One of the things that makes Apple’s iPhone so addictive are the wide range of third party created “apps” (which do span the admittedly silly to the overly complicated) but also include many which are downright useful and easy to use.
Kudos to the Netherlands Board of Tourism and Conventions for creating the elegantly designed Amsterdam Mobile Guide app. Download this to your iPhone (it’s available absolutely free from the iTunes App Store!) and you’ll have a combination city map/guidebook right on your phone. While far from comprehensive, the maps are great, and there’s good information on sights, museums, cafes, and restaurants. While it’s at its best while connected to the internet (where you can use it to pinpoint your exact location) it’s also quite useful offline (saving expensive connection charges) as most of the information is stored right in the app itself, providing useful descriptions of historical sights, museum opening hours, cafes, restaurants, shops and more. And so far, the board of tourism seems to be committed to keeping it current with regular updates. One of the best travel apps I’ve come across, the Amsterdam app is simple to use, well designed, a great portable map—and much more.
I had the pleasure of being among the travel writers to submit nominations for Logo online’s TripOut Gay Travel Awards. My thanks to TripOut’s editor, John Polly, for including me on his “first-ever nominating academy.”
I wasn’t quite sure what he’d make of my suggestions—some of which probably went beyond quirky—but my nominations did make the top six (determined by a consensus tally of all the nominating academy members) in five of the eleven categories!
Here’s Logo’s press release: NEW YORK, NY August 19, 2009 – Logo, a unit of Viacom’s MTV Networks, announced today that TripOutGayTravel.com, its comprehensive travel site dedicated to the LGBT traveler and MTV Network’s first stand-alone, travel-focused site, will present its first ever “TripOut Gay Travel Awards.” The awards honor the most stylish, exciting and hottest destinations and services that attract, pamper and market to the LGBT traveler.”
So please have a look at the nominations and vote for your favorites—trust me, it’ll be more fun than a Facebook quiz.
Then, just for fun, I’m posting my complete nominations below:
Best Global Destination(country or city)
BUENOS AIRES With European flair and third world prices, Buenos Aires is the perfect recession getaway. Plenty of gay venues, gay marriage equality, plus good food, fun shopping, plentiful taxis… and cheaper than staying at home!
ISTANBUL A controversial choice I know, but the vibrant capital of this secular Muslim country is the perfect introduction to a largely misunderstood culture. While it’s a treasure trove of history and art, Istanbul is also a modern metropolis. Safe and friendly, it can be both luxurious and cheap, with a surprising diversity of gay venues. Plus, attractive Turkish men (straight) stroll arm in arm.
PARIS Arguably the most beautiful city in the world with great food, the great art, markets, fashion, parks, cafes— Paris is perhaps too obvious. But gay life is accepted and ubiquitous and the new Velib public bike system (one of the many initiatives by Paris’ gay mayor) makes club hopping effortless and fun. No more expensive taxis!
Best U.S. Destination (large or small city)
CALIFORNIA’S HIGHWAY 1 What’s more American than driving? And what drive in America is more fun than the winding, vertiginous, coast hugging Highway One. Leave glamorous Los Angeles and allow plenty of time for stops in Ventura, Santa Barbara, Hearst Castle, Big Sur, Monterey and Santa Cruz. After a suitable stay in San Francisco, keep heading north. Be sure to rent a convertible.
Best Airline
ARE YOU KIDDING? My first thought on seeing this category. Flying (with it’s attendant security protocols; the hostile welcome of US immigration and customs; the seats designed for dwarves; and the extra charges for everything) is nothing more than the price we endure to get where we are going.
OK, Less bitchy:
AIR FRANCE/KLM For the unwavering professionalism of the staff, in an era when most airline employees (perhaps justly) seem to hate their jobs. Air France staff, in particular, have proved themselves helpful beyond my expectations time and again. And KLM has those charming souvenir “huisjes” as well as the world’s greatest airport.
EASYJET Yes, it’s a flying bus, but at least it’s cheap, cheap, cheap! Plus the use of smaller airports can take some of the strain off air travel.
