Wednesday, February 23, 2005

Favorite Vacations

Being February and all, I thought that I digress a little and talk about favorite vacations.

One of the best vacations I ever had was several years back when I first visited Sydney, Australia. What a fantastic city. I went to Sydney Mardi Gras. I had a room overlooking the main parade route. I'll never forget the synchronized Marilyn Monroes, at least 60 guys dressed as Marilyn in her revealing pink dress. All those pink Marilyns, all those blonde wigs.
It brought the huge crowds to their knees. About a million spectators line the parade route.
Most of the spectators are straight who know a bloody good show when they see it. What you don't see at gay pride parades is the notion of starting on time. The parade began punctually at 8 pm.

I remember the huge party afterwards on the sight of one of the former Olympic venues. These big staging areas held the various dances. So many guys hung out between the buildings. I loved the leather dance, but all were really cool. Miles and miles of hot men dancing and having a great time. The ultimate circuit party. Later I went on an all male boat cruise around Sydney Harbor. The Opera House is stunning to see from the harbor. I got to hold a koala as well. That vacation was hard to beat. So guys if you are heading to Sydney, now is the time to go. Mardi Gras is the first Saturday in March and it is a fuckin blast.

Another time I flew over the Pacific and spent most of that vacation in both New Zealand and Australia. This time I flew into Auckland and enjoyed this city which is very similiar to San Francisco in its topography. Very hilly and influenced by Asian culture. I took a tour of the North Island where Auckland is located and then flew down to Wellington on the south end of the North Island. Wellington is the capital of New Zealand. It too resembles San Francisco, especially its weather. This city is very full of life, very unlike Camberra, the sleepy capital of Australia. It has museums and gardens. I loved walking the narrow hilly streets. And you can't go hungry anyway in NZ. The fish is excellent and the staff friendly. I then took a high spped ferry boat ride to the South Island. I was there when NZ had won their last America's Cup yacht race and the country had gone absolutely mad. On the South Island, it is more rustic and its high elevations are snow peaked. New Zealand was formed from a volcano and some parts of the South Island are still active. I rode down to the crown jewel of the South Island, Christ Church. I love CC very much. It is very English and it is remarkable because it is both charming and laid back. If you fly to Australia in the future, you have to make time to visit New Zealand.

If you guys have favorite vacation spots you'd like to share, feel free to do so. In the meantime, stay warm and snuggly.

4 comments:

Cati said...

hello

Greg said...

Two of my favorite vacation destinations:

1) Maui, Hawai'i: my first vacation alone after coming out. I spent a week on the island and thoroughly enjoyed it.

2) Segovia, Spain: One of the most beautiful old Europena cities I've seen. A wonderous castle, gigantic cathedral, walled-in city, and the Roman aqueduct.

lll said...

I really wanna go to the Mardi Gras in Australia...unfortunately, I cannot this year...I will do next year for sure...anyone interested?

cola boy said...

My partner has been to Sydney for a business trip. I really want to get there someday.

We haven't travelled a lot but we loved Yosemite national Park. It was so beautiful.