Run, Don’t Walk, To Tel Aviv Gay Pride

Tel Aviv has come into its own in recent year with a gay scene as large as many similar size cities in North America and, depending on your tastes, with some of the hottest guys in the world. Exhibit A is the irresistibly hot Ori Avrahami, pictured above and below, the muscular cover model for F.O.D’s Pride issue. Learn more about F.O.D. on Facebook.

We are sending a writer to Pride so we’ll have our own Tel Aviv guide soon. For now, download F.O.D.’s guide for a round up of Pride activities as well as recommendations for where to stay, eat, play/meet and more.

Additionally blessed with a terrific beach, really nice weather, great food and proximity to popular Middle East attractions from religious sites in Jerusalem and the Dead Sea to Petra and more, Tel Aviv is well worth a visit. We love it during Gay Pride when all the boys come out to play from throughout the region. Tel Aviv Gay Pride is Friday June 7 but there are events throughout the week leading up to June 8.

Mixing Business With Pleasure In Las Vegas and Chicago

The fabulous Cosmopolitan Hotel

By ManAboutWorld Global Correspondent Jeff Guaracino

Great trip ideas can come from travel columns like this one, from your favorite travel magazine or recommendations from friends and family. Business travel — if planned correctly — can be a perfect time to research your next pleasure trip. Yes, I know we are always in a rush to get to that next meeting, answer that pesky text or resolve the work emergency, but hey it’s travel. Don’t forget to stop and smell the fun!

Viva Las Vegas—midweek

I was invited to speak at the Las Vegas International Tourism Safety and Security Conference. I hadn’t been to Las Vegas since 2007, so I was excited to see what had changed along the famed Las Vegas Strip. A midweek trip proved to be an exceptional option to avoid the crowds but still enjoy all of the amenities that Vegas has to offer.

ManAboutWorld Gets Around

Our newest Global Correspondent Cristian Flores is a passionate traveler, photographer and master of Photoshop. He added our ManAboutWorld logo to this photo he took in Patagonia. We feel like we were there in spirit!

Blackstone Hotel, Chicago: An Unexpected Oasis

Perched alongside Chicago’s most famous parks (at South Michigan Ave and Balbo Street), the Renaissance Blackstone Chicago Hotel has a long, rich history and a desirable set of assets and amenities that make it a worthy choice for gay travelers.

It’s steps from Millennium and Grant Parks, home to art museums, fountains, lush lawns, outdoor performance spaces and, of course, the famous reflective “Cloud Gate” sculpture, informally known as the Bean. It’s near the financial and theater district, the Loop (and the “El,” what we know of as the subway in New York). Downtown is where most major hotels are located in Chicago. Boystown is a good $20 cab ride away but you can hop on the Red Line which goes right to the heart of Boystown in about 20 minutes for a lot less. (Take the El at Harrison and get off at Belmont.) There’s shopping and a Starbucks on the Concourse level below the lobby.

Photo credit: www.flickr.comphotos22746515@N024865734246.jpg

Around The World With Paul and Jose: Cocktails in Melbourne

 

Full disclosure: This is Sydney but it’s a hot pic

ManAboutWorld Global Correspondent Paul Teixeira and his partner Jose are in the midst of an 87-day global gay adventure. He agreed to document his trip here with highlights from many destinations around the world. In his own words:

“Vienna’s Got Balls” — And That’s Official

You have to love it when a destination promotes itself as having balls!

Who would have expected it from “stodgy” old Vienna? Well, actually we would have. Vienna’s is not just the capital of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire. It’s also a center for innovation, exciting modern art and lots of cool and cutting-edge events. Including these balls, or dances.

Below and on the next page are some of the events we think will most appeal to LGBT travelers sent by our friends in the tourism office who were the ones who gleefully tee’d them up as a city with balls. If you decide to head to Vienna, be sure to download our free app and subscribe or purchase our January/February 2013 issue.

