Mt. Sinai's Steps of Repentance – Keep Calm and Wander

Mt. Sinai You can’t miss the Steps of Repentance when you climb Mt Sinai (aka Moses Mountain). It’s a steep climb that would really make you think to repent all your sins – unless if you’re an atheist who’ll probably think it’s just another tourist scam. 🙂 There are two authorized walking / climbing trails to Moses Mountain. On our way up there, we thread the Camel Trail early in the morning. And on our way down, we took the Steps of Repentance Trail that ended in St. Catherine’s Monastery, the world’s oldest monastery that is still occupied until today. Related: Read my experience of climbing / hiking Mt. Sinai here to see the breathtaking sunrise, an adventure that would stay with me for a long time.

By Alain – Full Story at Keep Calm and Wander

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Plymouth, England Finds Its Mojo

Plymouth The dreamily scenic train journey from Exeter St Davids to Plymouth is ingrained in my memory. It’s the kind of train journey that makes you to say ‘I love taking the train!’ for years after, even when you don’t really. When I was a university student in Exeter, I used to travel to nearby Plymouth for nights out – but it was always more about the journey rather than the destination. The route traverses Devon’s rolling hills and the edge of its jagged coastline; a trip somehow even more beautiful in the rain. I recently returned to Plymouth for a weekend, for the first time in years. For once, it was more about the destination than the journey. I was interested to see to what extent the city – with a population of almost 260,000, the biggest in Devon – met with prior impressions.

By Jamie Tabberer – Full Story at Gay Star News

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Relive Hollywood in Paris

Moulin Rouge Image via Flickr by Gabriel Villena Fernandez
[/caption] “Paris is always a good idea,” said Audrey Hepburn, a Hollywood legend who acted in romantic movies that featured famous landmarks in Paris. With so many great motion pictures made in this European city, it’s no wonder it earns these three nicknames: The City of Love, The City of Romance, and The City of Lights. Let’s traverse the romantic lanes in Paris and get a glimpse of the landmarks that grace it. Moulin Rouge Gone are the days of French courtesans in the city of Paris, but Moulin Rouge on Boulevard de Clichy is still alive with the “can-can” dance which the nation invented. Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor made this area more popular in the film with the same name. Watch a show or two and relive the past through glamorous cabaret performances.

By Alain – Full Story at Keep Calm and Wander

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Paestum – Dolly Travels

PaestumWe left Bella Roma behind for a few days to visit Sorrento, the Amalfi Coast and the ancient ruins of Paestum. We hired Raffaele Monetti to take us on a day trip along the Amalfi Coast, down to Paestum. This area had been a city founded by the Greeks in the sixth century B.C. When the Romans invaded and captured the city in the third century B.C., they destroyed most of the buildings, but due to religious superstitions, the Romans were fearful of destroying the temples; therefore, the shells of 3 large Greek temples are still standing. As I walked along an ancient road, I imagined myself dressed in the fashion of a Greek woman, carrying a basket of fruit and bread to my home in this city. I wondered how many feet had walked on this road, what did women of two thousand years ago think about as they walked on these stones? I am always amazed at the knowledge of archeologists who uncover ancient ruins and know what they are seeing. How can they tell one pile of rocks from another? I am also impressed with the workmanship of the architects, engineers and builders of these temples, that they were able to draw up the plans and construct these huge edifices with only the tools available to them two thousand years ago. We saw the ruins of an ancient tomb, one that is a mystery even to the experts, as to the purpose of this tomb. When the archeologists opened the tomb, there was no body in it. Also, another mystery is the placement of the tomb, as usually graves and tombs were placed outside the city walls. We finally had to leave the ruins behind; my active imagination needed a rest, and it was getting late. Raffaele drove these two tired tourists back to Sorrento. It had been a full day of interesting sights and history lessons. We knew that food, drink and a good night’s rest awaited us in Sorrento. Ciao for now, Dolly

By Dolly Goolsby – Full Story at Dolly Travels

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Tru Bahamian Food Tours: Gay Friendly Bahamas Food Tours

Tru Bahamian Food Tours Periodically we’ll feature one of our properties here to let our readers know about some great gay friendly places to stay: Tru Bahamian Food Tours offers unique and innovative local culinary experiences to visitors of The Bahamas in a safe, sustainable, and environmentally responsible manner. Our mission is to connect visitors with authentic local food items, the stories and traditions behind these foods, and the Bahamian entrepreneurs that prepare and preserve them. Travel off the beaten touristic path to explore the intoxicating flavors of Nassau, Bahamas on a guided food tasting and cultural walking tour through this charming island city. Sample 6 delicious specialties (enough for a hearty lunch) as you follow your knowledgeable and friendly local guide from one eatery to the next. Discover colonial Nassau, traveling away from busy Bay Street in search of authentic Bahamian flavors. Youa[euro](TM)ll eat your way through locally adored Nassau establishments, family-owned restaurants, and speciality boutiques as you stroll through Downtown’s storied neighborhood with your culinary guide.

