The President of Slovakia lives here – at the Grassalkovich Palace in Bratislava. I was surprised that the surroundings were not heavily-guarded with Presidential guardians. It was early June when I was there – and boy, it was quiet!
As you can see in the photos below, I was the only tourist roaming around. It’s so different from Presidential residences I’ve been to – like the White House in the USA, 24 Sussex Drive in Ottawa, Canada, or at 10 Downing Street in London.
We have visited St Augustine quite a few times and each time we’ve stayed someplace different. There are many hotels in Saint Augustine for gay families as well as other options, such as camping, and we’re covering them all! After you read this article you should be able to make a solid choice in choosing a hotel in St Augustine and the surrounding area.
We work with Best Western Hotels & Resorts and have lots of experience with the brand, so we do recommend them for sure, and they sponsored our most recent trip to Saint Augustine. We encourage you to check them out for booking a hotel in the St Augustine area, particularly because they have so many options! We’ve got additional recommendations for St Augustine and all the way up to Jax Beach for hotels and other accommodations, so let us know if you have any questions.
St. Augustine for Gay Families
A city like St Augustine is great for any type of traveler because there is such a diversity of accommodations. Whether you want to find a budget hotel or want to book a beautiful, historic suite, there are lots of options!
Pnyx Hill in Athens is not your ordinary hill. It may just be another hill in the city but this was once where citizens congregate to talk about and vote on issues that mattered to them.
Yes, democracy was born here! When power was transferred to the people, they held assemblies here to discuss reforms.
The hill is overlooking the ancient Agora, once a thriving center for business and commerce of ancient Athens. The Parthenon or the Acropolis is very visible at a far distance. It’s only less than a mile.
Business travel often takes us to new cities and states outside our regular travel zone. Too often it’s a swoop in, attend the conference and hop back on that plane to wing your way back home. How sinful that we don’t take an extra day before or after to at least see the local sights and taste the local flavors – or make a long weekend of it. Clearly the host community is well set to share their local restaurants, craft brews, it’s harbor front or mountainscape – they want you to explore! stroll the Boston HarborWalk Trail. I know the local economies appreciate our dollars being spent there.
Recently, we had the great opportunity to add a few days to our conference travel and spend it exploring Boston and Salem, Massachusetts. This was a conference on a scale we’ve never attended before with 26,000+ attendees arriving in Boston for 3 days at the Inbound Marketing conference. Think on that – 26,000+ attendees from around North America and the world; a powerful community learning experience Boston is well suited to host.
Take Time Out to See Lesbian Boston
We arrived in Boston the day of the conference. Grabbing a cab from the airport to our hotel – The Boston Westin Waterfront – gave us a teasing glimpse of the waterfront area, it’s walking trails and vibrant city buzz. We were hooked and knew we wanted to get out and explore more.
Romania, the homeland for the goths at heart.
After all, the central region of Transylvania is the inspiration for the legendary novel “Dracula”. Hands up, who didn’t have a vampire phase? What gay teenager didn’t pine after Robert Pattinson in “Twilight”? But despite its cryptic and haunting backdrop, Romania as a whole is delightfully pleasant.
With cities that reflect the medieval villages we see in the history books, locals that are passionate about life, streets that are bursting with character and natural scenery, Romania took our breath away and completely surprised us! Not to mention all the many charming old churches, the range of delicious food and the friendly locals. For us, Romania embodies all that is magical about Eastern Europe.
From the outset, we knew Romania wasn’t the most gay-friendly country that we’ve been to. Yet despite this, we found several queer hangouts in the main big cities, especially in Bucharest. Plus, when we did find these spaces, we found them to be just as erratic, wild and party-centric as they would be in London, Barcelona or New York. If not more so!
We’ve put together this LGBTQ country guide for Romania based on our personal experience to help inspire gay travellers wanting to see just what Romania has to offer.
Romania generally is not the most gay friendly country in Europe. Homophobia is rife and we certainly felt it as a gay couple travelling around the country. The most obvious example was when we contacted several hotels prior to visiting, asking them whether they’re ok to host a gay couple.
El Mirasol Villas is the original Palm Springs resort catering to gay men since 1975. Built by Howard Hughes in 1947, the hotel’s charm and privacy have preserved while offering the style and comfort sought by today’s gay traveler.
Walled and gated, this private resort is in the Warm Sands area, only blocks away from downtown Palm Springs, gay nightlife, hiking, shopping, casino gambling and gourmet dining.
