Ed Salvato is editor in chief of ManAboutWorld, the world’s 1st gay travel magazine built for iPad. Get a FREE 3-month subscription here! He’s also a recognized industry leader and noted global gay travel expert. Read his bio. Need travel advice? He loves answering your questions. Post a comment or send an email.
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Today’s DDTI comes to us from San Francisco International Airport where futuristic phone booths (which seems like an oxymoron) greet passengers arriving into the international terminal.
*DDTI: Daily Dose of Travel Inspiration.
A breathtaking photograph of our correspondent Michael Siebert looking out onto a peaceful Indonesian morning.
*Our Daily Dose of Travel Inspiration. Not always daily but always inspirational.
Old Town Havana, Cuba
Thanks to President Obama’s recent initiative to thaw relations with our geographically near (yet ideologically distant) neighbor, it’s a little easier to go but restrictions remain in place, specifically with respect to pure leisure tourism — it’s still not legal for Americans, who must travel under a general or specific (i.e., an application and a case-by-case determination) license (visa). The main changes include an expansion of general licenses to allow 12 categories of travel without specific approval, and the use of credit cards. Don’t expect to hop on a plane, grab a hotel and hit the beach on your own just yet. There is a lot of good information about travel to Cuba, including this comprehensive Q&A in The New York Times. Read the rest of this entry »
“Don’t book anything less than a 4 star.” “The food will be terrible.” “The booze will be watered down.” “Your all inclusive won’t include drinkable water.” “The resort won’t look like the brochure.” “Tip everybody.” “The locals will want to marry you.”
“Scenes from the Land of Hirschfeld” inside the Schwules Museum
One of our favorite correspondents, Paul Heney, is back with another great piece about his recent travels to Berlin:
Berlin took a little time to grow on me, but after four trips here over the years, it’s a place I love to visit. The city’s eclectic style, extensive arts scene, in-your-face “German-ness” and plentiful shopping—not to mention its very gay-friendly vibe—adds up to a lot of fun for the gay traveler.
I had a great opportunity to visit the city’s famed Schweules Museum, now celebrating its 30th anniversary. Schweules, one of the world’s mot renowned institutions for researching and communicating the LGBTQ experience.
Through March 31, the museum is showcasing a fascinating exhibit, “Porn That Way,” a look at the history of gay, lesbian and trans porn. And there is a lot of history, and some pretty interesting insight into what gay porn meant, not to mention how it shaped what men considered sexy. From early work that seemed closeted and subversive to the photorealistic Tom of Finland drawings—and from the gay-for-play muscled hunks that tried to show a healthy counterpoint to AIDS victims to the self-made online empires like Corbin Fischer, the show tries to show how the different eras of gay pornography related to the times.
There’s also an in-depth examination of lesbian porn, including the “produced by men for men” variety, as well as the woman-produced, safe-sex, female-centric movies and magazines.
So if you’re in Germany’s capital city anytime soon, make sure to stop by Schweules before heading over to Brunos for your underwear and gymwear shopping! It’s a worthwhile stop to pay homage and learn more about that media that no one likes to discuss in public—but that everyone watches in private.
The trendy Birchwood boutique hotel in downtown St. Petersburg
The Birchwood is the best hotel in St. Pete and our first choice when staying downtown. It has just 18 rooms, all of them spacious and tastefully designed with claw-footed tubs. No frills here: no gym, no pool, but a first-rate restaurant in the lobby — Birch & Vine — and a weekend hotspot of a rooftop bar in The Canopy. If you’ve come to the area to visit the Dali Museum and explore downtown’s ever-burgeoning scene, you’ll want to stay here.
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Movie poster for The Grand Budapest Hotel
If you’re rushing around this weekend trying to catch up on all of the Best Picture nominees and find yourself inspired by the exotic (and sometimes not so) cities portrayed on he silver screen, you’ll love this piece in The New York Times. Check out these 8 trips inspired by Oscar nominations, and subscribe to our magazine here for our own insider tips.
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