My stay at Hilton Ramesis Hotel in Cairo wasn’t really planned at all. I had to stay in the city one more night while waiting for my employer’s decision on what to do with my expired visa. It’s a long story which will bore you to death. When I arrived at the reception, I specifically told the guy that I want a room with a view of the Nile River – the higher the floor, the better. He assured me that I’d get the room I desired. He handed me the key to a room on the 18th floor.
As soon as I opened the door, I dropped my backpack and stepped out of the little private balcony. And instead of the Nile River I was expecting to see, I saw more of Cairo’s skyline that combines the old and the new. The Nile was on my further left and I can see just a little bit enough of it.
By Alain – Full Story at Keep Calm and Wander
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The Washington Blade hosts its tenth annual summer kickoff party in Rehoboth Beach, Del., this Friday from 5-7 p.m. at the Blue Moon, an event the staff looks forward to all winter. And although the weather is so far not delivering summer temperatures, the town is ready for the season’s crowds.
As always, there’s plenty to do at the beach when you’re not relaxing on the sand. Rehoboth’s restaurant scene continues to draw crowds and attention. Among the changes this year, Blackwall Hitch, which has outposts in Annapolis and Alexandria, is opening soon at 52 Rehoboth Ave. and promises live entertainment in a setting more refined than surrounding T-shirt shops and pizza joints.
The long-popular Nage (19730 Coastal Highway) has been reinvented as Fork + Flask at Nage and features a remodeled interior with much larger bar area. There’s a new menu, too, with more affordable options. Just a few doors down, is the new Jimmy’s Grille opening soon next to Outlet Liquors. Down the highway in Dewey, the iconic Starboard has spun off a new joint, Starboard Raw (2000 Coastal Highway) a 48-seat raw bar that is now open. Chesapeake and Maine (316 Rehoboth Ave.) is a new high-end seafood restaurant and bar from the team behind Dogfish Head. The slick new bar is already drawing crowds as construction begins on the revamped Dogfish Head next door.
Periodically we’ll feature one of our properties here to let our readers know about some great gay friendly places to stay:
Our company started business first in Ba Be National Park, Nam Mau, Bac Kan, Vietnam since 2008. We started in a small office on the lake shore and named it as ‘Ba Be Tourism Center’. We offered accommodation for traveler staying in our traditional stilts house. We offer a unique service of homestay accommodation – Mr Linh’s homestay. We provide excellent home cooking with English and French speaking knowledgeable local guide.
We quickly attracted a steady flow of travelers who were looking for the unspoiled, remote beauty of the mountains, lake, jungle and minority villages. Following these success, we quickly expanded its horizons with the Mr Linh’s Adventures, opening its office in Ha Noi, offering its own tours to other areas. All the itinerary are tailor made and we use our utmost experience about the region to take tourist further not only in the North, but also in the South of Vietnam.
Today Mr Linh’s Adventures serves up to 2500 travelers yearly, Our Sales and Operations offices in Ha Noi and Ba Be are run by a tight knit team, who, if not family, are loyal and long serving staff members, keen to share in Mr Linh’s vision. Sales staff act as consultants and advisors and the operations team work together to ensure that all aspects, travel, boats, hospitality and restaurant all run smoothly to ensure you have an enjoyable, stimulating and unique experience.
Once again, thank you for contacting to us. It would be our pleasure to be listed on your shortlist.
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.
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.
Image via Flickr by Gabriel Villena Fernandez
We 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
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.
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.
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.