Many Americans are making a mad dash to airports to fly home in time for the Thanksgiving holiday. If you happen to be traveling, I want to wish you a safe and speedy trip.
After agreeing to pay a ridiculous sum, we’ve been upgraded on our flight which means the remainder of our flight to Brazil and back will be far more comfortable.
Each day this week I’m writing a “Brazil post” to raise awareness that I’m leaving on vacation for South America on Friday. Although I will not be visiting Rio de Janeiro on this trip to Brazil, I think it is one of the most amazing places in the world and a place I would encourage travelers to consider visiting. I stumbled upon this old video footage of the gay beach on Ipanema; definitely worth visiting.
When we fly out of Boston later this week to Brazil we will fly to Brazil’s third largest city, Belo Horizonte.
I often refer to Belo Horizonte (B.H.) as the “Chicago” of Brazil. Like Chicago, it is the country’s third largest city and is not on the coast. This city of nearly 5 million is a one hour flight from both Sao Paulo and / or Rio de Janeiro.
Source: BoyMagiaBr
One week from today I will board a plane and fly down to Brazil. While I’ve been to Brazil many times, I have not visited in a few years. This trip will bring me to Belo Horizonte, Floripa and Sao Paulo. Until then, I thought I’d tempt you with this photo from Rio de Janeiro.
Recently The New York Helmsley (or The Ol’ Bitch as I use to call it) was remodeled and reopened as The Westin New York Grand Central. As the name would imply, it is just blocks from Grand Central Station.
The new hotel has 774 guest rooms that are all beautifully updated and fairly spacious. The Heavenly Bed the Westin brand promotes proved to live up to its name when I collapsed in my room after work.
The room includes a very functional desk business travelers will appreciate; complete with desk level outlets to charge your phone and laptop as well as a solid internet connection and plenty of desk space.
While the bathroom isn’t luxurious, it certainly is sufficient and provides enough space for a quick visit. 
The Westin NY Grand Central is located off of 3rd Avenue at 212 East 42nd Street. Its close proximity to my office and ample sized rooms ensures I’ll be returning to this new Starwood Hotel property.
One month from today I board a flight to Brazil where I will spend a couple of weeks visiting family and relaxing.
The first week will be with my partner’s family in Belo Horizonte. Then we will fly down to Florianopolis to relax for almost a week before zipping up to Sao Paulo for our final two nights. We still have a lot of planning to do including scheduling our flights inside Brazil and making reservations in Floripa. Making these travel plans is getting me excited to revisit Brazil. Do you have any trips on the horizon?
Sydney Opera House – Sydney, Australia
Gaydar reported their U.K. site found gay men in the United Kingdom are taking on average four holidays abroad each year. They write, “Our research indicates that gay guys are bucking the economic downfall and indulging in double the number of holidays abroad compared with the average Brit, who will take two.”
The Gaydar study, that surveyed more than 2,000 men in the UK, made me wonder if gay men in other countries were more likely to take more vacations. My travels are fairly well documented (both local and abroad). I have a trip to go to Brazil later this year and am already thinking about where I might go early next year.
Are you a vacation hoarder? Do you get away and disconnect from work? How do you compare to our U.K. counterparts who seem to be living la dolci vita?
One week ago today we said goodbye to Miro and Kiril (brothers from Varna, Bulgaria). They boarded their flight from Boston to head home after spending the previous 3+ months working this summer in Provincetown. It was great to host them for a few days after a long summer of hard work. Both Miro and Kiril relaxed and talked a lot about their home, Varna, Bulgaria, which looks beautiful in pictures.
Miro and Kiril’s home is on the coast of the Black Sea and is one of the largest cities in this European Country. If you Google “Varna” you will no doubt see beautiful photos of the coast which looks like a great place to visit in the warmer months. I have to admit prior to meeting these brothers, I never really thought about visiting Bulgaria, but maybe some day I’ll have to go and visit this city on the Black Sea.
Best of luck to Miro and Kiril who are now home studying at University. I hope we get a chance to see them again next summer in Ptown.
I almost never travel in the summer. I wait all year for New England’s summer days filled with sun and warmth. However, with summer now a thing of the past, my mind turns to travel. It has been a few years since my last visit to Brazil, but plans are in the making to rectify that.
Eu tenho saudade Brasil.
My Summer Vacation 2012
GayCities is publishing photos that members submit from their 2012 summer vacation for a contest that starts next week. Photos must be submitted by September 18th to be eligible for the contest.
The photograph that receives the most votes will win a trip. Curious? Submit your favorite photo today, voting starts next week.
I’ve just uploaded my photo which you may see here.
Details about the contest are here.
The Huffington Post recently included a slideshow of what they refer to as LGBT-friendly small cities and towns. The list they compiled included places like: New Hope, PA – Ann Arbor, MI – Asheville, NC – Ithaca, NY – Santa Fe, NM – Eugene, OR and Eureka Springs AR.
The Huffington Post list also included a few New England towns, but here are some of my suggestions (all worthy day trips from Boston or good options for an overnight).
Provincetown – with no traffic this is a 2 hour drive and worth every minute even after the busy summer season comes to an end.
Newport, RI – 70 miles to the south, this historic little town offers a lot to see and do and is some place I never get tired of visiting.
Portland, ME – anyone from Maine will tell you that while Ogunquit, ME is a great place to visit, one should also check out Maine’s largest city, Portland, no worries its still a town with only 66,000 residents.
Portsmouth, NH – a bit closer to Boston than Portland – one may drive to Portsmouth in about 1 hour. Portsmouth may have one of the quaintest downtown’s in all of NH.
Northhampton, MA – ask any lesbian and she’ll gush about this quaint town. The two hour drive west through the Berkshires makes this even more beautiful to visit in the autumn when the foliage is at its peak.
What town(s) near you would you suggest visiting?
Hotel rates in Boston often run $300 – $500 a night for a standard room at a chain hotel. However, travelling became a bit cheaper in Boston this summer when the city’s new 480 bed hostel opened in June 2012.
This new property offers those backpacker-friendly group rooms for $29 a night as well as private rooms for $120 – $150. The rooms are spartan as compared to four and five star hotels, but they are comfortable and a good option for the right traveler. Earlier this summer The Boston Globe included a series of photos showcasing the property which you may see here.
Conveniently located in Boston’s Theater District this state of the art building is steps to all the downtown neighborhoods of Boston. While Boston’s hostel may not be for everyone – this beautiful new building provides options to those on a budget.
Want to find out more? Check out their website bostonhostel.org.
photo via flickr sbamueller
My friend Ben pointed out a good article from Boston Magazine’s blog entitled, Why Amtrak is Better than Flying. I regularly visit NYC and often use the high speed train, Acela, from Amtrak on my visits.
According to the post, Amtrak accounts for 54% of the air/rail trips between NYC and Boston and 75% of trips between NYC and DC. The reasons are easy to understand, the faster service of Acela, being treated like a person, and more reliable on-time service all help.
The fact that my 6’1″ frame can comfortably sit in the seats is another perk. I only point this out after reading The Boston Globe article from Monday about airlines reducing legroom, Airlines cut deeper into standard legroom.
Certainly, train travel could be improved – notably between Boston and NYC where the term “high speed” sometimes is more in theory than reality – but hopefully with more funding that will happen shortly. As for air travel, there is nothing on the horizon that gives me hope that the experience will get better.
BosGuy 