Meandering garden paths lead to bungalows, one or two bedroom suites and studios, two gorgeous clothing optional pools and a 10 man Jacuzzi/Spa with an outdoor shower.
The hotel even features a eucalyptus steam room.All rooms have California king beds, private baths, Flat Screen wireless TV and DVD players, some with kitchens and private patios.
See the El Mirasol Villas Expanded Listing on Purple Roofs Here
Gay Palm Springs Bed and Breakfasts, Hotels, and Vacation Rentals
For me, the essence of Scotland is in it’s beautiful landscapes and it’s castle-icious history. From the Orkney Islands in the north through the Highlands to Hadrian’s wall in the south, historic castles sit lochside and hillside in some truly spectacular locations.
Historic clans like the MacDonalds, the Stewarts, the MacKenzie’s or the Robertson’s, just to name a few, cover the countryside with their clan lands. The clan chieftains castle is Clan Regions of Scotland (click any to enlarge)always the grandest estate on these family lands perched majestically on a beautiful loch or amongst amazing mountainous views.
Most stone castles have their roots in the 1300-1600’s as fortified clan strongholds. As technologies and workmanship improve, renovations, refurbishments or expansions happening til the mid-1700’s. At this point in history clans and castles sympathetic to the Jacobites were seized and destroyed by the opposing British so it couldn’t be used as a stronghold against them into the future. Many still sit in ruins today – some have been purchased and painstakingly restored. Some have even been slept in by Bonnie Prince Charlie or Mary Queen of Scots!
For those that were not destroyed, the 1800’s brought a change in castle perspective and architecture. As the Industrial era was changing the global landscape, these centuries-old stone castles (draughty, small winding staircases, not warm and inviting – more strongholds) were now considered ‘brutish” and more elaborate Georgian, English-style “modern” castle homes were built.
Here’s my own walking tour of gay Vienna – using the map I picked up at the tourism office at the train station. If you are arriving by train, don’t forget to drop by the tourism office and ask what you could do for a day or three in the city. The nice lady recommended and handed me a map of a two-hour walking tour. She patiently answered my questions and even gave a few coupons I could use. But, of course, I didn’t depend on the map alone. I had help from Google maps, too. 😉
I recommend that before you embark on your own walking tour, make sure to find these places in order. It will save you time, especially if you are not good at reading maps – like me. 😀
There is no better place to start my walking tour but here on a Saturday morning. This is not just a historical Rennaissance building, but this is the center of Austrian arts. Waltz originated in Vienna and world-renowned composers, like Mozart and Beethoven, found their homes here.
Chicago is a great city to visit any time of year. Fabulous architecture, incredible museums and affordably priced hotels (with no hidden resort fees) plus a great gayborhood (aka Boystown) means there’s lots to do.
GETTING THERE — I took my favorite airline, Southwest, which serves close in Midway Airport. From there you can hop on the Orange Line to your hotel. It’s a quicker ride than from O’Hare although American and United both have hubs there. To get around the city, you can ride the CTA. Get a Ventra card for ease of riding on both it and the “L” (aka the Elevated which is their Metro). They have a great elevated subway system as well as a good bus system. Rental car and Uber not needed.
WHERE TO STAY — I always stay in the Lakeview East neighborhood. Bargain hunters will love The Inn at Lincoln Park (innlp.com or reservations at innlip.com) which has super low weekday rates and reasonable weekend rates. My other favorite is the Hotel Versey which is a music-themed hotel that is also reasonable and is a short walk to Boystown, the gay Village where everyone is welcome.
If there’s one thing that’s iconic of a coastal vacation or anything maritime, it’s lighthouses. They’re tall, striking, weird buildings that really bring the feel of the ocean directly onshore. In the Pacific Northwest we have them every 100 meters (total exaggeration) because it is so stormy and foggy all of the time, and a lot of our lighthouses are pretty short. The St Augustine Lighthouse is huge and really beautiful.
Whoever painted the St Augustine Lighthouse was bored so really spiced it up. And it’s a fun place for all kinds of visitors of any age making it perfect for family travel. So here’s why you should drive ten minutes out of your way to climb the St Augustine Lighthouse. We swear, it’s not just a pretty lamp.
Just a ten minute drive across the Bridge of Lions out of downtown lies the lighthouse, one of the best things to do in St Augustine. It’s visible from almost everywhere and it’s really beautiful. As far as other activities close by, you’ll probably be visiting the St Augustine Alligator Farm or Fort Matanzas, so you’ll already be close to the lighthouse. The Alligator Farm is just across the boulevard so is super close.