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Life Lately and Upcoming Travels – Globetrotter Girls

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Globetrotter Girls

Where I’ve Been

I finally left New York City! I spent two weekends out of town: the first weekend I went on a hiking trip upstate, and then I went to Long Island for some beach time. After two months of no travel, it felt great to go on these two little adventures – as well as planning my big adventure that I just left the U.S. for. Yes, I’m traveling again, and I won’t be back in New York for quite some time.. but I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s look back at July first.

What I’ve Been up to

July was the month of hosting friends. Three different friends, all of whom I met during different stages of my travels, visited New York this month and I got to spend some quality time with all of them, as well as lots of time spent with old friends I made in New York.

Knowing that July was going to be my last month in the city and my last month of summer in New York, I wanted to make the most of it, which meant I cut down on work and spent more time frolicking around the city.

I went to outdoor movies, several picnics in the parks, had rooftop breakfasts and rooftop drinks, covered hundreds of miles on my bike, enjoyed Sunday brunches, went back to the Whitney Museum for the first time in two years, stuffed myself at several food markets, went to see a pop-up art installation in Prospect Park’s Rose Garden, went on a brewery crawl and to a speakeasy bar, checked out new street art in Bushwick and went to another yoga in the park.

By Dani – Full Story at Globetrotter Girls

Lesbian Tacoma – Globetrotter Girls

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lesbian Tacoma

I knew that during my month in Seattle, I wanted to explore Washington beyond the ‘Emerald City’ and the first place on my list was lesbian Tacoma, which shares the international airport SEA-TAC with Seattle. The cities do not only share an airport, but a stunning location right on the shores of Puget Sound, one of the most beautiful bodies of water in the Pacific Northwest.

While I found that most Seattleites tend to look down on Tacoma, I found the city to be surprisingly charming with lots of things to offer visitors – so many that I returned several times. So if you are visiting Seattle or the surrounding region, or road tripping around the Pacific Northwest, I’d recommend stopping in Tacoma. And since Tacoma is less than one hour from downtown Seattle, you may even consider booking your accommodation here – hotels in Tacoma are much cheaper than a Seattle hotel.

Here are five reasons why Tacoma is well worth a visit:

1 THE BRIDGE OF GLASS AND GLASS ART

What Tacoma is best known for is its glass art, and if you are not a fan of glass art already, you will be after a visit to the Museum of Glass. The famous glass sculptor Dale Chihuly was born here, and his remarkable glass blown sculptures can be seen all over the world. If you are planning to visit the Chihuly Gardens in Seattle, you also have to add the Tacoma Museum of Glass to your itinerary. In addition to installations by Chihuly, glass blown pieces from other glass artists around the world are displayed here, and there is a glassblowing studio on site.

By Dani – Full Story at Globetrotter Girls

Tacoma Gay Travel Resources

Los Angeles Area Gems – Globetrotter Girls

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Long Beach - Globetrotter Girls

While Los Angeles itself has plenty to offer, the city can be quite overwhelming, especially for people who aren’t used to cities of this magnitude. During the month I spent in the West Coast metropole last year, I became increasingly frustrated about the long drives and traffic several times – can it really take 90 minutes to cover an eight mile distance?

I found myself wishing for small town conveniences on various occasions (usually while stuck in a traffic jam on the 405), and that’s when I realized it may be a good idea to check out some nearby cities of a more manageable size to see what they have to offer. Luckily I had enough time to check out several cities right in Los Angeles county, some along the coast, some just outside the L.A. city limits. Each one was special and unique in their own way, and worth a visit for things that the others didn’t have.

If you visit L.A. and want to escape the ‘Big Smog’ for a day, here are five nearby cities that you should visit:

1 LONG BEACH

Long Beach is LA’s big neighbor to the south, California’s 7th largest city and second busiest container port in the U.S. The massive port has led people to believe that Long Beach is nothing more than a big industrial city, but I found out that the city itself is actually a fine escape from L.A., offering a downtown area that is walkable and, as its name suggests, a pretty long beach.

By Dani – Full Story at Globetrotter Girls

Greater Los Angeles Gay Travel Resources

Life Lately and Upcoming Travels – Globetrotter Girls

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Dani - Globetrotter Girls

Where I’ve Been: I crossed the bridges between Manhattan and Brooklyn countless times, but for the entire month, not once did I make it out of these two boroughs.