But maybe:
FORGET FLYING: THE EUROPEAN HIGH SPEED RAIL NETWORK The expanding network of national and public/private high-speed trains allows travel to an ever increasing number of European destinations. It’s fast, it’s comfortable, it’s fun. That’s two out of three (and sometimes even three out of three) over air travel.
Best Hotel Chain (Collection)
HYATT I usually prefer local hotels over chains, but Hyatt has some great properties—from the luxurious Park Hyatt Buenos Aires to the Boutique Hyatt Madeleine Paris, to the Club floors at larger properties which give the feel and service of a boutique hotel. Count on comfortable, modern décor as opposed to frou-frou, and friendly staff that know when to be unobtrusive and yet are eager to be helpful beyond reason.
EBAB.de OK, it’s not a hotel chain nor even a hotel, but this German-based gay website of rooms-to-let in private apartments is a great option for gay travelers. Staying with friendly locals can save lots of cash, as well as providing personal recommendations on your destination. Great for solo travelers, the site has expanded to include completely private apartment accommodations as well.
Best LGBT Tour Operator
ANDREW BROAN at ALYSON ADVENTURES It’s all about the guide isn’t it? With two decades of travel experience, knowledgeable, unflappable, athletic and multilingual Andrew Broan is a perfect travel guide. A long time tour guide for Alyson Adventures, Andrew is an expert on France, Italy, Morocco, Vietnam, and cycling tours.
Best Annual Destination Party or Event (global)
AMSTERDAM GAY PRIDE Still one of the great gay parties. This three day event never really changes, but it brings together people from all over the world for a non-stop street party. The parade of boats is unique, and attracts not just an LGBT audience but is an event enjoyed by residents young and old, gay and straight, in this most gay-friendly of cities. Plus, it’s free. (First weekend in August)
Best Ultimate Luxury Hotel/Resort (global)
NONE Sad to say, I have not been wined and dined in quite this style. Now accepting invitations.
Best Breakout Destination (global)
CROATIA Croatia hasn’t gone gay all of sudden, but I’m sure it eventually will. In the meanwhile enjoy the relatively undiscovered Dalmatian coast. Croatia has natural beauty, Roman ruins, Italian inflected food, Adriatic beaches, and friendly and helpful natives. Driving is easy on newly built roads, but for the ultimate luxury, hire a yacht and sail the islands.
Sexiest Place on Earth (a destination? a city? an event? a neighborhood?)
LES PAVILLON DES LYS, Amboise What could be sexier than chef Sébastien Bégouin’s eight course prix fix menu in the garden of Les Pavillion des Lys as the spring sun sets behind the Château d’Amboise? It’s three star food at a no star price with a fairy tale setting. Have I confused eating with sex again? Should I mention there are also seven inexpensive but luxurious bedrooms upstairs?
Best Gay Bar in the World!
HUB Tuscany It’s really hard to find. It’s accessible only by car. It’s off a middle-of-nowhere country road between Pisa and Lucca. It’s open only on Saturday nights from October to April. But surprisingly, this is the largest and possibly the most fun club in gay-venue starved Italy. With multiple dance-floors, a huge outdoor area and a naughty men-only room, it’s packed all night long with Italian boys and girls who’ve driven great distances to party all night. As the guidebooks might say “worth a detour.” (www.hub.fm)
AND FINALLY… The Gay+ Award for Achievement in Making our World Gayer! (this goes to a person, or company, or a city; fun in tone, but goes to a truly deserving recipient)
THE AMAZING RACE As a travel-themed reality television program seen by millions, The Amazing Race deserves credit for consistently featuring gay participants and presenting them with respect, equality, and a refreshing lack of exploitation. It’s a show that depicts gays as individuals: a diverse group of partners, family members and friends rather than stereotypes.
Do you know of any cheap but clean/safe hotels in Amsterdam (specifically, safe for a mom and child alone)? I want to get a hotel in Amsterdam for a couple nights to avoid all the train riding back and forth from my friend’s house in the Hague but money is very tight so….some inside info would be great! My friend in the Hague never really seems to go to Amsterdam; perhaps you can help?
Hi
I haven’t stayed in a hotel in Amsterdam for quite sometime, but I’ll try to give you some help.
My favorite hotel is the Ambassade (http://www.ambassade-hotel.nl/) great location, rooms, service etc, but it might be more than you want to spend. Hotel prices in Amsterdam have risen quite a bit since the introduction of the Euro.
