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September, 2007 - Volume 9, Issue 8
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This Newsletter Sponsored by Hotel Mercurio, Puerto Vallarta
Hotel Mercurio’s owner, Paul Crist is seeking investors to finance an expansion project which will bring the total room inventory to 72, and include an on-site gym and spa, among other amenities. Investors may choose either debt (bonds secured by the real estate) or equity (ownership share). Minimum investment is US$50,000. Complete Business Plan and Pro Forma is available on request, along with current (2006) audited financial statements and other relevant documents. This is a great opportunity to invest in a solid company with proven results. Serious inquiries from qualified investors only. Contact: paulcrist@hotel-mercurio.com or (toll free, US & Canada) 1-866-388-2689. |
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Welcome to the Purple Roofs Travel Newsletter! This Month's Travel Articles This month we have a great article from the Gay Travel Guys, Donald and Ray, about St. Louis, Missouri - thanks, guys! We also have a great article on Oaxaca, Mexico from Brooke at Agua Azula La Villa - thanks, Brooke! Innkeepers - write us an article about your area, and we'll include it in a future issue of this newsletter with credit and links to your website and email addresses. Contact wheretostay@purpleroofs.com for more details. Special Offer Accommodation Notices As always, we also have our Late Availability & Special Offer notices (104 offers in 15 countries/regions) all at http://www.purpleroofs.com/lateavailability.html, or just check your favorite destination page - these notices are also right there on the regular listings. Travelers - Try a Home Trade Membership for Just $60 for 3 Years... ...and stay for free with other gay, lesbian, and gay friendly travelers around the world. More details on our Mi Casa Su Casa site at: http://www.gayhometrade.com. Seen Our Real Estate and Wedding Sections Lately? We've been beefing up our realtor, mortgage lender, and wedding vendor listings over the last several months, and now have over 450 real estate professional listings in 45 US states, Spain, Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean. We also have over 660 Wedding Vendor listings in 42 US states, Asia, Canada, the Caribbean, Central America, Europe, Mexico and the South Pacific. Check out our real estate professional listings here: http://www.gayrealtynetwork.com That's it for this issue - see you next time! :) Mark & Scott, PURPLE ROOFS |
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Traveling in Our Fabulous World
Lafayette Square and neighborhood is among St. Louis' most picturesque areas with beautiful old historic homes everywhere. There are many fine old restaurants within a three block walk from the B and B. Owned by Michael Lance and Jeff Archuleta, the B&B is an elegant 1880's Second French Empire three story residence. Each room is tastefully decorated and offers many amenities and each has their own private bath. There is an outside New Orleans-style Courtyard for guests to enjoy. They have a gourmet full breakfast in their main dining room each morning where guests can intermingle.
When we were there we met a very interesting couple from Mississippi, Eddie and Smitty who, couldn't help it if they were born straight... It just happens sometimes! They were a very fun couple and we took a day trip with them up to Alton, Ill. to see the banks of the Mississippi and the Locks and Dams Museum which was extremely interesting. The locks and dams of course helps navigate the barges and boats coming down the Mississippi River. Napoleon's Retreat is located at 1815 Lafayette Avenue. Their website is: www.napoleonsretreat.com and their toll free number for reservations is 1-800-700-9980 and you can email them at napoleonsretreat@aol.com. They are located centrally to all the bars in the city. This is one B and B that you will want to go back and stay everytime you travel to St. Louis. ( Special Note! - NAPOLEON'S RETREAT has just been named in the top 10 B&B's for business travelers in a survey conducted by BedandBreakfast.com. Congratulations Michael and Jeff!) The Royal Elizabeth in Tucson was also named in the top 10! and congratulations to Chuck and Jeff!
There are dozens and dozens of museums to visit in St. Louis. The Casino craze has hit St. Louis like everyplace else so you can gamble away your money if you like at them. Six Flags over St. Louis is a few miles to the southwest of St. Louis.
St. Louisans live, work and play in the their historic structures. Elegant homes prvide beautiful reminders of the community's commitment to restoration. From Federal row houses to Greek Revival mansions, country villas and a Frank Loyd Write Usonian house, St. Louis' arachitectural styles soar to great heights. The Plaza Frontenac is a very upscale shopping mall featuring Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue as well as dozens of other high-end stores. For sports fans, the St. Louis Rams professional football team is there as well as the St. Louis Blues, their hockey team and of course the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team brought home the World Series Trophy for the city last year.
