Above: face to face ny spa owner, Enrique Ramirez, in his luxe New York City spa. Photos: Nikko Lencek-Inagaki
New York's Spa Week may have closed up shop for this year, but if a massage or facial is in your near New York future, the luxury gay-owned face to face ny day spa is offering a great deal that shares the goodness.
Partnering with Hope's Voice, a national HIV/AIDS education organization -- and the only one that receives UN funding -- face to face ny will be donating 10% of its proceeds from all massages and facials during the annual "Day of Hope" on Friday, May 30th.
There's little better than springtime in Europe, but islands where spring lasts most of the year should never be forgotten -- especially for those travelers on a budget!
With springtime airfare a solid third of the cost to Paris or London, Aruba is actually one of my favorite places on Earth. It's hard to beat this combination of cost, an average temperature of 82 degree F, unending secluded white sand beaches dotted with palm cabanas and a colorfully painted and charming town full of lovely little shops.
One of the most buzzed-about resorts on the 21-mile long Caribbean island, The Bucuti Beach Resort, is also likely the gay friendliest option, pairing their romantic, European luxury-standard amenities with the offer of a same-sex commitment ceremony that is fully recognized by the Netherlands, under whose authority the this little paradise falls.
Photos in order: Dennis Hensley (2); Courtesy Catalina
Story by Dennis Hensley.
Just returned from Miami where I took in the final weekend of the Miami Gay and Lesbian Film Festival in glorious, sun-soaked South Beach. A short film I wrote and directed called Reunion had its world premier there and even though my boyfriend John Michael and I had to fly straight there from France, I wasn't going to miss it.
It was a beautiful evening. The screening was outdoors, just after sunset at the lovely Flamingo South Beach Park. There was free booze, popcorn and all the Tylenol PM packets you could shove in your pockets. The film played well, I think, and we got to meet Nichelle Nichols AKA Uhura from Star Trek, who was there to support her new gay-themed movie, Tru Loved.
Going from France to South Beach is a big culture shock. People in Miami don't carry bread around unless it's too hit fat people over the head with it. Everyone is fit and hot. That didn't stop me from digging into an amazing brunch at the Angler's Boutique Hotel.
We stayed at the Catalina Hotel, home to what I think is my favorite hotel bed ever, a Tempur-Pedic Swedish Mattresses™ with Italian Mascioni 300-thread count sheets and goose down Belgium comforters. That's like a trip to Europe right there.
Though jet-lagged we manage to squeeze in some beach time as well as catch the new Tom Kalin movie Savage Grace, which is audacious, creepy and features a fearless performance by Julianne Moore.
Speaking of big stars, while strolling down Lincoln Road, my boyfriend spotted Dennis Rodman at a sidewalk café and overheard him talking to friends about "pitching a project to Bravo or Logo." Frankly, I resent this. Making your way in the gay media world is hard enough with having to compete with eccentric former basketball players.
Photos in order: Courtesy Tahiti Tourisme; Courtesy Legends Resort (2)
Bad semi-pun in the title aside, the island of Moorea, Tahiti is absolutely stunning; white sand beaches, lagoons, lush interior -- the whole kit and caboodle of luxury escapism.
Opening on July 1st, the Legends Resort Private Villas promises to be one of the island's most sought-after luxury accommodations with seventeen acres of property -- overlooking a lagoon from 200 feet, no less -- and promises of private terraces with grand island views and jacuzzis for each villa.
As an added bonus, Air Tahiti Nui flies direct from New York and L.A. and frequently offers tempting deals, like the one here.
As another added bonus, the Legends Resort has offered us a 25% discount to pass on to you!!
Mention the code TOUTINC when making a reservation to take advantage. Use anytime before March 2009.
Headed to Turin, Italy for the 23rd annual Turin Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, naturally I was curious about the famous Shroud of Turin, which may or may not have once wrapped Jesus. Apparently, they won’t let you just try it on. So I satisfied myself with the gigantic film festival, themed “Da Sodoma a Hollywood,” with literally hundreds of new films, shorts, tributes, retrospectives, thematic series and even some porn.
Turin is older than dirt -- having been founded in circa 28 B.C. -- and medieval buildings, including the Castello Madama in the town center, still remain. But the city is cleaner and friendlier than Rome, having been scrubbed for the Turin Winter Olympics in 2006 and not experiencing the flood of vacationers that Rome receives.
Torino" is a center of design and art as well, featuring the Contemporary Art Center and The National Cinema Museum with it's gorgeous exhibit of film history, special effects and historic paraphernalia. The National Cinema Museum is also the self-described 'highest museum', housed in the Mole Antonelliana; the city’s symbol, the tower has a panoramic lift elevator that goes up to the tower’s tip with views of the city’s red roofs, the river Po, and incredible alpine vistas.
The city’s historic center is surrounded by gorgeous arcades, useful for sight-seeing and window shopping especially in the rain. The romantic, cobblestone Roman Quarter has a great variety of shops, bars and restaurants and is terrific for warm-weather strolling, day or night. There is also plenty of great shopping if you find yourself shroud-less!
Queer nightlife is sort of mercurial in Turin, with club nights coming and going and clubs opening and closing. Check out Clubbing magazine and Publicità Pride, both free gay magazines that cover the entire region and list gay events, bars, restaurants, saunas and performances.
