiels – is missing the \u2018D,\u2019 so I\u2019m sorry but we must not be related after all, Brooke.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThen I\u2019m not sure what the \u2018D\u2019 gets me,\u201d she joked, smiling and obviously in a very good mood. Celebrities are especially giddy about arriving in such an idyllic hideaway because the slender island does not cater to peering paparazzi.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWe don\u2019t bat an eye at celebrities here. Of course, we say \u2018hello\u2019 to everybody, but we leave them alone otherwise,\u201d said Jamal Simmons, a public relations director for the Fairmont Southampton Resort, which is situated scenically on the highest point above the island. \u201cIt is a major insult to pass someone on the street here and ignore them without offering at least a simple greeting.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 How very civilized! Bermuda is a remote British dependant territory – an intimate archipelago in the Atlantic 1,000 miles north of the Caribbean and 600 miles due east of North Carolina. Island life here is more refined \u2013 more \u201cHigh Tea\u201d than \u201cMargaritaville.\u201d And yes, evening formal attire for Bermudian men means a jacket and tie with traditional knee-length Bermuda shorts and knee socks. \u201cIt\u2019s like wearing a powdered wig in Washington D.C.,\u201d Simmons laughs. \u201cIt\u2019s a very old custom but we know the tourists love seeing the outfit.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Simmons knows protocol. When he served as Chief of Staff to Bermuda\u2019s former Premier Ewart Brown, he met the biggest celebrity ever to visit \u2013 Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, who arrived in 2009 to celebrate Bermuda\u2019s 400th anniversary. \u201cShe\u2019s down to earth, believe it or not. I think, like everyone, she relaxes more when she is in Bermuda.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHer husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, visits very often,\u201d says Stacey Evans, with the Bermuda Department of Tourism. \u201cIt\u2019s very exciting.\u201d
\nHollywood royalty such as Academy Award-winning actors Catherine Zeta-Jones and her husband Michael Douglas have resided in Bermuda, along with New York\u2019s City\u2019s billionaire mayor Michael Bloomberg, who travels less than two hours by air from the Big Apple. For the next two years, as they have for the past four years, professional golf\u2019s 2011 major championship winners (in the past the likes of Ernie Els, Graeme McDowell, Jim Furyk, Padraig Harrington, and Angel Cabrera) will come to Bermuda to compete in the PGA Grand Slam Tournament at the ocean side Port Royal Golf Course.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI really enjoyed it,\u201d said Els, of Port Royal GC. \u201cThe green surfaces are really good, world standard. The fairways are great, too. If you put (the ball) in play, you can make some birdies. It can be quite a fun course.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 It\u2019s not the stars people come home raving about, though. It\u2019s the pure pink sandy beaches and neon blue water so brilliant it is hypnotic.
\nFor more information, visit www.GoToBermuda.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

HAMILTON, BERMUDA \u2013 I had heard Bermuda was a favorite getaway for refined celebrities. I was convinced it was true… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":43,"featured_media":846,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-845","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-courses-and-travel"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/34\/2011\/05\/DSC00478.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/845","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/43"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=845"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/845\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":850,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/845\/revisions\/850"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/846"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=845"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=845"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=845"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}