Tea Garden Lodge – South Lake Tahoe

Tea Garden Lodge Periodically we’ll feature one of our properties here to let our readers know about some great gay friendly places to stay: Tea Garden Lodge has over 25 comfortable rooms, private beach access, centrally located a block away from the casinos and Heavenly Gondola, walking distance to shops and restaurants and friendly staff!

See the Tea Garden Lodge Expanded Listing on Purple Roofs Here

Gay Friendly Bed and Breakfasts, Hotels, and Vacation Rentals in South Lake Tahoe

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Eating Out: Oakland, California

Oakland While it would surely raise eyebrows to deem dinner at Oakland’s Commis a bargain, it’s more than fair to call Chef James Shyabout’s elegant tasting menus a Michelin Stargain. Twinkling with two of the French tiremaker’s honorifics as of 2016, Oakland’s serene, cerebral seven-year-old culinary jewel box offers prix fixe adventures of eight ingenious small courses (plus a few more bonus bites sprinkled throughout the meal) for $125. While that’s six times what you’ll spend for a satisfying steak dinner elsewhere in Oakland (more on that later), it’s a remarkable price compared to a constellation of other Michelin-winning prix fixes in the Bay Area: $398 at San Francisco’s Saison, $330 at Napa Valley’s Meadowood, $310 at the French Laundry in Yountville, and $235 at Manresa in Silicon Valley. (Prior to going out on his own, Shyabout cooked at the latter, as well as Spain’s legendary elBulli and England’s Fat Duck.) Along with housing rates, the cost of opening and sustaining a business in the San Francisco environs have skyrocketed in recent years, to such an extent that, along with young, adventurous eaters, ambitious, eclectic chefs like Shyabout have rooted themselves in more affordable Oakland.

By Jim Gladstone – Full Story at Passport

San Francisco East Bay Gay Travel Resources

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Gay L.A.

Gay L.A. Many Chicagoans choose to move to Los Angeles in California and it is easy to see why. There is plenty of sunshine and a moderate climate to enjoy in gay L.A. The grid layout of the city makes it easy to navigate but traffic needs to always be taken into consideration. Public transportation is continually in the works and ride sharing with Uber has turned into a popular option. People tend to be LGBT-friendly, thanks to a long history of political figures and activists. One National Gay & Lesbian Archives houses more than 2 million items in its archives celebrating that history. Early editions of Outlines, published by Windy City Times’ Tracy Baim, were found along with a multitude of others. The country’s first gay church, the Metropolitan Community Church, and first gay synagogue, Beth Chayim Chadashim, both began in gay L.A. Out & About Tours provides a walking tour to see many LGBT historical landmarks and learn about the pioneers of the gay community.

By Jerry Nunn – Full Story at the Windy City Times

Los Angeles Gay Travel Resources

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Silver Lake Street Art – Globetrotter Girls

Silver Lake - Dami While I admittedly didn’t get around to doing everything I had on my Los Angeles To-Do-List due to my tight work schedule this month, I managed to return to some of my favorite neighborhoods like Santa Monica Venice and West Hollywood,, but there was one neighborhood I really wanted to see before leaving LA: Silver Lake. This neighborhood had been described to me as the Brooklyn of LA or the Williamsburg of LA, to be more precise And not only that Forbes Magazine even went as far as giving Silver Lake the top spot on its inaugural list of America’s Best Hipster Neighborhoods and CNN Money followed by putting it in the Top Ten of its list of best big city neighborhoods in the U.S. So of course I had to check this uber hip neighborhood for myself to see what all the fuss was about.

By Dani – Full Story at Globetrotter Girls

Los Angeles Gay Travel Resources

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Chanric Inn B&B – Gay Owned Bed & Breakfast in Calistoga, California

Chanric Inn Periodically we’ll feature one of our properties here to let our readers know about some great gay friendly places to stay: Welcome to a celebrated new lifestyle of bed & breakfast travel. The Chanric Inn Bed & Breakfast is a lush oasis providing a stylish ambiance, sensual amenities and tantalizing sustenance. Enviably located in the natural spa town of Calistoga, The Chanric is central to the finest wineries, restaurants and activities Napa Valley and Sonoma have to offer. Enjoy the elegant, muted color palette of your private room and bath. Slumber in heavenly beds with fluffy down comforters. Luxuriate in high thread count Egyptian cotton sheets, thick, Pima cotton towels and plush bath robes. Light the candles and let the night take you away… Features:

