raughtic

As a gay midwestern transplant, West Hollywood was one of the things that lured me to Los Angeles. It took me 5 years to finally work my way up to living here (the rent is about 5 times more than what someone from the midwest would be used to paying) but I definitely love it. I like being able to walk to many differnt bars, restaurants and stores and feeling safe, but best of all that you can see same-sex couples walking around day and night.

If you are staying in Reykjavik, you must go to the Perlan and have a meal there, it is simply amazing. If you’re travelling on a budget (like I was), there is a cafeteria near the top where you can get a very reasonable meal and beer and enjoy the view. If you have some more money, the revolving restaurant on the top looked spectacular, but there was no way to eat there without spending at least $100 per person. There is a fountain in the middle of the building that is meant to emulate a geysir, it shoots very high! Also, outside of the Perlan there are many hiking trails around the hill (Oskjuhild – I probably spelled it wrong!) that are worth exploring, as there are some old ruins from US Military bases back from WWII that are interesting to look at.

My boyfriend and I went to Iceland last year for the annual Airwaves music festival, where bands from around the world play all over Reyjkavik in bars, clubs, and other interesting venues. The festival is in October, which is a good time because although it’s cold, it’s not that bad, and there are less regular tourists… the tourists that were there were mainly music fans there for the festival, which was cool. My advice is to try and make some friends online before you go – we had a couple that met us and showed us around, it made a big difference to have a local helping us out. Renting a car is highly advised too as taxis are very expensive (as is most everything else.)

I spent a lot of time here, waiting for my friend to come pick me up!!! I must say it’s a lively, exciting place, but can be very scary when you don’t speak any french and you were expecting someone to pick you up who didn’t show for a few hours!

I went to the UK in 2003, and because my best schoolfriend Laura whom I hadn’t seen in years was living in Paris, I decided to take the Chunnel over from London even though I only had one night. It was worth it, but I really wish I could have stayed longer. I very much enjoyed my brief time walking around Paris and the city gave me such an incredible feeling of being somewhere really different and important. I was even “lucky” enough to see Paris in the rain.

My parents moved here after I already lived in California. So now when I go “home” to visit my parents, I go to Olathe. Which is just fine with me because I actually like visiting there. It has the feeling of a small town, but with plenty of shopping and restaurants and is a short drive from downtown Kansas City and Westport.

I lived in Hays for my complete high school and college career, so I have mixed feelings about it. I am glad that my parents moved away after I graduated college so now I don’t really have to call it home. But I must admit that I had a good time while I was there and despite the obvious drawbacks, I did find enough open-minded, creative, intelligent people there who became my friends. The college is definitely the best thing about Hays, but there is also a lot of history there with Fort Hays and everything.

Catalina Island is such a great place to take a couple days off from the “real world” and escape! The feeling of approaching the island by boat really makes you feel like you are going to a different world. The Casino tour is a must. Next time I go I plan on doing a tour of the interior of the Island.

It may not have tropical fruit and ocean breezes, but the small town of Paradise Kansas has plenty of blue sky, wide open spaces and a tranquility that seems out of this world. The famous Water Tower is the local landmark, which can be seen for miles and miles before arriving in town. Paradise had it’s heyday near the turn of the century but is now largely abandoned.