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!

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:

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).

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.

Parting Shots: Behind The Scenes in Barcelona

The last section of our magazine is “Parting Shots,” which are photos taken by our Global Correspondents, subscribers and other friends who send us their favorite image relating to that month’s theme. Our April theme was architecture. Here’s the story behind one of our favorite pictures: the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion in Barcelona from ManAboutWorld friend, contributor, and graphic designer Scott Holman. If you already subscribe, download April from within the app. If you don’t subscribe, download the issue in the AppStore here.

After years of studying art history and design, I have a few iconic pieces/locations on my list of stuff to see in person. This Mies van der Rohe was originally designed and built for the 1929 International Exhibition, was disassembled right after and reconstructed in 1980. It has been on my list since art school days and it was exciting to see it live on a 50th birthday trip.

Photo Du Jour: Hearson’s Cove In The Pilbara

The Pilbara

This gorgeous sunset is brought to us courtesy of ManAboutWorld Global Correspondent Michael Siebert.

It was taken at Hearson’s Cove in the Pilbara, only 20 min drive from Karratha. (Don’t worry, we had to look it up too! Pilbara is in Western Australia. Click here to learn more.)

ManAboutWorld Correspondent Report: Balloons Over Cappadocia, Turkey

Taken at 6:30am flying in a hot air balloon over Goreme, Turkey, in the heart of Cappadocia.

ManAboutWorld Correspondent David Alport recently traveled to Turkey with his partner. He snapped this photo while flying in a hot air balloon over Goreme. It was too late to include in our architecture-themed Parting Shots section in the April issue of ManAboutWorld but we loved it so much we wanted to share with you here. (To see the April issue, click here.)

If you can handle the splurge (about $200 per person), a sunrise hot air balloon ride is not only the best way to get a bird’s eye view of one of earth’s most magical and beguiling landscapes … it’s also a singular and magical experience that every traveler should experience once in a lifetime. Cappadocia is the perfect place.

Parting Shots: Behind the Scenes in Mexico

The last section of our magazine is “Parting Shots,” which are photos taken by our Global Correspondents, subscribers and other friends who send us their favorite image relating to that month’s theme. Our April theme was architecture. Here’s the story behind one of our favorite pictures of the Museo Soumaya in Mexico from Global Correspondent Paul VanDeCarr.

The museum opened in March 2011, and I visited and took this photo in June 2011. On the inside are enormous white galleries divided up by movable walls, and some excellent pieces (and some not-so-excellent). But it’s the exterior that I really like. It’s got a honeycombed pattern of reflective glass on the outside, so fluid and organic-looking that I want to lick it or eat it. It was designed by Mexican architect Fernando Romero, and funded by another Mexican and the world’s richest man, Carlos Slim Helú — the museum is named after the latter’s late wife.

Traveling Gay Dads: Sin-Free Las Vegas

These two dads are about to smooch!

¡Viva el Romance, Viva la familia, y Viva Las Vegas!

“It’s good luck for sweethearts, lovers, or spouses to kiss under this bridge. Go ahead and Happy Anniversary!” our lovely, Greek gondolier at Las Vegas’ Venetian Hotel encouraged. Sean and I were seated across from each other and we blushed, smiled and leaned across for a husband-husband smooch.  When we kissed, Carter and Ammon didn’t blink an eye, and the gondolier sighed. “How lovely, and what lovely children you two have!”

It was Labor Day week of 2012, and it was my 8^th Wedding Anniversary Vacation.  Sean, Carter, Ammon, and I were all together, and it has been my favorite anniversary to date. In Las Vegas (just like any city), we lived, loved, and enjoyed ourselves as family.