Doppelganger

So there I was, sipping my double vodka and tonic at the gay street party and eyeing up the (plentiful) talent when a cute Spanish guy came up and asked if he could take a photo of me because "you're the spitting image of my friend Tim." Cue the start of a very drunken afternoon with a lovely bunch of people, including said Tim and friends. We met so many wonderful guys 'n' gals this year at Brighton Pride, thanks in no small part to my two best wingwomen Sis and Jo - it must surely qualify as BPE (Best Pride Ever). Lovely too to have shared part of it with Petite Anglaise who gamely came along to the Lines & Bears line dancing tent and debated buying a Monkey Spanker. Back to Paris tomorrow afternoon, but still on holiday for a while. Hope you've had a FAB weekend too. Bons baisers de Brighton.

Stockholm Photos

I've not had time to upload them all yet, but if you click on the pic above, you'll get a taster. In the meantime, I give you a short list of things I love about Sweden, in no particular order:

• Coffee - I love Swedish coffee, which is just like the German version, all strong yet milky at the same time.
• Music - I could spend all day in Bengans, where you really can ask the shop assistants why they've recommended this or that CD (because their photo and their speciality is right there by the selection).
• Moderna Museet - Top permanent collection here AND a fab cafeteria overlooking the sea. A perfect setting to nibble an aesthetically pleasing bun or two.
  
• Swedish TV - Obviously not JUST for such homegrown gems as "Sveriges smartaste barn" (Sweden's Brainiest Kid) and "Singalong" (a dreadful karaoke/comedy/quiz show) but they're SO FAR AHEAD with all the U.S. series. This week saw the start of Day Break (think Prison Break meets Groundhog Day with a sprinkling of 24) with the wonderful Taye Diggs. I nearly couldn't tear myself away.
  
• Men - 'nuff said. And not just the blondes, either.
  
• The Sea - in the middle of the city. Doesn't get much better than that.
  
• Language - this is the first time I've been and actually been able to pick up on what's being said all around me, on the TV etc. Not 100% by any means, but a fair bit. And I could listen to it all day.
  
• String's breakfast buffet - still going strong in the heart of SoFo.
  

Du gamla, du fria, du fjällhöga Nord

...is where I'll be for the next few days, hanging out with my friends and trying to get some practice in. While my French chums decide who's going to run the country. Vi ses nästa vecka! Kyssar.

The Vegas Experience: Cold Beer, Dirty Girls...

...and live mud-wrestling. Don'tcha think our hotel was made for us?? And that's before we'd even got to the bikini bull-riding. If you want a laugh, IMAGINE our faces when we arrived here. We were thinking Céline Dion, we got The Eagles' "Hotel California" - you remember that bit "You can check out but you can never leave" ? And that's just the guests - the place is staffed by the supporting cast of "Shaun of the Dead." Brrwwwoooga. But I digress. Yes, dear reader, Rhino75 is BACK!! First of all, thank you so much for all the lovely birthday messages, either blogged, mailed or texted. I love you guys and it made my day. Well, that and the $9.95 all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet. No great revelation this, but Vegas is COMPLETELY bonkers. Hotels the size of small towns, tacky attractions by the truckload to lure the punters in, yet at the same time, it's like that movie "Westworld." What I mean by that is that the whole thing has no visible means of support. The place is spotless but you never see anyone cleaning it. The sheer quantity of food on offer - each hotel has at least four restaurants - is mind-boggling, but you never see any delivery trucks. The crime rate is supposed to be low yet you never see a cop. Spooky. The other weird thing - for us - is that the whole thing is designed to fulfill straight men's fantasies - I always suspected I would have a role in a straight man's fantasy some day :). No, what I mean is that there's not much on offer for the pink dollar apart from designer shopping, of which we did our fair share, Mamma Mia and Toni Braxton. That said, it was an EXCELLENT vacation, we had a fantastic time and laughed like drains from the moment we arrived until we got back to Gatwick. And as for the birthday build-up...watch this space for more pics and stories...

Home again

That's it then, the holidays are over - sniff! I'm back in Paris, it's raining and this beach is already a distant memory. Lucky then that's it's not TOO long 'til Vegas. Oh WHY can't I be on holiday all the time?? Anyway, there's nothing in the fridge, the cat's sulking and I'm back at work tomorrow. Welcome home ::sigh::

Holiday snaps

Postcard

Greetings from the sunny south of France. The house is wonderful, miles from anywhere, and we're spending most of our time lazing around in hammocks reading trashy books and celeb mags, or in the hot tub under the trees. Lavender is growing underneath my window. We drove to the nearest village last night for drinks and crêpes - oooh, it's lovely being on holiday!! See you soon, love from travellin' Rhino.

NOBODY is gonna rain on my parade...

...gottit? So... ('cos I know you've all been on tenterhooks ;D) WE'RE GOING!! Well, we've booked the tickets which is the most important part. And the concert is actually on my birthday, can you imagine?! I wonder if it will be like Flunch, with Barbra and the boys downing tools for a moment to come over with a very large cake for me? We can but hope. Anyway, as luck would have it, I'm going to be in London Monday and Tuesday for work, so Nick and I have decided a Barbra/Cocktails evening is definitely called for. My usual hotel is, however, fully booked, (do they not know who I AM? tsk!) so I'm staying here instead. It looks a little too "blue-rinse brigade" for my liking, but I am looking forward to the marble bathroom. Bon voyage to me!

Viva Las Vegas - Maybe

So, this week's harebrained scheme inspired plan is ... to go to Las Vegas on a gay pilgrimage to see Barbra in concert. As Nick so worryingly put it: "I can't think of anyone but you who might go with me." And you know, he's probably right. But then that's what high school chums are for, isn't it? It's not a done deal yet as we might not be able to get the right dates off work, but doesn't it sound fun? Of course, I've already started planning the itinerary. I really want to go here, if only to eat in the Sir Galahad restaurant and see the "Thunder from Down Under" strip show. Apparently, all the staff speak in cod medieval, and call you "My liege" and so on all the time. In the meantime, I'm going to start cultivating a "George Clooney in Ocean's Eleven" look - no mean feat, given the material I have to work with, but we're not going until November, thank goodness. I shall also be brushing up on my Babs repertoire. Altogether now: "Memories light the corners of my mind, misty watercolour memories of the way we were - Scattered pictures dada dee da dada dee etc." Of course, it could all go horribly wrong... Keep 'em crossed.

Oh I do like to be beside the seaside...

...which is exactly where I am at the moment :). Having a wonderful time with sis, lots of yummy food, lovely people and the best accommodation in town. Unfortunately, we didn't have time to take part in "Gay Idol" (a three-day karaoke extravaganza at "The Bulldog"), but we did manage to see the movie "Crash" (fab!) and rather a lot of the inside of the Atlas Lounge and the Western Front pub. Out tonight with Col (of Rhino's Road Trip fame!) and then off to London for a few days. Travelling gripe: by the time I've packed all the adaptors, connectors, chargers etc. for my myriad electronic devices, there's actually no room left in my case for any clothes. How do Kylie and Madonna cope? Actually, that question is slightly rhetorical as I had the good fortune to catch a 1-hour Destiny's Child special, including all-important backstage footage of the "Destiny Fulfilled" tour. The solution, obvious enough when you think about it, is to travel by private jet - simple. I draw the line at letting Mum be my stylist though. P.S. If you want to see some more of my Brighton holiday, click here.