Maybe it's the architecture, people's manners or the side streets, unchanged for a hundred years, that you can stumble into, but London always feels close to it's own history. For a taste of that queer history, check out London Walks, which has started organizing weekly trips around Oscar Wilde's London.
With more drama in his personal life than in his wildly -- pardon the pun -- popular and pun-ridden plays, poor Wilde's London life was as full of slander and publicized trials about sodomy as it was of his biting witticisms and a thriving LGBT scene.
Photos in order: Getty Images; Nikko Lencek-Inagaki (1); Dennis Hensley (3)
Story by Dennis Hensley
It's April in Paris! My boyfriend John Michael and I just wrapped up part two of our Adventures by Disney "Flavors of France" tour with three days in the City of Lights. Before coming on this trip, I didn't know how the Disney brand would manifest itself. Would there be light parades around every corner? Would Lilo and Stitch be our guides? Turns out our guides were the chipper and capable Andrew and Jamie, who made our journey as fun and painless as possible. I think that's where the Disney magic comes in; they take care of everything.
Our tour of the Louvre was quick but informative. For example, I didn't know that the Mona Lisa had once been stolen. Here's a question: if you steal the Mona Lisa, who do you sell it to? You can't exactly tell people it fell off the back of a truck.
Then we hit the Eiffel Tower, which I had seen before but never been up inside until this trip. It blew me away. I love how audacious and masculine the design is -- it's just cold, hard steel, sticking straight up into the sky.
After our day's adventures, JM and I checked into a charming, gay-owned and reasonably-priced place called Hotel Central Marais. All the gay boys here have short, buzzed hair including the hottie waiter at the burger joint we noshed at, Kofi du Marais. The guys also carry baguettes under their arms, which I'm going to start doing back in Los Angeles. I doubt it will catch on but it's worth a shot. Au revoir for now!
Glossy magazines, press releases and billboards aside, the best queer travel advice still comes around by word of mouth. Here's some great information ton gay-popular hotels that one of our readers, Peter Wentzel, is sharing from a recent jaunt to Buenos Aires!
"Buenos Aires welcomed two new, affordable gay-friendly boutique hotels to its ranks this past month: The Telmho Boutique Hotel in the heart of San Telmo, and the Puro Baires Boutique Hotel in trendy Palermo Soho. The Telmho, where my boyfriend and I stayed, sits right on Plaza Dorrego, which is very convenient for antiquing when the square and surrounding streets host the weekly Sunday antiques fair.
There were a few issues with air conditioning and water pressure, but we cut them some slack as a new hotel with some kinks to iron out. Breakfast was included, delicious and plentiful and the staff was generally very kind and thoughtful, and very eager to help with restaurant bookings and flight confirmations.
The Telmho is a classy and convenient option for those interested in exploring the sights of San Telmo, the Plaza de Mayo, Monserrat and Congresso.
From the Telmho, we moved on to the Puro Baires in Palermo SoHo for our last two nights. We loved this place! Very well-designed (retro-mod), with a nice outdoor patio off of the mostly-white lobby/breakfast/tea room, a small gym/sauna and a roof deck with a pool.
The hotel is “green” and eco-friendly -- hall lights only switch on when someone has entered the vestibule. The affordable rates include a continental breakfast, there are WiFi hubs set up on each floor, and the staff is fantastic -- jumping at our every request and question. The ideal Puro Baires location is on a quiet block within walking distance of lots of hip & trendy shops and restaurants. We would return in a heartbeat!"
Photos in order: Courtesy MGLFF (4); Dale Stine (3)
Story by LoAnn Halden
Let's hear it for the 10th anniversary of the Miami Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, which opened April 25 and runs through May 4. In the interest of full disclosure, I'll admit that I'm a South Florida girl and may have a slight hometown bias, but it's pretty darn impressive how far this fest has come -- any event that drags gay boys out of the gym en mass deserves props in my book.
The opening film Breakfast with Scot, a warm-n-fuzzy comedy starring Thomas Cavanagh (the TV series Ed) and Ben Shenkman (Angels in America) as unlikely gay guardians of a flamboyant young boy, made its gay filmfest debut in Miami, and could have a sitcom spinoff in its future. Watch for it to have a long life on the gay fest circuit.
In order: Breakfast with Scot; Relax...It's Just Sex! Tru Loved.
Count on Miami for some paparazzi-friendly moments as well: Sharon Gless left her Queer As Folk frumpiness in the dust in an opening-night guest appearance; Jennifer Tilly (mercifully, without Chucky in tow) revisited Relax… It's Just Sex!; and original Project Runway winner Jay McCarroll made it work with a rooftop fashion show to support a documentary on his creations.
In order: Jenifer Tilly; festival director Carol Coombes with Jay McCarroll; Sharon Gless.
So if you're in Florida, make a beeline for www.mglff.com, or the box offices at the Regal Cinemas (1100 Lincoln Road, Miami Beach, through May 1) and Colony Theater (1040 Lincoln Road, Miami Beach, May 2-4) where tickets are on sale for the rest of the fest. Big buzz surrounds the May 2 world premiere screening of Tru Loved, which opens with a short from our very own gay.com columnist Dennis Hensley.
And there's always next year -- plan a trip to the 11th annual festival with our Miami travel guide.
New York's Spa Week may have closed up shop for this year, but if a massage or facial is in your near New York future, the luxury gay-owned face to face ny day spa is offering a great deal that shares the goodness.
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