Ivan Quintanilla is the featured travel expert on Toronto’s Proud FM Radio “Your Morning With Richard & Chris.”
Click on the link below to hear Ivan and the boys talk about gay travel to Washington, D.C.:
Washington DC travel segment (4 min.)
And for more information, check out the Washington, D.C. Tourism website at Washington.org
The festivities are already under way for Valencia’s biggest street party, Las Fallas. This festival to honor St. Joseph, the patron saint of carpenters, consumes Valencia from March 15 to 19, attracting more visitors than any other event.
Every March the city erupts into the concert of gunpowder known as mascletàs. During this time, the city proudly presents its fallas: gigantic, building-high, papier-mâché sculptures satirizing politicians, celebrities and local customs. The non-stop partying, parades and fireworks, climax at midnight on the 19th, with the public burning of all the papier-mâché participants stationed throughout the city, except for one small ninot chosen by popular vote (a life-sized figure sitting at the base of one of the colossal fallas). The spared sculpture will then join his brothers and sisters dating as far back as 1934, at their current safe haven, the Museo Fallero.
To learn more, visit the Valencia Tourism Website and read my full article published in The Washington Post.
It is time to strip off your winter coat (and shirt, and pants, and…) and cash-in on two tropical vacations for the price of one. The Island House in Key West—the historic, men-only, clothing-optional resort—is once again offering their “Buy Four Nights and Get Three Free” promotion.
To qualify, purchase four nights at the resort before June 30, 2012, and get three free weeknights between July 12 and October 19, 2012, subject to availability. The Conch Republic (as Key West is commonly known) is hot in any season: enjoy a little winter warmth, a little summer sizzle.
With its slogan of “One Human Family,” the city of Key West, celebrates us all. Come as you are, and join the colorful community of artists, intellectuals, eccentrics, natives and tourists who spice up the southernmost city in the continental United States.
At the Island House, you can season the spiciness to your particular taste. Enjoy the outdoor café and bar anytime of the day or night; work up a sweat at the gym, steamroom or sauna; and cool off with a refreshing swim—fully clothed, fully naked, or however you are most comfortable.
So gentlemen, this winter, trade the snow for a little sweat, and trade the cold for a little…conch.
For more information visit www.islandhousekeywest.com or call 1-800-890-6284
To read about my first Island House clothing-optional resort experience click here.
Dance Works Rotterdam/André Gingras
The arts in Pittsburgh are enjoying the Dutch touch in 2012. As the birthplace of pop art giant Andy Warhol, modern dance pioneer Martha Graham, and Pulitzer Prize winning playwright August Wilson, Pittsburgh is no stranger to artistic innovation. This year the city is collaborating with more than 75 Dutch artists to present the Distinctly Dutch Festival, through May 20.
One of the greatest concentration of Dutch artists to be seen this year—anywhere—the Distinctly Dutch Festival will showcase the dance, theatre, music, visual art, film and literature of the Netherlands. This three-month, interdisciplinary cultural festival will offer something for everyone: dance premieres by Jiří Kylián & Michael Schumacher and Dance Works Rotterdam/ André Gingras, multi-media theatrical performances by PIPS:lab, and concerts including Dutch Women of Jazz and the percussive rhythms of Drums United, among many others…
To learn more, read the IQ article published in Out Traveler.
Philadelphia International Flower Show
Other than the 137 islands that make up the state of Hawaii, Philadelphia offers your best chance at getting leid this year. Yes, Hawaiian flora will be blooming in Philly next month when the City of Brotherly Love hosts the Philadelphia International Flower Show. Celebrating the theme, “Hawaii: Islands of Aloha,” the largest indoor flower show in the world will turn 10 acres of exhibit space into a tropical experience blending natural beauty, digital technology and cultural displays.
Presented March 4-11, guests can expect a 25-foot-high waterfall, one of the largest white orchid displays ever assembled, a trip through the Hawaiian rainforest, and a tribute to the memorial garden at Pearl Harbor, among other dazzling displays. According to the Flower Show’s director Sam Lemheney, “Interactive and experiential is the goal of the 2012 Flower Show. Visitors will feel like they are walking across the beaches, jungles and mountains of the Hawaiian Islands.”
The show will also feature Hawaiian performances, restaurants, shops and special social events including the “LGBT Night Out” on Monday, March 5. The night of cocktails, food and friends is quickly becoming a perennial favorite in Philly.
