Friday, December 31, 2010
A Royal Christmas
We arrived to the United Kingdom after a delayed Monday morning flight on December 13. Little did we know at the time that our planned seven day visit to Great Britain would last more than two weeks – more on that nightmare later. Our adventure began with some rest and relaxation in the English countryside of Hertfordshire at the Hanbury Manor, a Marriott Hotel & Country Club. With its fragrant walled gardens, stately Jacobean country house and over 200 acres of Hertfordshire parkland, the historic Hanbury Manor was beautiful. Considered London’s "Original Country Retreat,” GI.JOE took full advantage of the décor and surroundings and had a full-on holiday photoshoot. You can see our authentic Christmas card below!
On Wednesday, it was off to the city of London. After checking in to the Astor Hyde Park, we made our way to the famous O2 Arena, one of the largest indoor arenas in Europe and host to hundreds of celebrity concerts annually. The venue was awe-inspiring as its massive space hosts several restaurants, nightclubs, a circus and more. GI.JOE was there for The Night Work Tour by the Scissor Sisters. The opening act was Hurts, an English synthpop duo from Manchester composed of singer Theo Hutchcraft and synth player Adam Anderson. The Scissor Sisters delivered a two-hour set of disco jams with their unique and eccentric performance style. After the concert, we made our way to Soho and danced the night away at the Shadow Lounge.
We woke up on Thursday to a typically cloudy and rainy London. However, nothing would stop us from seeing the sights. We joined up with the New Europe tours that began at Hyde Park Corner and took us around to all the main spots including
Buckingham Palace, Churchill’s War Cabinet Bunker, The Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, Trafalgar Square, St. James’s Park, 10 Downing St., Big Ben and more. Following the tour, we paid a visit to the infamous Madame Tussauds wax museum. A London staple, the museum is a theme park in itself with rides, exhibits and 3D shows. GI.JOE took photos with all the top celebrities including the recently revealed Lady Gaga statue. The Gaga statue displays her wearing the gigantic Philip Treacy telephone hat she sported on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross in March 2010. After an exhausting few hours of photos galore, we hightailed it to the West End to see the stage musical, Priscilla Queen of the Desert. The show was incredible, especially the outlandish costumes and elaborate musical numbers. Shortly after intermission, the cast invited audience members to the stage for a short dance. One of the female dancers saw me and pulled me up on stage… of course, I stole the show! ;) The show doesn’t open until March 20, 2011 at the Palace Theatre in New York City.
On Friday, we finished our London sightseeing with stops at more of the cities’ landmarks including St. Paul’s Cathedral, London Bridge, Shakespeare’s Globe Theater, Millennium Bridge, The Monument, The Tower of London, The Bank of England, Tate Modern, Tower Bridge and more. Our night began at G-A-Y Bar, a popular meeting point for London’s hip homos. After a few drinks we paid a visit to G-A-Y nightclub for their popular Friday night, G-A-Y CAMP ATTACK. The DJ paid classics and current Top 40 jams in each of the club’s four rooms. We were in heaven with all the UK pop songs and diva tunes.
We honored “Shopping” Saturdays by stopping by the world's most famous luxury department store, Harrods, along with the other stores along Oxford Street and more. For nourishment, we did like the locals and had an authentic Fish & Chips meal at a local English pub. Delicious! After some rest, we went to Purl London, a revolutionary cocktail bar that combines elements of Victorian Gin Palaces, prohibition Speakeasies and forward thinking cocktail technology. The underground bar was reminiscent of the cooler New York City spots and the cocktails put any and all Miami “mixologists” to shame. After cocktails at Purl, we again went to Heaven for G-A-Y Saturday, London’s (and some say Europe’s) largest gay and lesbian party. The place was packed and the energy was palpable as the UK’s season seven runner-up of The X Factor, Rebecca Ferguson, was performing at the club that night. However, something was brewing… something bad. We had already heard whispers of a big snow storm coming to London and Gino and I were already feeling under the weather. We called it an early night and went back to our hotel for some rest before our flight the next day – or so we thought.
The next day we had an early afternoon flight but we woke up to London covered in snow and it kept falling throughout the day. Needless to say, the nightmare had begun. Our flight was canceled and Heathrow airport was closed. We found out soon enough that we would not be leaving until the following Sunday – a full seven days later. The news reports all said the same thing – Heathrow was a mess and there was no easy solution. The BBC said the airport looked like a third-world country of travelers stranded for days and airlines being unresponsive and unhelpful. Thankfully, my father was able to get us a hotel for the remaining days but by then GI.JOE was deathly ill and in no mood for this travel mess. We would be spending the holidays in a hotel in London – BUMMER. We made the most of our days there by trying to get better and staying low-key.