I think the NH chain of hotels in the city are good values for larger hotels with elevators, etc.
You might also check out the Lloyd Hotel (http://www.lloydhotel.com) along the eastern docklands; they have rooms in all price ranges and it’s rather a fun place. A short tram ride from the historic center.
A brand new hotel that might be good for you is the Citizen M Amsterdam City (http://www.citizenm.com/) it’s adjacent the WTC train station (NOT centraal Station) which you can get to by direct train from the Hague. It’s brand new, seems really nice and cheap. It’s in a quiet residential neighborhood, but the number 5 tram will take you to the museum quarter and the city center.
If you go to hotels.nl you can compare prices and possibly find a good deal. There are lots of great little hotels along the canals if you don’t mind the steep dutch stairs. Best places to stay would be along the Western or Southern canal belt. This is the most picturesque part of the city, and it’s central yet quiet. Hotels between the Central Station and the Dam can be nice, but the nightlife there can be noisy and perhaps a bit seedy for a child, though the whole city is quite safe. Find a hotel that meets your budget, check the location on google maps, then go to the hotel’s website to check it out and see if you can book it even cheaper directly.
Also, if you don’t plan on staying out very late in Amsterdam, you can easily get from the Hague (either Den Haag CS or Den Haag HS stations) to Amsterdam on the intercity trains which run quite frequently. The trip takes about 45 minutes. The The train system is excellent so you may also want to visit Haarlem, Utrecht or Rotterdam as well. You can check the schedules online (in English at ns.nl. By the way, you can get to Delft from Den Haag by city tram.
I have friends going to Venice in 2 weeks. Could you give me a short list of 2 or 3 restaurants that you have liked there. I know you have found some special ones.
Thanks, Dave
Our best meal in Venice recently was at Antiche Carampane, a hard to find family-run restaurant in San Polo frequented exclusively by locals. The menu changes daily and is based entirely on what they find that morning at the market, so it has a somewhat limited menu composed almost entirely of local fish, shellfish and vegetables, all brilliantly prepared. The atmosphere is very friendly, and the owners will basically tell you what to eat. If you are not picky, you will have a great meal. The atmosphere is lively and fun and even the desserts are great. It’s quite moderately priced given the quality of the food—and that it’s in Venice. It’s small, and reservations are essential. It’s also quite hard to find, so you’ll need a good map. As Venice addresses are useless you’ll be wandering some fairly deserted residential alleys and squares until you find the Calle de la Carapane. When you’re sure you’ve missed it, just go a little further, and there it is.
Other favorites in Venice are San Marco, a stylish restaurant with excellent food and a good wine list, centrally located on a small street called Frezzeria behind the famous piazza; and Vino Vino a casual and inexpensive winebar/restaurant (on Calle della Vesta, no credit cards) near La Fenice opera house.
The three restaurants mentioned by every food writer in the world are all excellent, but also extremely expensive. The very formal Da Fiore is great, but you may not want to drop the 200 Euros per person it will cost you to eat there. Likewise the equally delicious and famous Al Covo. Fiaschetteria Toscana is my current favorite among the three, being slightly less pricey. All offer expansive menus, multi-lingual staff and excellent food—for a price.
If you have time to take a day trip out to Torcello (a very pleasant boat ride in good weather), one of my favorite restaurants for a long, leisurely lunch is Osteria al Ponte di Diavolo. Great, typically Venetian food in a lovely outdoor setting between the boat dock and the oldest church in Venice. A little expensive, but worth it, and again reservations advised.
It’s worth visiting Do Mori, one of the oldest bars in Venice, for a drink and a few excellent cicheti. This stand up establishment, tucked away on the Calle die Do Mori on the San Polo side of the Rialto Bridge is a stand up affair, and open only during the day. Nearby there are several similar bars offering cicheti and wines by the glass.
Notable too are a number of new, very stylish and modern bars and restaurants that seem to be popping up around Venice, indicating that the city is more than simply a museum. You’ll encounter them in out of the way places, but Aciugheta (on the Campo Santi Filippo e Giacomo, between San Marco and San Zaccaria) is a nice central place for a drink and cicheti. They also operate a stylish new restaurant with only five tables (on the same square) which serves very good modern takes on Venetian food.
