Daily Telegraph, 30 April 2007
Why not throw your own billionaire bash?
 How will you celebrate your next birthday? We can't all be Sir Philip Green, who for his 55th birthday last month flew 100 of his friends to their own private island (and previously spent £4 million on his son's bar mitzvah).
But even if you can't afford to have your friends serenaded by George Michael or Roberta Flack, taking a group of them for a special weekend away can be a wonderful way to celebrate a milestone occasion - especially if you follow one of the itineraries below...
Venice
It's hard to go wrong if you choose Venice for a celebration with friends; it's equally magical for first-time visitors as for those who know it intimately. A popular option is for the host to ask his guests to fund their own flights and accommodation, allowing people to tailor their choices to their own budgets. Some may prefer to club together and take an apartment, others to stay in a hotel, leaving the host to bring everyone together (the city is sufficiently compact) for some memorable entertainment.
That might simply be dinner in a restaurant (followed, perhaps, by lunch the next day: Locanda Cipriani on the lagoon island of Torcello makes a perfect venue), though with the help of a specialist operator you could arrange something more creative. Options for a celebration dinner, for example, include hiring a palazzo on the Grand Canal, the table strewn with roses and lit by candles, with musicians on hand from the famous Caffè Florian. Or consider sailing into the lagoon aboard the last bragozzo (a traditional Venetian vessel) in existence, then mooring in time for a gourmet dinner on deck. In the early evening you might have a private performance of arias at La Fenice opera house, or a private visit to St Mark's Basilica: enter in the dark, and it is slowly lit before your eyes. During the day, there are opportunities to visit workshops not open to the public, such as Bevilacqua, for velvets and brocades, and Archimede Seguso, traditional glassmakers since the 16th century...
For prices and further information contact Bellini Travel (020 7602 7602) www.bellinitravel.com).
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