What I’ve Been up to: After stressing myself way too much in May with work, immigration matters and trying to find a place to live, I decided to take things a little slower in June. I cut my work hours in favor of a new business pursuit (which I’m excited to tell you more about next month, but it hasn’t officially launched yet), and gave up on the apartment hunt since it was not only time consuming and frustrating, but it also didn’t look like I was going to even get a place I really liked. I have to say that I was extremely lucky how everything came together for me in terms of sublets and housesits – so far. This month I’ve had several options and haven’t even had to share a place. Amazing!

One of the main reasons why I stopped looking for a place? Because it’s almost time for me to leave New York! Yes, that’s right, my 3.5 month travel break is nearly over, and I am getting ready for my next big trip. Since I’ll be gone for several months, there was no point anyway to look for a permanent place now, which would’ve meant having to deal with finding a subletter, and hoping that the sublet goes well.. but this also means that when I get back to New York, I’ll have to start the apartment hunt over again. Oh, well.

By Dani – Full Story at Globetrotter Hirls

Visiting Cuba: 10 Things To Know Before You Go – Globetrotter Girls

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Visiting Cuba - Dani

Cuba had been on my travel wish list for a long time. Every time I visited the Yucatán, I thought about hopping on a flight to Havana from Cancun, but somehow it never happened. The restrictions for Americans to travel to Cuba played a big role in this during my first two visits to Mexico in 2010 and 2012, but in 2017, the timing was finally right.

I found a $100 flight deal from Cancun to Havana, and thanks to the ease of travel restrictions for Americans along with new flight routes from the U.S., my friend was able to fly directly from New York to Cuba. (Side note: The joy was short-lived. After Trump’s new restrictions, I am glad that we went to Cuba this year. If you are a US citizen, read this NYT article to find out how you can visit Cuba under the revised Cuba policies).

Even though getting to Cuba from North America has become easier, the country itself is not particularly easy to travel in. I did a lot of research before my trip to make sure I knew what I’d be getting myself into, and that I would be able to prepare accordingly, from dealing with two currencies to arranging transportation around the country in a place where I couldn’t just hop into a rental car like I’d done in Mexico a couple of weeks prior.

Of course, despite detailed research, it was impossible to find out everything I needed to know, and some things I learned as I traveled the country (the fact that there are more tourists than available seats in public buses, for example!).

To help make sure your trip goes as smoothly as possible, I wanted to share with you the ten things I think you need to know before traveling to Cuba.

By AUTHOR – Full Story at SOURCE

LOCATION Gay Travel Resources

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Life Lately and Upcoming Travels – Globetrotter Girls

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In my monthly round-ups, I am looking back at my travels over the past four weeks, what went well and what didn’t, and what’s next for me.

Where I’ve Been

Even though I did not once leave the city limits of NYC this month, I feel like I’ve been traveling a lot! I may have physically arrived here, but the gypsy in me definitely hasn’t mentally arrived.. yet. And I think I know why: Because I haven’t stayed put anywhere for this long since summer 2014! Can you believe it? I was flabbergasted when I noticed it – it just hadn’t seemed to me like I was on the move all the time, but this ‘break’ that I am taking now, just over 3 months (I’m five weeks in now), is the longest I’ve stayed anywhere since August 2014, when I left New York after four months, with only two short getaways in between.

This got me reminiscing – but I’ll get into that in a moment. Back to gypsy-ing around New York: This month, I’ve lived in Astoria (Queens), Brooklyn Heights and Prospect Heights (Brooklyn), Chinatown (Manhattan), and right now, I am settling into my latest place in Bushwick (Brooklyn) – and no, this one is not permanent.

What I’ve Been Up To

It’s been quite a month, despite not leaving New York City in the past 31 days. I am still getting used to the pace of New York again, and if I’ll be able to get more than six hours sleep at some point next month, I’ll be a happy girl. I am already reminiscing about how much time I had for myself in Ecuador, only a couple of months ago. Time to read books, work out every day, maintain the blog, work on freelance projects and get them done on time, and having time to socialize and explore.

By Dani – Full Story at Globetrotter Girls

Cherry Blossom Carpet In New York City – Globetrotter Girls

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Cherry Blossoms - Dani

It feels like I haven’t sat still for a minute since returning to New York. From day 1, I’ve been dealing with immigration matters, setting myself up as a ‘legal resident’, which includes things like getting a bank account, insurance and figure out how to file taxes. Then there’s the issue of finding an apartment and a part time job, which – much to my surprise – happened faster than excepted!

While I’m still officially homeless (no worries though, I don’t have to sleep on a bench in Central Park), I’ve started working, and I was lucky enough to find a job that offers me more than just part time work. Income that I need for a number of things, but I’ll get into that in more detail in my May round-up next week. Between the new job and my freelance writing work I’ve been struggling to keep the blog up and running, as you may have noticed, but I hope I’ll find a way to combine those three things when things in my new job have calmed down a little.