  • Pool, spa and sauna
  • Property-wide Wi-Fi
  • Select beverages provided throughout your stay
  • Wake up coffee service
  • Breakfast brunch served restaurant style, whenever you choose
  • Menu honors dietary considerations
  • King and Queen size beds
  • High thread-count Egyptian cotton sheets
  • Thick, Pima Cotton towels
  • Lush bathrobes
  • Fluffy down comforters and pillows on heavenly beds
  • Aveda and Neutrogena bath amenities
  • Special event packages available upon request
Come spend some time in the Napa Valley wine country, and stay with us in beautiful, quiet Calistoga.

See the Chanric Inn Expanded Listing on Purple Roofs Here

Gay Friendly Bed and Breakfasts, Hotels, and Vacation Rentals in Napa

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Huntington Beach, California – Globetrotter Girls

Huntington Beach - Dani I don’t know why, but I always seem to forget just how much I like California. My last visit wasn’t even that long ago – I spent a few days in Santa Monica last spring – but I’d forgotten again that every time I am here, I have an amazing time. While I despise driving in L.A. (the massive highways and the traffic are just too much for me), I love driving along the coast. And so it was easy to pick the highlight of my time here (so far): a drive down the Pacific Coast Highway into Orange County. I drove the entire length of the PCH in 2010, starting in San Francisco, all the way down to San Diego, and to this day it is one of my favorite drives in the U.S.. I was stoked that I got to drive a stretch of it again last week. When I drove the PCH the first time, I had just started blogging, and didn’t travel with a ‘blogger mind’ yet, meaning I wasn’t looking for scenic spots to stop at to take pictures, cute shops and cafes to recommend to my readers, or take the ridiculous amount of photos I am taking these days (because, you never know what you might need fifty different shots of seagulls for).

By Dani – Full Story at Globetrotter Girls

Greater Los Angeles Gay Travel Resources

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Chalk it Up – Sacramento

Chalk it Up - Giraffe Fremont Park in Sacramento is playing host this weekend to a cool art event – Chalk it Up brings together a bunch of chalk artists to create their masterpieces, and runs for the full three day weekend. Chalk it UpWe stopped by yesterday to check it out. About half the art pieces were finished, and it was fascinating to see the artists working on the others, some from mental pictures, some from props, and some from photos laid out on a grid. This is a cool little community park in an up and coming part of Sactown, with not one but two local coffee chains on the park – Naked Coffee has a cool little retro cafe on the southwestern corner, while Insidght just opened on the ground floor of the gorgeous new eco friendly 16 Powerhouse Apartments on the East Side. You can also stop into Magpie or Hot Italian for lunch. The park is filled with vendors too – our fave? Driftwoods Clothing, which does shirts for many of Sacramento’s diverse little neighborhoods. If you are in the Sacramento area and have time today, stop by and see this festival before it ends. Some of our favorite art is below.

Sacramento Gay Travel Resources

Chalk it Up Website

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TRAVELING IN OUR FABULOUS GAY WORLD – Melvyn's Restaurant, Palm Springs

