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.

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.

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.

I Flew the Dreamliner… and I Can’t Wait to Again

By Billy Kolber

After months of grounding by the FAA, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner is poised to take flight again in the next few weeks. And that’s great news for those of us who fly, especially in the back of the plane. (Originally published in the Huffington Post.)

A lot has been made of the fuel efficiency and the 30% larger, electronically-dimming windows, but the real advance for travelers is the air quality. You might not appreciate it on a short flight, as veteran travel reporter Stephanie Rosenbloom at the New York Times observed on her test flight, but flying across the Pacific to Japan as we did shortly before the flights were grounded, the difference was striking.

Photo Credit: (cc) Flickr.com/Kentaro Iemoto

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: An Eye On Carnival Puerto Vallarta

This photo comes to us courtesy of Puerto Vallarta Carnival, which took place earlier this year, but we loved the colors and the sexy look of this disguised stranger.

It’s not a gay event per se but with all those feathered, bejeweled and made-up guys, there’s certainly something at least a bit queer about it.

Speaking of PV, we recently covered their upcoming Pride. Click here for more information.