The Life Ball (May 25, 2013) is Europe’s wildest – and highest grossing – AIDS/HIV charity event. Everyone from the Federal Chancellor to Hollywood A-listers makes their way to Rathausplatz for the fashion show, before letting their hair down for a night of hard partying. Life Ball tickets are a seriously hot commodity, but everyone can enjoy the spectacular opening ceremony and fashion show free of charge.

Provincetown: Upcoming Events

Things are looking up in Ptown.

Provincetown has announced its upcoming schedule of events. ManAboutWorld’s Provincetown article is scheduled for the June issue. Stay tuned for that. Meantime, start thinking about when you might want to go to coincide with some of these fun activities.

May

Run to the Top! Take a walk or run to the top of the 252-foot Pilgrim Monument to raise money for the Cape Cod Firefighter/EMS Cancer Relief Fund. This afternoon event on May 4 lets everyone take a journey up the tallest all-granite structure in the United States.

Cape Cod Women’s Music Festival. This event on May 11, in its second year, celebrates and honors women in music. Funds raised will be used to fight ovarian cancer. Performers include Nicole Nelson, who appeared on NBC’s “The Voice.”

Sisters in the Name of Love. For 20 years, this show has raised funds for AIDS Support Group and Helping Our Women. This year’s event takes place May 11.

Outer Cape Choral. Boasting 140 singers, this group will perform May 17-19, featuring the works of Eric Whitacre, Morten Lauridsen, Ola Gjeilo and others.

Monumental Yard Sale. This popular event takes place May 17-19 throughout the town, and will feature a production of “Let’s Make a Diva!” The show is a tribute to TV, with “Drag Queens on one channel, great dancers and amazing live singers on the other stations.”

Weekly Travel Roundup By TravelingIQ

Too sexy for my keffiyeh

Global Correspondent Ivan Quintanilla is an actor, traveler and blogger extraordinaire. Once a week he provides a re-cap of noteworthy travel stories. We pilfer his round-up (with his permission) so you don’t have to. Follow his travels at TravelingIQ.

*The price of beauty is deportation.   Or so discovered Omar Borkan Al Gala (pictured above) and two other men, deported from Saudi Arabia for being… wait for it… wait for it… too handsome (via Asiantown.net).

*Time to expand your destination wedding options.  On Tuesday, France became the 14th country to allow same-sex marriage (Yahoo).  The next day, the Rhode Island Senate approved legislation to make the “Hope” state the 10th in the U.S., in addition to Washington D.C., to extend marriage rights to same-sex couples (via The Advocate).

Beauty Shot From New Capital of Gay Marriage

Wellington, the capital

Photo and story by ManAboutWorld Global Correspondent, Michael Siebert

With all the hoopla about France’s vote to become the 14th nation allowing same-sex marriage. Let’s not forget about the 13th. On April 17, 2013 New Zealand lawmakers pass a bill in favor of gay marriage with a wide majority, with 77 votes in favor and 44 against. Gay-rights advocates celebrated outside parliament after the bill was passed, making New Zealand the 13th country to legalize gay marriage.

Click here to watch lawmakers and the public singing the New Zealand love song, “Pokarekare Ana.”

We covered Auckland, New Zealand in our December 2012 issue. Click here to subscribe and download.

Quick (New) Hotel Getaways in PA and MD

He tried (and loved) the 4 Seasons spa, but this is not our writer.

By ManAboutWorld Global Correspondent Jeff Guaracino

Do you need to getaway quick? Does room service and a maid sound just fabulous?  Travel doesn’t always have to be far away from home (just far enough!). Could it be as easy as checking into a local luxury hotel that is part treat and part escape. When you travel as much as I do, sometimes a hotel can be just another hotel. There are two close-by hotels that surprised me both by their incredible views, luxurious but affordable prices, and staff who make everyone feel VIP. And guess what? They are both in two cities that are worth spending more time in — Baltimore and Philadelphia.