See the In addition to our regular travel articles, we’re starting a regular travel round-up, for those stories that don’t warrant a full posting on the blog, or that we didn’t have time to add. Enjoy!

See the Tru Bahamian Food Tours Expanded Listing on Purple Roofs Here

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San Diego's East Village: Fringe No More

San Diego East Village Fashions come and go, as do housing trends. Once folks left their urban environments and flowed into suburban green zones. Today the traffic is in the opposite direction, from the suburbs back to metropolitan centers rife with places to go and things to do. A recent Nielsen report on trends reflecting millennials found just that. This group is fond of mixed use communities where housing is intermingled with stores, restaurants and service businesses. Activity is no longer shunned, and proximity is prized over serenity. This trend offers an opportunity for communities down on their luck, or replete with a mixture of industrial and commercial properties, to be redeveloped into thriving live-work communities. This fate has befallen East Village, actually the largest urban neighborhood in downtown San Diego, located east of the Gaslamp quarter.

By Del Phillips – Full Story at LGBT Weekly

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Hershey Park Announces Trans-Friendly Policy

Hershey Park From Hershey Park press release: Every year, the employees of Hershey Entertainment & Resorts (HE&R) welcome over 6 million guests from down the street and around the world. We recognize that the more perspectives we have within our company, the more welcoming we are to all those who visit and seek employment here. In fact, our company has four core values, one of which is “respectful of others,” which we define as treating all people with dignity, while respecting their differences and ideas. For decades, Hersheypark has been dedicated to the safety and security of our guest and employees. It is foundational to our brand. Additionally, the Park has and will always strive to accommodate all guests and employees – including members of the LGBT community – to ensure those visiting or working at Hersheypark are comfortable and feel secure. To that end, the Park will continue its practice of treating all guests and employees the same no matter race, ethnicity, sexual identity, etc. Guests and employees may continue to use the restrooms with which they gender-identify, or are welcome to use the many family restrooms available across the destination.

Full Story at Joe.My.God

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Wonderfully Weird Austin – Globetrotter Girls

Austin - Dani Oh, Austin… I don’t even know where to start.. This city has swept me off my feet the minute I got here! Over the years, I’ve been told by several people that I should go and check out Austin because I’d like it and it was ,my kind of city’ (and that’s what piqued my curiosity and made me eventually come here!). And yes, they were absolutely right! So what’s ‘Dani’s kind of city’, you’re asking? A green city. A city filled with food trucks. A city filled with craft beer bars, some of which have over 100 (!!) beers on tap. A city with more live music venues I could possibly visit in a month. A dog friendly city where dogs have their own little beaches along the river. A city where apartment complexes don’t only come with communal swimming pools and BBQ areas, but also with kayak parking lots and their own docks on the river. A city where there are more kayaks and SUPs on the river than cars on the road (who am I kidding, the traffic in Austin is definitely something that we need to work on.. but still: on weekends, there are so many kayaks and SUPs on the river that it seems like half of Austin is out on the Colorado River).