Finally, on Sunday, December 26 we got out of London and returned to the warmth and sunshine of Barcelona.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
The Golden City and Downtown Switzerland
Prague was astonishing! The Golden City resembled a picturesque setting out of a vintage Disney movie, magically brought to real life, circa fall 2010. Strolling the streets, we were enamored by endless romantic panoramas and the capital’s magnificent castle made the perfect backdrop for a many fairy tale moments. We could pretend we’re princes all we want, but lets keep it real… GI.JOE’s adventures are on a budget. Those who truly know us, know that we’re a little hesitant when it comes to communal lodging, but we decided to give the “green” Mosaic House hostel a try. We booked a private double room (I know what you’re thinking... "Bye purpose of a hostel!” but we’re taking baby steps here!) and to our surprise it was on the top floor and featured our very own terrace garden boasting spectacular views. Not too shabby, huh?
Staying in the spirit of cheap and chic, we made our way to meet our New Europe tour guide (make sure to check out our last entry’s Diamond Tip for more info). We were introduced to countless city sites and landmarks including Old Town Square, the Astronomical Clock, the Jewish Square, Charles Bridge and of course the Prague Castle.
Old Town Square is one of the city’s main meeting grounds. This area includes access to St. Nicholas Church and a great view of the famous Astronomical Clock, which is mounted on Old Town City Hall. The Clock celebrated its 600th anniversary on October 2010 and is considered a popular tourist attraction. During the time of our visit we were lucky enough to stumble upon a large holiday festival, which gave us the opportunity to enjoy some of the area’s traditional bites and domestic beer.
On our way to the castle, we stumbled upon Prague’s Toy Museum. To our luck, the mini museum was showcasing a Barbie retrospective exhibition in honor of the doll’s 50-year anniversary. Did we go in? Of course. You can check out many photos of our plastic obsession on Facebook.
We didn’t venture too much into the city’s nightworld, mainly because we were exhausted every day from all the sightseeing…
but we did hit up a boozy maze of underground bars. We had a great time making our way to the last bar deep inside and had an even better time trying to make it back out. However, our favorite pass time was lounging on our terrace and spending a great deal of time enjoying our high tea sessions surrounded by the enchanting Czech sunset.
So, yes, everyone knows Zurich is gorgeous. To die for. But you’ll end up dead broke on dark corner of Niederdorf unless a sugar daddy/momma is safely packed inside your cosmetic bag. To put it in lamest terms, you need a lot of $$$$$ to have a good time. Nonetheless, GI.JOE was resourceful and we made the best use of what we had aka we starved.
We decided to get the torture over and done with by strolling down Zurich’s world famous shopping mecca “Bahnhofstrasse” first… it doesn’t cost a dime to window shop, does it? High-quality Swiss goods, jewelers, watchmakers and international designer labels can be found here. This long walkway led us to the tip of Lake Zurich.
Lake Zurich’s scenery is a direct snap shot from the most ridiculously beautiful postcard you can find. The greenery, the fresh breeze, the army of multicolored sailboats, the pristine swans and the Swiss Alps off in the distance make it a mesmerizing sight to see. Accompany this with a hot chocolate and you’re set for a fine afternoon! We were also able to get good photos of the Opera House, St. Peter’s Church and Church of Our Lady (Fraumünster) around this area. Furthermore, one can find other amazing views of the city by taking the funicular near the Lindenhof or Grossmünster.
Our favorite meal was recommended by none other than Ms Tina Turner. Well, hello, girlfriend should know... she lives here! If you’re into heavenly sausages topped with spicy mustards and an array of newly baked breads, than Vorderer Sternen Grill is your place! Inexpensive, too! Thank god we had Löwenbräu beers to help us down our second helpings.
Need to satisfy that pesky sweet tooth? Confiserie Sprüngli took care of us! This shop is famous for Luxemburgerli colorful mini macaroons filled with a top-secret cream mixture that is totally addictive. No gorge fest here, though. We only had about 10 each. Couldn’t really resist not indulging each and every flavor.
Kunsthaus Zurich took our vote for the best artwork. This museum of modern art was showcasing a revival of the first museum exhibition ever devoted to the legendary Pablo Picasso. This particular exhibit comes second to Picasso’s grand museum in Barcelona, but it definitely was marvelous to relish in the artist’s first ever museum retrospective originally debuted in 1932.
Lastly, we have to say Zurich’s nightlife wasn’t much up to par… maybe it was because we were beat each day. Or perhaps, a random night of dancing at Schwuz’s “Madonnamania” (they only played Madonna – that’s it) was a bit too much even for us. Whatever it was, we were ready for some Spanish debauchery – and we were in full throttle!
Monday, November 29, 2010
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Guten Tag Germany
On Monday, October 18, GI.JOE reported for duty and we began the next leg of our adventure. Our two-week journey would include visits to Munich and Berlin (Germany), Prague (Czech Republic) and Zurich (Switzerland) – four very different but unique cities. We arrived to Munich on Monday afternoon and decided to explore the city a little before dinner. Upon the advice of our hostel, we trekked several miles to an authentic Munich beer hall, Augustiner Braustuban. A local favorite, this Bavarian hotspot was packed to the max. We were able to score two seats at one of the many wooden benches inside the hall. The energy and smells emulating from the hall were palpable. We drank several liters of beer (a must in Germany!) and feasted on different Bavarian specialties including pretzels, sausages, chicken wings, pork schnitzel and cheese noodles.