I will also recommend the guidebook Venice Osterie (in English) though you’ll probably have to pick it up in Venice itself at the Mondadori Bookshop (Salizada San Moise, in the haute shopping district off Piazza San Marco.) By the way, there is a very stylish cocktail bar behind the bookstore, one of the few that is open late in Venice, but drinks are rather expensive. If you still want to drink after dinner, I’d suggest a walk to the Campo Santa Margherita and the cheap and lively bar Margaret Duchamp.
In addition to the above, I cannot stress enough the value of simply wandering around the farther, tourist-ignored reaches of Castello, Cannaregio, San Polo or Dorsoduro around lunch time, where you will encounter wonderful little restaurants catering to local residents and workers, and serving up simple, delicious food at absurdly low prices. Poke around and go with your instincts. In these non-tourist areas you’ll also find great places for coffee and drinks (try the Spritz Aperol, a local favorite) at rock bottom prices—the Venetians love their coffee and drinks.
A beautiful Italian farm and a fantastic homemade meal: what more could you ask? The Villa Gaidello, just outside Modena, Italy is our favorite sort of inn: comfortable, full of character, family-owned, moderately priced, completely unpretentious, and serving delicious, lovingly-prepared food.
Lets start with that food. We knew we were in for a treat when we saw the ladies making the meat tortolini through the kitchen window. There is just one set family-style meal served in the farm’s large dining room. We sat down at a table with our places stacked high with plates on pretty hand embroidered linen. The owner, Signora Paolo Bini, came to the table to chat in Italian. First a bottle of sparkling Trebianno wine made on the estate was poured. Antipasti appeared: parma ham, salami, mortadella, pickled onions, marinated artichoke hearts, and these amazing little deep fried puffs! Then we had those handmade pork tortolini in broth. Then a plate of larger tortoloni, ricotta stuffed, with butter and sage leaf. Then a roasted chicken (delicious!!) with roasted potatoes and a little green salad. There was a bottle of red wine…a local San Genovese. Then some deep fried sweet cheese thing—I’m not sure what exactly—with some deep fried zucchini strips. Then a dessert of a sort of chocolate and vanilla puddings on a biscuit, with some candied fruit and whipped cream. And some sort of unlabeled fortified wine with it, and a coffee, and a meringue and a cookie! A fabulous dinner with no effort on our part at all. No one speaks any English here, but they are never-the-less very friendly and chatty! The atmosphere is totally unpretentious, with makes it especially fun; the food is served by a girl in an apron–no tuxedoed waiters here—but it is so fantastic.
The rooms—suites really—in various farm buildings are charming and quirky. We had two bedrooms, two sitting rooms, a kitchen, bath and hall–all for just the two of us. The suite was furnished with funny old things, some very pretty, some rather shabby, but all quite comfortable—rather like staying in a private home. I would recommend a room here on the main farm, rather than in the newer annex down the road. The grounds are beautiful, with trees and gardens lots of lovely details and even a lake full of swans!
I will confess, we discovered this inn through a mention in Travel+Leisure Magazine—but it is very un-Travel+Leisure, and if your favorite hotel is the Ritz-Carlton, it may not be to your taste; but for the rest of us, it is a real find. Dinner for two, and our huge suite that could have easily slept four, plus a tasty breakfast totaled a reasonable €200. Convenient to Modena and Bologna, it is also well worth a special trip.
Mornings the inn is managed by Signora Bini’s American-raised niece, a good time to call if you need to speak English, but fax or e-mail reservations are probably easiest.—Clay Doyle
Written 2002, revisited October, 2006
Villa Gaidello 18 Via Gaidello, Modena 39-059/926-806, fax 39-059/926-620
Sometimes you find a great restaurant in the most unlikely place. Such is the Osteria di Meati it a tiny hamlet just outside of Lucca. The village of Meati is so small as to be almost non-existent; It’s on a tiny, obscure road that you would likely be driving only because you had gotten lost; and the restaurant itself is totally unassuming, looking rather like a neighborhood bar. Only the large number of cars parked outside hint at the treats waiting within.
