My friend Ryan was in tears: he had booked an Italian cruise for him and his current boyfriend, when his boyfriend broke up with him, and that’s how I ended up going on my first gay friendly holiday. To be honest, I was unaware that gay friendly holidays even existed, but I wasn’t complaining because I knew that if it’s gay it must be glamorous!

Legend of the Seas

Our ocean liner was absolutely stunning. In-between all the bars and lounges there were pools, a rock-climbing wall and even an 18-hole mini-golf course. Of course every little detail, from the bottom to the top, was done with great style and formed part of an overall beautiful and grand look. The same could be said for our room which we were sharing. Ryan looked upset at first over the whole scenario, because of course he wanted his loved one to be here with him, but I assured him that we were going to have fun on this cruise, like we always do when we go on holiday together.

Our trip started in Italy moving along the coast towards Croatia and back towards Rome for our flight back home. Almost everyday we anchored for a day of exploring the local sites and cultures, sometimes travelling more inland to experience the big cities. It is astonishing when you start to notice how two cities in one country, speaking the same language, from the same culture, could differ so much. Venice compared to Sicily would be a good example although difficult to explain, it just has a different atmosphere, both good in their own way.

A little bit of vino please

Ryan is a chef, so of course he was beside himself every time we would walk through a city and find a local food market. Fresh, locally produced products that he savoured like only a passionate chef like he can. Since my cooking expertise goes as far as boiling an egg I was more interested in the architecture and history. In Florence, the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance, we had lunch at one of the local restaurants, and yes, it was by far the best bowl of spaghetti I’ve ever had. Ryan explained to me some of the history of spaghetti, how it’s prepared differently in the Southern and Northern parts of Italy and how he loves the simplicity of the Italian culinary arts. Our food was paired with a local Italian red wine, the taste of which perfectly complimented our meal.

We travelled between Florence and Pisa before we set sail again. I couldn’t wait to go to Sicily! This might be because of watching The Godfather one too many times, but my curiosity was getting the better of me. I wanted to see the place so commonly associated with the mafia, and I was not disappointed. Even though there weren’t any mafia lords driving around like I was hoping, the city proved to be more than entertaining. Sicilians are heart-warming people and you really do feel welcome when entering a shop or simply walking down the street.

Cruising along

After Sicily, we cruised towards Split, and for the whole day Ryan and I were on the deck, lying next to the pool and sipping on some cocktails. For the next six days we were cruising between Italy and Croatia. It is wonderful how easily you can travel between countries, so distinctly different, and both unique and great in their own way.

I loved Dubrovnik. My knowledge of Croatia before embarking on this cruise was limited, so when we first arrived at Dubrovnik I was all smiles. You could see this was a city filled with history. The architecture was stunning. Ryan, although agreeing with me that it was more beautiful than expected, was more impressed when we eventually got back to Rome.

Rome is known as the perfect destination for shopping and as a gay man, Ryan was again beside himself when he entered the Piazza di Spagna. This street, we were told, is the best place for shopping. With designer names like Gucci, Versace, Prada and Dolce and Gabbana, it made perfect sense. I was even more impressed when he offered to buy me a pair of Gucci shoes to thank me for coming with him. Now although I felt that it was totally unnecessary, I’m still a woman and a shoe fanatic, so I accepted this gift. They say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, well shoes are the way to a woman’s.

The trip really proved to me that in future, should I want to go on a glamorous holiday, to book myself a gay friendly holiday, because then you know you’ll experience a trip like no other, with all the bells and whistles a girl could want.

Author Bio:

CompuTravel specializes in providing gay friendly holidays for the South African market. CompuTravel serves as an online South African travel agent, boasting highly professional experts with years in the tourism and hospitality industries.

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Are we ultimate perfectionists if we do not find the right person to marry? Or simply out of luck? Does that same perfectionism become our own downfall when we stray for the straight and perfect path into a life of adultery when our partner does not live up to expectations?

Perhaps.

I can’t help but wonder again whether some cheating can’t be healthy. After all: all those perfectionists have to be put in their place sometime and hit their nose on reality. Nothing is perfect, and how better to teach us than that wildly inappropriate partner we accidentally fell into bed with one night, while the wife or husband was home doing the dishes?

I spoke to a man yesterday who is certainly not cheating: the second sentence coming out of his mouth involved the words “my fiance and I”. People who include their significant other in a conversation usually do not intend to cheat; they are not hiding their relationship. Anyhow, the secret to this man’s relationship success was his breakup a few years ago. His (now) fiance and him decided to call it quits on the relationship, but stay good friends. They dated other people for six months, became wildly disappointed with the offerings on the singles market and decided they weren’t so bad for each other after all. Sometimes a separation is not possible, should one really rule out an affair? It’s tricky, but in some cases the affair can be the best thing you could ever do for the relationship. For some people, polyamory does actually work to bring the original couple closer together.

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Sales Training UK is a new company offering just that: better sales figures and productivity. They offer sales courses that aim at teaching you how to win more business and create better and bigger deals. It’s no secret that are tricks to being a good sales person, just like there are tricks to seducing a man or a woman. Both these skills have quite a bit of overlap: in one case you market yourself as a potential date, in the other case you are marketing a product. If you are dating, you yourself are the product.

Perhaps you’ve dated a salesman/woman… what was he/she like? Could you tell they had certain selling skills other potential dates do not have? Were you “sold”? It would be interesting to discuss which professions bring certain ‘advantages’ to the dating game. This does not have much to do with preferred professions, like doctors or lawyers, but rather with people who because of the skills they use in their profession have a competitive advantage in the dating game.

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Shopping comparison sites are my new favorite thing. This year, I am determined not to get him something I secretly want, so I am shopping for an mp3 player. I already have one, so that guarantees I won’t steal his

Basically, I am not sure what type to get yet. All I know is that it has to have decent memory (sorry, 2GB just doesn’t do it anymore), and be within my budget. So needless to say, using a shopping comparing tool for MP3 players has proven very useful. Turns out, they are not as expensive as they used to be (big surprise, I know…), but there is also quite a price difference between stores. Knowing where to get the same MP3 player for less, is definitely awesome. After he finds his Christmas gift under the tree, I’ll also suggest where he can get 25 free MP3s to put on his player.

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I have a confession to make; I like to gamble once in a while. To keep myself in check, I really just take what I can afford to lose, and leave all credit cards at home. Recently, I was asked out on a date by a guy, and he actually bothered to ask me what I’d like to do.

Having gone on three previous “dinner and a movie” dates the week prior to that, I decided a quick trip to the casino might be fun. In addition, you’d be surprised what a little gambling (and losing!) can reveal about a man’s personality.

Anyhow, we arrange to meet at his place and I arrive all dolled up in a little black dress. Next thing I know, he is booting up his computer and logging on to online casinos! OK, it’s a bit different than I anticipated, but I figured ‘what the heck’.

Turns out, this guy is a real homebody, and instead of getting out into the cold he logs into the online gambling world once or twice a week for a couple of hours. He also introduced me to the top USA online casinos, which turned out to be pretty useful in determining which online casinos give the biggest bonus payouts and what their ratings are. It’s a free guide, and according to my date it keeps you away from bogus casino sites that are truly all about getting your money, and never in fact pay out any winnings.

I’m a design-junkie, so the design of http://www.topusaonlinecasinos.com/ is pretty simple. But then again; it serves its purpose perfectly, especially with the top ten list right on the front page.

Although I’m not sure if I will go on a second date with (online) casino-guy, it wasn’t a bad evening. At least my feet were not sore from standing in my stiletto heels all night! I guess even for a serial dater and party girl, it’s OK to stay home once in a while!

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