melvyn's to use outside When we travel from coast to coast we usually do not know where to dine to have a memorable dining experience. Once we find a fabulous place, we go back again and again and again. We have been traveling to Palm Springs, California for 15 years and from the first time we went there we found one of our favorite restaurants in the entire country. Melvyn’s Restaurant which is located in the Ingleside Inn in downtown Palm Springs. We first heard about the restaurant on the television program, “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous”. melvyns to use interiorWe knew that we had to try it out which we did 15 years ago and since then we have been back dozens of times. Mel Haber, the owner is a tremendously good looking gentleman and has owned the restaurant for 41 years. The decor and menu has not changed in all those years. If something is perfect, then why change it? It is like stepping back in 1950 and 1960’s Hollywood ! Large photos of Sinatra, Elizabeth Taylor and all of the glorious Movie stars from the past are on the walls. Usually while we are dining there, we always see a celebrity or two. Brian Ellis, the Maitre d’ has been there since day one. He has won numerous awards as being one of the finest Maitre d’s in the country. He knows how to do things right and to make every guest have a most memorable dining experience. He has made friends with many of his thousands of diners including us. Travelers to Palm Springs always return again and again to Melvyn’s. Owner Mel Haber is one of the nicest gentleman that we have ever met. He has contributed back to the community in so many ways. He has written two books on his personal experiences in operating his Inn and restaurant. He is a celebrity in his own right and has a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars. mel haberMelvyn’s Restaurant is located in the Ingleside Inn which Mel has also owned for 41 years. Over the years, the Inn has become a magnet for Hollywood’s elite, U.S. Presidents, royalty, aristocrats, captains of industry and celebrities visiting Palm Springs. According to Wikipedia, his guests have included Frank Sinatra, Bob Hope, Lucille Ball, Marlon Brando, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Marie Shriver, Sylvester Stallone, Liza Minnelli, Liberace, Jerry Lewis, Barry Manilow, Kurt Russell, Goldie Hawn, Rita Hayworth, Pat Boone, Debbie Reynolds, Larry King, John Travolta, Sidney Sheldon, David Hasselhoff, President Gerald Ford, George Hamilton and celebrity travel columnists, Donald Pile and Ray Williams and dozens and dozens of other celebrities. Check out Melvyn’s Restaurant at www.inglesideinn.com. They are located at 200 West Ramon Road. Their phone number is 800-772-6655 and the direct number to the restaurant is 760-325.2323. For those readers who have never been to Palm Springs or are not going to be there in the immediate future, Mel Haber has given us one of his favorite recipes to share with our readers that he has on the menu. VEAL INGLESIDE – for Two people- 3 ounces of veal cutlet pounded until thin. Put in pan 2 ounces of peanut oil until hot. Flip both sides of veal into flour until lightly dusted. Whip one egg in a bowl, dip veal into egg batter, saute veal on each side 20 seconds until light brown. Remove veal from pan and throw oil out. Put veal back into the same pan. Use 2 ounces of sherry wine. Reduce for 1 minute. Add 2 ounces of demi-glaze. Cut 1/4 of an avocado fanned and put on top of veal. Cover with 2 ounces of mousseline sauce. Mousseline sauce is made with 8 ounces of heavy whipped cream combined with 4 ounces of hollandaise sauce (all whipped together). Preparation time: 6 minutes. ENJOY ! Don and RayAlways remember to have fun when traveling, meet new people and talk to everyone! TRAVELING IN OUR FABULOUS GAY WORLD is written by Donald Pile and Ray Williams, Award-winning, Celebrity travel columnists who write for gay publications from coast to coast (And now legally married). Proud members of the IGLTA. You can email them at gaytravelers@aol.com and visit their website at http://gaytravelersataol.blogspot.com/

Las Vegas Gay Travel Resources
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Chateau de Vie – Gay Napa Valley Bed & Breakfast

Chateau de Vie Periodically we’ll feature one of our properties here to let our readers know about some great gay friendly places to stay: Chateau de Vie Bed & Breakfast, in Calistoga in the heart of California’s Napa Valley Wine Country, features omfortable king and queen size beds in each room, with lush towels, oversized robes, and the finest in linens. Spend an afternoon napping under an old walnut tree, or snuggle up by the fire with a good book. Or enjoy a garden massage – reflect… relax… unwind. Soak in the vineyard spa, take a dip in the pool, and end the day dreaming about re-entering the world with a renewed sense of being. Walk out onto the deck to take in the astounding view of Mt. St. Helena and acres of Napa Valley’s finest. A full Breakfast Menu of all your favorites. Come enjoy a special event, a last minute getaway, or quiet retreat. There are a number of wonderful wineries close by, including:

  • Bennett Lane
  • Frank Family Vineyards
  • Goose Cross
  • Napa Cellars
  • Vintners Collective
  • Whitehall Lane
Come spend some time with us in the beautiful Napa Valley Wine Country.

See the Chateau de Vie Expanded Listing on Purple Roofs Here

Gay Friendly Bed and Breakfasts, Hotels, and Vacation Rentals in Napa Valley

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The 5 Friendliest LGBTQ Vacation Hotspots

fantastic cultural meccas that always take a keen interest in making everyone feel comfortable, and those who identify LGBTQ will fit right in. So what are you waiting for—the party’s just ahead!