By Dani – Full Story at Globetrotter Girls

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Bella Roma – Dolly Travels

Monument of Vittorio Emanuele II, Rome Early Tuesday morning, under leaden gray skies that seemed to hover over the nearby fields and the tarmac of Roma Fiumincino airport, our plane landed. The pilots had done a fine job, getting us to Rome 45 minutes ahead of schedule. After gathering our luggage, we took a a cab to our hotel. We were too early to check in, so we put our luggage in the hotel storeroom and set off to see the city. We walked to Piazza Venezia, found a table at an outdoor cafe and sat down to enjoy the never-ending show of traffic, pedestrians dodging the vehicles, a policeman blowing his whistle that no one heeded. We had a good view of the Vittorio Emmanuel Monument as well. Many Italians say that the monument is too ornate for this area, right by the Roman Forum and the Capitoline Hill. I like it, though. One can go inside, pay to go to the roof (Roma dal Cielo, Translated as Rome from the Sky). This is one of the best places to get a view of the entire city of Rome. There are plaques around the walls of this rooftop, to tell one what you are seeing, and remind you that you are right in the center of Ancient Rome. All those piles of rocks inside the fenced-off areas below are the remains of the buildings of the greatest empire of all time. When we tired of people watching, we walked back to our hotel. We stopped for lunch along the way, had a pizza and a salad, and a large bottle of water. When we arrived at our hotel and got checked in, it was almost 4:00 p.m. We had been up for about 30 hours by then; therefore, my rule to not take a nap on the first day went right out the window. We showered, got into our jammies and never left the hotel again that day. The next day, we were up early, had breakfast and kept our touring to the neighborhood. I needed to buy train tickets for the rest of our trip, so we spent a couple hours in the train station. Then we went to the National Museum, walked around neighborhoods that were familiar, and found some new places. In the evening, in one of the newly discovered (by us), we walked down to the Monti district. This area had some trendy boutiques and many restaurants. Eventually, we decided to have dinner at a restaurant in the Piazza dei Monti. We enjoyed pasta alla Vongole, a delicious salad of beet, strawberries, ricotta cheese on a bed of watercress, plus a glass of red house wine. DollyI was delighted that the house red wine was Rosso di Montepulciano. So many good memories of the month I stayed in that town, attending Italian language school. However, when I saw the bartender pour my glass of wine from a huge 2-liter jug, I was a bit concerned. No worries, though. The wine was delicious and inexpensive. We had enjoyed a good meal and a memorable evening and almost stayed within our budget. After dinner, we walked the 2 miles, more or less, back to our hotel, stopping once for a gelato. We did not attempt to see any of the major Roman attractions in these 2 days. We simply rested, got ourselves acclimated to the time change. Next, we will go onto Sorrento for three days, then return to Rome for a longer stay. Life is good in Bella Roma. Ciao for now, Dolly

By Dolly Goolsby – Full Story at Dolly Travels

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Casa Cupula: Gay Puerto Vallarta Hotel

Casa Cupula Periodically we’ll feature one of our properties here to let our readers know about some great gay friendly places to stay: Casa Cupula is a 22 room luxury boutique hotel located in the exclusive Amapas neighborhood of Puerto Vallarta, close to the gay beach, bars, restaurants in the “Zona Romantica”. Since opening in 2002, we have become renowned for excellent personalized service, uniquely designed beautiful rooms, and ample facilities to spread out and relax among beautiful tropical foliage. Enjoy gourmet Mexican cuisine at Taste Restaurant at Casa Cupula, one of Vallarta’s finest destination restaurants. Whether it’s room service, a private dinner under the stars, or a hosted private party or event, you’ll appreciate the quality. Stay in shape with a workout at Pump Gym & Spa, or relax with a massage in our spa treatment room or in our steam room. Casa Cupula is gay owned and operated and we are delighted to welcome members of the LGBT community and friends to this special place, where you can be yourself and rejuvenate while taking in all the wonder of Puerto Vallarta’s extensive attractions. Puerto Vallarta is well beyond “gay friendly”, having been known worldwide as a famous LGBT destination since the 1960s. You can stay at any mainstream hotel or a condo, but Casa Cupula uniquely offers a sense of community and enrichment that is often missing from day to day life. Many guests have met friends at Casa Cupula who have become friends for life, returning year after year. Our staff is the best part, treating each and every guest as a friend to help you get the most out of your vacation. Our concierges know gay PV because they ARE gay PV. We’re pet friendly and technology savvy, with everything you need to stay connected and entertained from wifi to Apple TV, USB ports and Bluetooth iHome radios. At Casa Cupula, we treasure uniqueness and diversity. We embrace each individual guest as a friend, no matter who you are or where you come from. Casa Cupula offers sophisticated amenities to make your stay relaxing and indulgent. These include:

  • Casa Cupula’s Dream Bed with: – Thick Pillow Top Mattresses and fluffy mattress covers – 400+ Thread Count Cotton Sateen Sheets – Reading Lamps – Extra Pillows (both feather and synthetic) – Blankets
  • Air Conditioning and Ceiling Fans
  • In-room Mini fridges
  • Oversized Fluffy Towels
  • Luxury bath amenities by DAMANA*
  • Bathrobes and slippers**
  • Hair Dryer
  • Coffee Makers
  • Large room safes for laptop/camera
  • USB plugs
  • Free, high speed WiFi Internet
  • LED TVs
  • Cable TV
  • iHome Radio with Bluetooth
Vista Rooms also offer:
  • Apple TV with free Netflix
  • Home Theater with BlueRay DVD
Suites also offer:
  • Dolce Gusto Capsule Coffee Machines
  • We pamper our Suite guests with added benefits during regular, peak and holiday rate periods*
  • Voucher for a la carte breakfast each day (excludes beverages)
  • Free upgrade from regular to VIP transportation (one round trip up to 2 persons)
*Not included during “saver” and “super saver” rate periods or with discounted rates or Travel Deal rates.

See the Casa Cupula Expanded Listing on Purple Roofs Here

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