For more information and tickets visit theflowershow.com
Winter Party Beach Party
Get a tan this winter. From February 29 to March 5, Miami heats up the season with the 10,000-guest, six-day Winter Party Festival. This year’s events range from cocktail soirees to cultural outings to—yes—parties, parties, and more parties.
And as if you needed another reason to head south, Winter Party is produced by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, which donates the majority of net proceeds to The Miami Foundation and the Task Force’s national efforts to “build power, take action and create change for the LGBT community.”
Once again, the Surfcomber is serving as the host hotel, though this year’s guests can expect some delightful surprises. In December, the Surfcomber officially reopened as a member of the Kimpton Hotels brand, following a multi-million dollar renovation. Kimpton Hotels are always inclusive and sassy, and now they are inviting you to party on South Beach.
This year, the official events begin on Wednesday and continue beyond the weekend. Two of my favorite, not-to-be-missed events are the Under One Sun Pool Party at the Surfcomber Hotel and, of course, the main event: the Winter Party Beach Party, grooving on the South Beach sand to the beats of DJ Joe Gauthreaux.
For a list of all Winter Party events and passes, visit their website at winterparty.com.
Surfcomber Hotel
Touring the city of Amsterdam, you will discover that houseboats make cozy homes for people…and kitty cats.
For a unique perspective on the lives of some of the Netherlands’ most frisky felines, check out the Poezenboot (or Cat Boat), a floating sanctuary for stray and abandoned cats, on the Singel Canal. When Henriette Van Weelde took in a mama cat and her kittens in 1966, she never imagined she was setting a course toward creating one of the world’s most famous shelters. Officially registered as a charity in 1987, the Cat Boat serves as a home and adoption shelter for the four-legged furries and a tourist attraction for us two-legged travelers. As the Poezenboot receives no government assistance and relies solely on volunteers and private donations, make sure to leave a little contribution after your visit—a little cat-tip for the catnip.
(To learn more, read the full article published on TravelSquire.com)
Filed under Europe
South Beach, Miami
Ivan Quintanilla is the featured travel expert on Toronto’s Proud FM Radio “Your Morning With Richard & Chris.”
In this segment, IQ talks about thawing from the cold in Miami, Florida.
Click below to listen (3 minutes):
And click here to read my South Beach article published in Out Traveler.
*Photo by David Mahler
Urban Gentry
You’ve hopped on and hopped off. Now, one London tour company is letting you steer your own sightseeing course. Urban Gentry matches your interests with an industry professional to provide in-depth, personalized tours of London’s art, fashion, design, food or architecture scenes.
All itineraries can be tailor-made to your specifications, or you can choose from one of their most popular tours. Take the “East End: Hip Neighborhood Tour” to explore shops and galleries of London’s new creative hub, the “London Architecture Tour” to learn about the city’s iconic buildings from a London-based architect and professor, or the “London Fashion Tour” to visit both off-the beaten path boutiques and designer stores with your own fashion insider guide.
Learn about the different tours or start creating your own at www.urbangentry.com.
(Article originally published in Out Traveler)
Filed under Europe
There is wild and then there is wild. From February 27 to March 4, Extraordinary Journeys Africa, the organizers of luxury, customized safaris on the continent, will help you unleash a bit of both by living the wild life at Cape Town Gay Pride and viewing the wildlife at the Madikwe Game Reserve.
The tour begins with four nights at the gay-owned, boutique hotel, Kensington Place, just steps from the party-popular Kloof Street. From here guests can experience Cape Town’s nightlife and Gay Pride events, as well as trips to Robben Island, the 4,000 year old prison now recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, sea kayaking with African Penguins, and a cable car ride to the top of Table Mountain.
Your adventure continues via chartered flight to Jamala Madikwe Royal Safari Lodge for a three-night stay. The luxurious (and also gay-owned) lodge consists of only five villas, each with its own splash pool for ultimate privacy. While in Madikwe you’ll have access to elephants, lions, monkeys and more than 300 square miles of game viewing in South Africa’s newest reserve.
A leader in luxury safaris, Extraordinary Journeys Africa has specifically designed this 8-day-tour to explore the unique contrasts of South Africa… because there is fierce and then there’s fierce!