Inside is a rather ordinary bar with a few tables; a reservation will get you a table in simple, but pleasant, dining room in the rear—crowded with happy, well dressed, hungry locals. And why not? The food is fantastic, and unbelievably cheap! About half the short menu consists of daily or weekly specials, all composed of fresh seasonal ingredients and house-made pastas.
It’s difficult to make a plate of tuscan beans with slices of lard sound as good as it is, but this is a must have antipasto. The Tuscan crostini with chicken livers is among the best versions I’ve had of this Tuscan classic. Grilled vegetables are also very nicely done. The risottos and pastas are consistently excellent, particularly the daily specials, which might feature wild game, wild mushrooms or fresh herbs. The segundo tend to feature rabbit, duck, eel or tripe as specials, though there is always roast chicken or sliced steak. The meat dishes are perfectly prepared and seasoned, evidencing an un-fussy, yet sophisticated hand in the kitchen. The rabbit and duck were both delicious, and Cinghiale, a classic Tuscan stew of wild boar and olives that is too often lackluster, was perfection. Desserts are pleasant and the house wine decent.
I’m not sure who is in the kitchen, turning out this fantastic food, but the owner and his teenaged son run the dining room, with a friendly welcome and great enthusiasm.
And Unbelievably—four courses, house wine, coffee will set you back little more than €20 ($20) per person. If you can find it, I enthusiastically reccomend a meal—or several—at the Osteria di Meati.—Clay Doyle
Antica Osteria di Meati
Meati is about 3 kilometers west of Lucca
Follow the signs to Meati from the old road SS12
Telephone (39) 0583-510-373
Reservations advised
Originally posted November 2002. I revisited the Osteria di Meati several times in October of 2006 and found it better than ever. Sunday lunch on the lawn with big bistecca Friorentino is a special treat.—Clay
Leavenworth, Kansas, northeast of Kansas City, and known primarily as the home of a Federal Penitentiary and a Military Prison, could be considered “off the beaten track”. Though it was once, in the mid 19th century, the largest city between St. Louis and San Francisco, today it has a decidedly sleepy, small town atmosphere. There aren’t too many places worth eating if you find yourself in Leavenworth—but there is one tiny place that is terrific—perhaps even worth a special trip.
Marfield’s is a small Bar-B-Que joint in downtown Leavenworth—in a part of the country famous for Bar-B-Que and steaks. It was recommended to me by the proprietress of a local giftshop, the wife of a retired army officer who had lived for many years in Europe, and seemed to have a great appreciation for good food.
I Didn’t know what to expect really, as it’s a very unassuming sort of dust colored stucco shack on an empty block—with not even a sign outside. But once you step through the door it is a real surprise—very nicely done up in a manner that is both friendly yet stylish. There are nice wooden booths with really nice copper clad tables and pale spare walls. The place is quite small, but divided by a low wall into two rooms—one with six small booths and the other with a long bar and a few tall tables. The building was once a carriage house, and had been a bar and restaurant for a long time after that. It had been closed for a while when David Spangler, proprietor and chef, acquired it. After extensive interior renovation, he opened Marfield’s in January 2002.
We arrived for lunch a bit after two, rather late for lunch—especially in the midwest—and as we were the only customers at that hour, we had a long conversation with David. He had previously owned a larger restaurant, but wanted to get away from the problems of management, and have a small place where he could fully indulge his passion for good food. He did all the renovations himself—including inlaying the bar top with a collection of vintage souvenirs—and during our visit served as both chef and waiter. And the food was excellent. I had the BBQ ribs—they are falling off the bone tender, with a fine smoky crust and accompanied by David’s own-recipe sauce for dipping. (This is his Dixie sauce—vinegary and complex; he offers a sweeter, more conventional BBQ sauce as well, in response to local demand). Of course I had to order all the side dishes as well—a fine potato salad, crunchy fresh-tasting coleslaw, and a special concoction of baked beans that are perhaps the finest I have ever had. The menu is limited—ribs and steaks; a few large salads; a hamburger, and some sandwiches at lunch. There’s a nice assortment of beer on tap, and a full bar as well.
