After spending three glorious weeks in South California, I did indeed go on the surprise trip that I briefly mentioned in last month’s round-up: an 8-day hiking trip to Italy! Sadly, I didn’t have time to extend my time in Europe because I had already booked a flight to Seattle, where I just arrived and will be spending all of October.
I had ambitious plans for my time in Southern California – from trips along to the Pacific Coast Highway to canyon hikes, L.A. neighborhood explorations, museums, side trips to San Diego and Joshua Tree… but as so often, I barely crossed half of these things off of my to-do-list. Especially once the Italy trip got confirmed, during which I knew I wouldn’t be able to work whatsoever, I tried to get as much work done as possible so that I could head to Europe without feeling I’d be drowning in work upon my return to the U.S. I had to scrap my trips to San Diego and Joshua Tree, two things I’d been very much looking forward to (especially Joshua Tree where I haven’t been yet), but I have a feeling this won’t be my last time in Southern California, so I’m not too upset about that.
The trip to Italy didn’t get 100% confirmed until the week before I boarded my plane to Rome, but turned out to be a dream trip. I was able to walk parts of the historic Via Amerina which leads from Assisi to Rome and is one of five major pilgrims’ routes in Italy. The path ends – of course – at St Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City where we arrived on Wednesday in time for the Pope’s weekly audience. I will talk about the trip throughout this round-up but can’t wait to share more about my hike with you in detailed articles next month.
By Dani – Full Story at Globetrotter Girls
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It’s official: the travel Instagrammer’s selfie is the new postcard. Kind of.
Each week, we’re delving into the photo-sharing website for intimate glimpses into the lives and loves of LGBTIs on the road. This week we’re looking at transgender travelers around the globe.
When “Lawrence of Arabia” was filmed at the nearby Ait Benhaddou, all other kasbahs in Ouarzazate became known, too. Taourirt kasbah is just one of the many in the area. It was once an important kasbah in the country’s trading history with rest of Africa. What I like most here is that only a portion was carefully restored and the rest are genuine parts of the old days.
Outside, the kasbah glows pink at midday and gold in the afternoon. It’s along the highway and right across the Atlas Film Studio Museum.
Every year over 2 million tourists choose to spend their holidays in the Heaven Island of Langkawi… so how could I miss out?
Langkawi is a big island in the Archipelago of Malaysia (Pulau in the local language means Island) on the Andaman Sea: the archipelago counts 104 islands, of which only 2 are inhabited, one of them being Langkawi! The island received the Global Geopark status by UNESCO in 2007 for its diverse and astounding geological heritage.
In all honesty I didn’t know Langkawi was a Heaven Island, so popular! It looks like in the recent few years an increasing number of Indians and Southeast Asians are choosing its heavenly beaches for celebrating marriages, Bollywood style, and in general to spend their holidays.
I can confirm that without any doubt! I realized it just as soon as I arrived to the pier of Penang, where I had to wait the ferry to reach the Heaven Island of Langkawi: I was surrounded by ordes of youngsters heading to Langkawi to celebrate New Year’s Eve in this beautiful spot.
Seattle… I don’t even know where to start with you.
I wish I would’ve written this on Wednesday morning after my beautiful run through Seward Park with gorgeous views of Lake Washington in almost all directions (since the park sits on a peninsula). Wednesday morning was so nice that I thought to myself: ‘I’ll have to take half a day off and take advantage of this beautiful fall weather!’.
Well, while I was still researching things I could do outdoors that afternoon, the weather suddenly turned and it started pouring. And it hasn’t stopped since. I’ve seen more rain since I got here that I’ve seen in the entire previous nine months of 2016 combined! Those of you who’ve been following me for a while know that I am a summer girl, a sun chaser.
Periodically we’ll feature one of our properties here to let our readers know about some great gay friendly places to stay:
Argentina is a fiery beacon of fabulousness in Latin America, which really embraces LGBT travellers. Perhaps our biggest test of how gay friendly a destination is: the response when we initially make contact with a few of the hotels and ask them if they’re ok hosting a gay couple, who want to sleep in a double bed.