Luckily, I was able to enjoy a little bit of New York’s gorgeous spring weather before I started my crazy 70-hour work week, and one sunny morning my friend Kristin and I met up for a little photo shoot in the Brooklyn Botanical Garden, one of my favorite green oases here in New York. We caught the tail end of the cherry blossom season and the fallen blossoms turned the ground into one massive cherry blossom carpet.

By Dani – Full Story at Globetrotter Girls

New York City Gay Travel Resources

Forty Eight Hours in Santiago – Globetrotter Girls

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Santiago Chile - Dani

The booming Chilean capital can be hard to figure out for some tourists, but Santiago has so many beautiful attractions – from sprawling markets to vast parks, and picturesque neighborhoods to world-class museums. 48 hours is nowhere near enough time to soak up the true nature of this five million strong South American city, but following this guide will give you a true taste of the city, from its main attractions to its most charming markets and quarters, plus where to find the best views and where to devour typical Chilean dishes and drinks.

Day 1

10am: Plaza De Armas And The Cathedral

Before you start your tour, get yourself a BIP card for public transport (available in all metro stations). You can buy single use tickets for the city’s efficient, clean, art-packed metro system, but buses accept BIP cards only, so it makes the most sense to use it for both. Pay 1,500 Pesos ($2.20) and then load it with as much credit as you need – 5,000 Pesos ($7.36) should be plenty even for an active 48 hours in Santiago.

Exit the metro at the beautiful Plaza De Armas, the city’s central plaza and home to kilometro zero, the central point from which the city has continued to sprawl out in all directions. The plaza is home to historic buildings such as the incredibly ornate Central Post Office, the Palacio de la Real Audiencia and, as in nearly every Latin American city, the main cathedral. Although it might appear a bit bland from the outside, do not skip a trip inside, which is packed with impressive details and treasures you would never guess were there from the building’s façade.

By Dani – Full Story at Globetrotter Girks

Chile Gay Travel Resources

Trinidad, Cuba – Globetrotter Girls

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Trinidad, Cuba - Dani

The true showstopper in Cuba for me wasn’t Havana, but Trinidad, a city founded by the Spanish that dates back to 1514 and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

I wasn’t sure if it’d be worth the long drive to get there – the city is located pretty much in the middle of the island, halfway between Havana in the north and Santiago in the far south; around 6 hours on a bus from Havana. But I am so glad that we decided to add it to our itinerary, despite the distance from Havana and Viñales, our first two stops.

Trinidad looked like it hadn’t changed much since the Spanish founded it in the 16th century – colonial houses line cobblestone streets, there are several Spanish-colonial churches and neatly arranged plazas, and horse carts outnumber cars. When people say that a trip to Havana feels like a trip back to the 1950s (because of all the American vintage cars from that time), it’s safe to say that a trip to Trinidad feels like a trip back to the 16th century.

In Trinidad, we got to really soak up Cuban life. With four nights here, we had plenty of time to experience Cuban culture, watch people dance salsa in the town square and in the bars every night, watch locals meet for a chat or a glass of rum in one of the benches that lined all the plazas, and artists draw paintings in the many galleries.

By Dani – Full Story at Globetrotter Girls

Cuba Gay Travel Resources

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Life Lately & Upcoming Travel – Globetrotter Girls

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Dani - Globetrotter Girls

In my monthly round-ups, I am looking back at my travels over the past four weeks, what went well and what didn’t, and what’s next for me.

I can’t believe how much my life has changed in April… going from frolicking in the Caribbean to hectic city life in NYC, dealing with immigration bureaucracy, apartment hunting and job interviews! Trying to establish a life here has been more time-consuming than I thought, hence the delay of my monthly round-up, but let’s look back at April 2017.

April may have been the best month of 2017 so far. I spent the last thirty days between two of my favorite places in the world: Mexico’s Yucatán peninsula and New York City, and added my second new country of the year to the mix, which I happened to fall hard for: Cuba.

I started the month in Valladolid, continuing my second Yucatán road trip. While I’d been to Valladolid in the past, the stops that followed where mostly new to me: Rio Lagartos with its pink lakes; Izamal, Mexico’s Yellow City; Campeche, a coastal town filled with pastel colored Spanish colonial buildings, and Bacalar with its spectacular lagoon, which I somehow blissfully ignored when I lived in nearby Xcalak a few years ago.

By Dani – Full Story at Globetrotter Girls