  1. Berlin, Germany
Berlin - pixabay With a long standing history that is as intense as it is troubled, Berlin has arisen from the ashes of its past to become one of the most diverse, well-rounded, and respecting cities in the world with multi-ethnicities immigrating and thriving with the German population. In addition to their incredibly progressive views, Berlin is also the gay capital of Europe with a gay museum, a gay memorial, and an openly gay mayor. While that doesn’t cover all the basis, the open-minded city is equally comfortable with the rest of the queer community. Head for Hafen, one of the most famous gay bars in town, Connection, a dance club that shouldn’t be missed, and Gay Hostel for accommodation—you’ll find plenty of like-minded people here to experience this amazing city with.
  1. Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles - pixabay While most of Hollywood is constantly under scrutiny of being one or more of the letters in LGBTQ, the truth is that Los Angeles is a great place to be LGBTQ. Between the cultural metropolis and its heavy art, business, and beauty industries, there are plenty of LGBTQ-friendly beaches and nightclubs to frequent, and the weather is always perfect for a stop down by the sea. Make a stop at The Abbey for the quintessential gay bar-lounge-party time, which includes both an indoor and outdoor areas and the most prominent members of the LGBTQ community as regulars on the busy weekends.
  1. Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Marijuana and prostitution aren’t the only things bringing visitors to Amsterdam; it’s also the totally chill vibe of the city of Amsterdam. Between the canals and coffee shops, the city is thoroughly on board with the LGBTQ cause—in fact, the city legalized same-sex marriage in the early 1800s, the first place in the entire world to do so. But enough about the history; time to get to the cool stuff! When in Amsterdam, do as the Amsterdamians do and hit up Cafe Dubbel D (formerly Cafe Rouge), one of the busiest shops in the entire city. Next, plan your day around Rapido parties, because this is a good time you aren’t going to want to miss. Then hit up Thermos for an excellent spa experience and Hemelse Modder for a perfect European meal and excellent service.
  1. Madrid, Spain
Madrid - pixabay Madrid is home to perhaps the gayest community around, Chueca, where nightlife reigns supreme, as well as lots of rights and cultural nods to gay culture. Madrid recognizes gay marriages and openly uses LGBTQ lifestyles to influence trendy shops, restaurants, and hotels throughout the city. It’s one of the most progressive cities when it comes to gay rights in the world, and that shows in their laws, party scene, and every other corner of life. The Cage (a popular fetish bar) is always a perfect place to head for a laugh or even something a tad more serious, but Space of Sound is one of my favorite hangouts for the go-go boys and total party vibe. Park it at Medea for the city’s oldest lesbian bar and don’t forget to leave plenty of time for a sauna experience—the Sauna Octopus is a must for every visitor! For a bonus into the city, I suggest downloading apps such as Grindr and Manhunt if outdoor cruising and sex parties are your thing (grab a Virtual Private Network for your phone to make sure the geolocation functions are working correctly)!
  1. Miami, Florida
Miami - pixabay Take one look at the hot bods and it’s obvious why Miami is a gay capital of the world—but more than just being a place to get hot and sweaty out in the open, Miami flourishes with culture and happenings that accept all flavors of ice cream (if you pardon my expression). While I think a stop at the topless-optional South Beach is an excellent way to spend an afternoon, I also suggest Da Leo Trattoria, for an excellent meal. Don’t miss out on Twist either for a run around the dance floor and then a relaxing evening on the roof for a drink and an overlook of the city that likes to party all night long. Any city is a great place for the LGBTQ community to travel, but these picks are a specific brand of cultural richness that will just hit all the right notes, so enjoy! Have any suggestions on where to head after finishing this list? Leave a comment or a next trip itinerary, and I will personally take the recommendation around for a ride! About the Author: Cassie Phillips is an active tech guru, digital nomad, and wordsmith discovering the world as readily as she explores obscure depths of the internet. Curious about anything and everything, she loves her cat, her coffee, and her growing photography collection. Ask her about her famous Birthday Cake Pancakes recipe or her one-time run in with Ben Affleck and JLO—both stories are likely to leave you in disbelief! All photos from pixabay, provided by Cassie Phillips]]>