Awkward silence? Straight out “no thanks we don’t do any of that here!” (yup – happened once in Crete, Greece). Or instead, a positive, welcoming response, baffled at the need to even ask this question in the first place?
Fortunately in Buenos Aires, we only ever got the latter response. Here’s our 5 favourite and unique gay friendly hotels to stay in Buenos Aires following our 2 months visit in this pink friendly city.
Marrakech medina is an assault to the senses. The souk is a visual feast of colours – from clothes to shoes to spices and jewelries. Yes, it’s a shopping paradise for those who love colours, moorish designs and fashion. The best thing about this souk is that the vendors are respectful.
They don’t harass you to buy something from them. They’d call your attention once or twice to what they’re selling but a polite “thanks” is enough for them to know that you’re just window shopping. The vendors here are the exact opposite of the ones in the medina in Fez who are worst I ever had in Morocco.
Looking for something special for you restaurant choice in London? Here’s a selection of our favourite restaurants:
Gaucho – Smithfield
The Gaucho chain of restaurants is a concept that I have never felt a lot of love for. Always too dark and over-priced. But it was a cold Wednesday night and (after a fairly serious work-out at the gym) I had a hankering for a decent steak, so I wandered over to the Gaucho adjacent to Smithfield Market . I ordered a 300g rib eye steak with béarnaise sauce, spinach and a glass of Malbec. All very good. They seem to have improved the lighting, the music was great and the service was professional (if a little lacking in charm). Still over-priced.
Hix Oyster & Chop House – Smithfield
It was a wintry night in Clerkenwell and I felt like some substantial food. I’d eaten at Hix in Cowcross Street only once before, soon after it had opened a few years ago. It wasn’t the most successful meal, but I was feeling generous and decided it was time to give Hix another try. I heaved past the solid door and stood expectantly by the long bar. It took a while for anyone to acknowledge me, eventually it was a fairly surly greeting. “Table for one” I said — the waiter looked at me as if I was crazy. “Pardon?” he said. “Table for one” I repeated — a bit more firmly. I was not in the mood for surly waiters. The restaurant was quiet but he waved me towards the seats at the bar which I was I was fine with. After a little while the surly waiter brought me some menus — they looked tired and tatty, the food menu was laminated. It felt cheap but the prices indicated that it wasn’t going to be. I was looking for comfort food so I ordered the fish fingers, chips and mushy peas with a glass of Bordeaux to wash it down. I asked for a glass of water — it never arrived. The restaurant did get busy — full of suits. The food was okay. Don’t think I’ll give Hix a third chance.
I was beyond excited to return to Rome at the end of my Italy trip last week – a city I hadn’t been to in many years but that I had truly loved during my previous visits. Since I didn’t have much time, I decided to spend most of my time in Trastevere, my favorite neighborhood in Rome. Located on the west bank of the river (Trastevere translates to across the Tiber (river) ), it has become a favorite with many Rome fans over the years, yet it doesn’t see as many visitors as the part of town on the east bank.
Why is that? Because all of Rome’s famous sights, like the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, the Spanish Steps, the Pantheon… are located on the east bank of the Tiber, and most people don’t make it on the other side of the river during their visit to Rome – except for the obligatory stop in Vatican City, which is also on the west bank.
What I love about Trastevere is that is the neighborhood in Rome where not only can you find typical Italian architecture, charming piazzas (squares), cobble stone streets (many of which are pedestrianized), many outdoor cafes and restaurants, but also plenty of street art, which gives the neighborhood a bit of an edge.
Everyone knows about the Hamptons on Long Island which is on the South Fork of Long Island. The North Fork has now become a great place to live and visit. The North Fork goes from the town of Riverhead on the west side to Orient on the east. From Orient, you can take your auto on the Ferry north to New London, Connecticut.