St. Louis is also a great city for dining. They have hundreds of small family owned restaurants ranging from Italian to everything else and the restaurant at Clementine's bar is always packed with great food at very reasonable prices. and on the upper end of dining, we always enjoy a fabulous dining experience at the Ritz-Carlton. If you are going to be in St. Louis for a few days, they have wonderful day trips to see including Mark Twain's Hannibal, Missouri, the wine country in Hermann, historic St. Charles on the banks of the Mississippi, the French Colonial Territory, the River towns and cave diving and just to the north, Alton, Illinois. The entire St. Louis area is rich in history and architecture A couple of great websites to check out before going to St. Louis are: www.explorestlouis.com/ and stlouis.citysearch.com/ The local gay publications are EXP (www.expmagazine.com) and The Vital Voice (www.thevitalvoice.com) They have a lot of gay bars in St. Louis and among our favorites are:
This column is dedicated to our dear friend, Jim LaMartina, originally from St. Louis and now resides in Palm Springs. Always remember to have fun when traveling, meet new people and talk to everyone! TRAVELING IN OUR FABULOUS WORLD is written by Donald Pile and Ray Williams, Award-winning Celebrity travel columnists who write for gay publications from Coast to Coast. You can email them at: gaytravelers@aol.com or visit their webpage at: http://www.hometown.aol.com/gaytravelers. Huatulco, Oazaca, Mexico Huatulco has nine bays and 36 pristine beaches spread over about 22 miles of coastline. Huatulco is one of five resort areas developed by FONATUR, a government agency created to foment tourism in Mexico over the past 30 years. The others are Cancun, Ixtapa, Cabo, and Loreto. This is an eco-resort area and has been described by some as the "anti-Cancun" because it is not and will not be wall to wall hotels. Huatulco is still in its infancy stage and will be developing for many years to come, but FONATUR has made a commitment to keep 60% of the area as green space and several of the beaches as well as much of the land is designated as National Park. Oaxaca is one of the poorest states in Mexico and the Federal Government has poured almost two billion of dollars into infrastructure as a means of boosting the economy. This means that we have wide, paved, palm-lined streets, electricity that is actually reliable and an excellent sewage system. In fact Huatulco is the only area in Mexico that does not pump sewage (treated or otherwise) into the sea. Water is treated and re-used on the parks, golf course and boulevards. The infrastructure is nice, but what we really like about Huatulco are the beaches. We have two within walking distance of our Villa. One is a small cove with a beach club, the other is a rather secluded, as yet undeveloped beach with literally nothing on it. There are many virgin beaches in the area, some of which can only be reached by boat. Most are swimable and several are good for snorkeling. Although the coral is not as colorful as the Caribbean, fish are more abundant. While you are in the area there are two other nearby locations that you may be interested in seeing. 1.5 hours north of us is Zipolite, a beach famous for big surf style waves and for nude sunbathing. A lesser known place is about three hours south of Huatulco - Juchitan, located in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. It is a unique matriarchal Zapotec culture. In this region it is considered to be a blessing to have a son who is gay. Apparently transsexual dressing is common and the local Catholic priest offers communion to men dressed as women. Towards the end of November, gay men have an annual celebration where they parade in the traditional Zapotec female costume. These are incredibly ornate costumes of vividly embroidered velvet with lace underskirts and head-dresses. Agua Azul la Villa has six ocean view rooms with large palapa covered terazas, queen size bed, A/C and fans. The villa is nestled into the side of a hill and each room is own its own level. There are extensive tropical gardens and a two tiered cascading pool. See our website www.bbaguaazul.com for more information. The villa is non smoking and we do not accept children. |
The "Gateway to the West" is certainly one fabulous city to visit. Whether for a few days or even a week, St. Louis offers hundreds of things to see and do. First, you need to start off with a place to stay.
We highly recommend NAPOLEON'S RETREAT which is a charming and elegant Bed and Breakfast in the heart of Layfayette Square just a few blocks from downtown.
As you enter the residence with it's extremely unique double doors you first see the marvelous marble bust of Napoleon himself. Michael and Jeff have owned the B&B for 13 years and they get repeat guests all the time as they know how to run a B and B the right way. They are great hosts and love to tell about the city and places to visit.
There are so many things to do in St. Louis.....One of the first things we did was to go to the Napoleon Exhibit which was at the Saint Louis Art Museum. It is a traveling exhibit and will be in St. Louis only until mid-September and then will travel to Boston before returning to France. The St. Louis Zoo and Forest Park are two places not to miss. The famous St. Louis Arch in downtown St. Louis is the first thing that you see when driving or flying into St. Louis. Daily tours takes up inside to the top so that you can see spectacular views of the city and surrounding areas. We highly recommend you go to the top of the Arch.
Forest Park is one of the largest suburban parks in the United States with over 1,370 acres and is even larger than Central Park in New York City!
The city is a virtual "melting pot" of European countries and they each have their own little area. The "Loop", the "Central West End", "Laclede's Landing", The "Hill", "Clayton", "Soulard & Cherokee Street" are just a few of the different areas that you would want to visit.
St. Louis is world known for their theatrical productions including their Shakespeare Festival, the St. Louis Black Repertory Company, the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, the Muny which stages performances under the stars in Forest Park and the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. The Anheuser-Busch Plant offers tours daily.