The following day, we did a three-hour walking tour of Munich beginning at the Marienplatz by Mary’s Column. The city came alive and GiGi and I were amazed at the old world charm and beauty of this vibrant city. Highlights included the New Town Hall, The Glockenspiel, The Royal Residence, Church of St. Peter and the Memorial to the German Resistance. Our tour guide did an excellent job of sharing the history of the city and all the events that took place there. Did you know that Hitler was from Munich? The city was also the site of important historical events leading up to WWII including Kristallnacht (Night of the Broken Glass), Hitler’s Beer Hall Putsch and more. Bonus Fact: Munich is also the site of the well-known Oktoberfest!
That night we joined the locals at the concert of dance diva Kelis. Held in the basement of an abandoned department store that was turned into a grungy, live music venue called Puerto Giesing, the concert was full of young Munich hipsters and scenesters. We dressed in our Munich-chic attire and danced the night away to the space-age jams of Ms. K. No concert experience is complete without some cutesy merchandise and concert tees.
Our mood changed quickly the following day with a visit to the Dachau concentration camp memorial. In March 1933, Heinrich Himmler ordered the construction of one of Germany’s first concentration camps, just outside of Dachau, a small town near Munich. The first 5,000 prisoners were political enemies to the Nazi regime. In the following years, other social, ethnic and racial enemies were imprisoned as Dachau went on to become the only concentration camp to remain active during the entire Third Reich period (1933-1945). At the time of liberation, over 200,000 prisoners from more than 30 nations had been imprisoned there. The Dachau memorial has become one of the most important centers of remembrance, contemplation and learning in Germany today. As soon as we passed through the camp gates, we came upon the infamous saying, “Arbeit macht frei” or ‘work will set you free.’ This was one of many intimidation and propaganda tools the Nazis would use to control their prisoners. It was especially frightening to visit the crematorium and gas chambers. It’s one thing to read about it in school or hear all the harrowing stores but nothing can prepare you to a visit to an actual camp. The visit ended with the very touching Memorial to the ‘Unknown Prisoner.’ How could this have happened to so many millions of human beings?
After our visit to Dachau, we boarded another train to Berlin, the modern capital of Germany. It was almost a return home for me as I had spent a month as Berliner last summer for my study abroad program. I had grown to admire this city for its melting pot of cultures and gastronomic treats. I was anxious to show GiGi the city. The following day, we awoke early to begin exploring Berlin. Our tour began at the Brandenburg Gate, followed by several important landmarks including the Gendarmenmarkt with the Concert House and the German and French cathedrals, Museum Island, the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, Checkpoint Charlie and Hitler’s underground bunker.
We also paid a visit to my favorite chic and cheap restaurant, Vapianos. A fast-casual concept that allows guests to make their own pasta and pizza dishes alongside a chef, Vapianos needs to be brought stateside ASAP. Thursday night was our first night out on the town and we visited a number of Berlin gay hotspots including the Axel Hotel Berlin, Prinzknecht and Connection Club Berlin. They sure know how to party!
The following morning we awoke to severe hangover that only a ‘China Box’ could cure. For all you non-Berlin visitors, residents there are a big fan of noodle boxes. From restaurants to food trucks, these heavenly noodles are served with chicken and come in easy to carry, Chinese take-out boxes. Delicious and uber-cheap, you’ve never tasted anything so heavenly. We also did a little shopping at Postdamer Platz and the Sony Center (we bought Cutesy the Penguin, an adorable H&M money pouch that has become the mascot of our trip; “Say hi, Cutesy!”), and paid a visit to the Schwules Museum, a permanent exhibition on the history, culture, art and everyday life of homosexuals. This fascinating museum is very unique and we hope that other cities establish similar exhibits. Before nightfall, we walked back to East Berlin to visit the Memorial for Nazis' Gay Victims memorial. This moving memorial pays homage to all the homosexual lives lost in the holocaust. We ended our stay in Berlin with a bang… literally! GI.JOE attended a gay circuit party at the infamous Kit Kat Club. An icon of debauchery and decadence around the world, the Kit Kat Club has served as the backdrop for many a crazy party and is also the legendary nightclub in the hit musical, Cabaret.
On Saturday, October 23 it was off to the magical city of Prague. To be continued…
Diamond Tips:
- Pay a visit to www.neweuropetours.eu. Sandeman’s New Europe tours connect great guides with smart travelers. The company hosts free tours in many of Europe’s popular tourist cities and they serve as great introductions for any traveler. The tour guides work on a tip-only basis so you can decide what to pay. We did four of these tours and they were great!
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