This is truly Travel Tip material—a real find. It’s delicious, it’s new, the owner is great, there are not so many good places to eat in Leavenworth—and it is not a place you’d be likely to wander into on your own.
David did say he was having a sign made, however!—Clay Doyle
Please note that the fantastic Restaurant Olivia closed in 2007.
If you live in the San Francisco Bay Area, or will be visiting, do not fail to pay a call on chef Nathan Peterson’s new restaurant Olivia, in America’s culinary epicenter, Berkeley, California.
I had the pleasure of two meals at Olivia, over the fourth of July weekend, a few weeks after it opened. The intimate 26 seat restaurant, with a wood burning fireplace and a zinc bar, offers the romantic ambiance of a fine small restaurant in rural France or Italy…
The food too is inspired by Europe, particularly the Mediterranean including Italy, France, Spain and even north Africa—but employing, in the Berkeley tradition, many organic, locally raised products. The menu is organized in the manner of a small European restaurant as well—offering a mere handful of appetizers (at $7 each), main courses ($19) and desserts ($6) which change daily based on what’s best from the market. Sometimes it’s deceptively simple, like a brilliant lamb shank that had been cooked slowly, probably all day. Other dishes are deliciously complex, like the cornmeal pancake with trout, bacon, arugula and Meyer lemon crème—one appetizer that seems a constant on the otherwise changing menu. Desserts tend to feature amazingly fresh fruit and intensely flavored house-made ice creams. The daily menus are posted on the restaurant website…In fact, I find myself checking the menu online once a week or so, just for the mouth-watering descriptions of what’s currently on offer.
I have to confess, unlike most of my travel tips, Olivia is not a little gem we happened to stumble across—Nathan is a friend of long standing. I have eaten Nathan’s cooking for twenty years—at the always excellent Bay Wolf in Oakland, where he was chef for many years; in his own home, where he effortlessly prepares fabulous feasts; and even in my own kitchen in Amsterdam! His cooking is superb—a brilliant combination of well-chosen ingredients, experience, and a talent for simple innovation. I’ve learned a lot about cooking just by watching him prepare a meal at home—and yet he can still dazzle me with something as simple a prosciutto and melon—a dish that is a staple of my own repertoire—with a couple of his personal and subtle twists.
A further note: Michael Logan and I, through The Doyle/Logan Company, designed the logo, cards, menu and website for Olivia. Otherwise, the charming restaurant itself was entirely designed by the multi-talented Nathan and his partner, David Holcombe, with the help of their friends.—Clay Doyle
While it may be France’s second-largest city, any Frenchmen will tell that Lyon is its country’s gastronomic capital.
No where else (in the world maybe) can you find such an appreciation for eating in such a grand, hearty, deliberate style as in Lyon. Vegetarians won’t find much to woo them on a traditional Lyonnaise menu. It’s all about meat; and much of it is all about organ meat—tripe, and the famous andouillette and Rosette and Jesus sausages (made from the intestinal bits of the hog)—which will be found in every eatery. Even the salads may come served with bacon and a poached egg on top (the classic salade Lyonnaise). But if you’re game for trying these local favorites, you won’t be sorry. They’re delicious!
The most traditional of Lyonnaise restaurants is the “bouchon”—a unique regional sort of bistro. You can’t leave Lyon without eating in at least one. Many vie for the title of the most perfectly typical, but the winner may be the splendid Cafe des Federations, a lively local institution that can’t have been redecorated since the ’50s. As soon as you arrive (and it’s a good idea to book ahead) the staff with begin filling your table with starters like the classic salade Lyonnaise, deep-fried pork skins, potatoes with bits of herring, a tray of cold-cut sliced sausage meats, and more. Wash it all down with a pot (a uniquely Lyonnaise unit of measure—about 2/3 the size of a usual wine bottle) of the local Beaujolais or Cote du Rhone. Then the jovial waiter will rattle off the evenings main course specials, all of which will be classics, like fish quennelles (a local dish, much like a large dumpling) or battered tripe. Be bold, ask your server for his recommendation, and prepare to be delighted. Then sit back, enjoy your wine and the festive atmosphere. English is spoken—sort of—but having some elementary grasp of French wouldn’t hurt. Expect a fun, festive night of it, surrounded by cheery locals.
