Blogs

by Heather Cassell

Food bloggers and foodies followed Bravo TV’s Top Chef alum out lesbian chef Preeti Mistry like she was the ungettable catch for years. They followed her pop up restaurant that showed up in San Francisco neighborhoods like SoMa and the Mission and checked in regularly about the restaurant’s official opening.

To their delight, they got their wish March 1, when Juhu Beach Club (5179 Telegraph Ave., 510-652-7350, info@juhubeachclub.com, JuhuBeachClub.com) opened in Oakland’s Temesc

I remember the first time I caught a needlefish. Its electric blue teeth and skeleton (seen upon filleting) were a shocking surprise. The needlefish is tricky to catch given its long, narrow jaws filled with needle-sharp teeth (hence, its name) that usually cut fishing line like dental floss. Once you have one, though, they are really tasty – especially fried in olive oil and garlic for a finger snack!

I caught my first needlefish, my first blackfin tuna, and my first red snapper all in the placi

by Heather Cassell

In search of a great cup of coffee, Bree Dezort and Cali Kamala got tired of having to leave their home in the Diamond District just for their caffeine fix, so the couple dreamed up the Hive Cafe.

“This is our neighborhood, but there wasn’t anything that was good quality coffee so we always left,” says Bree, 32, whose fiancé Cali, has lived five minutes from the café for more than three years with her son.

About two years ago soon after the couple got together, Bree and her daugh

With the Champions Tour in Calgary this week, it's time to think golf in Western Canada.

Canadian Rockies Golf (www.canadianrockiesgolf.net) – the collection of elite mountain golf courses in Banff, Jasper and Canmore – prepares for fall with end-of-season vacation offers and events.

The Fall Golf Getaway package includes one round at Canmore Golf & Curling Club and two nights at Delta Lodge at Kananaskis, starting at $309 per person. Golf at nearby Stewart Creek Golf & Country Club, Silvertip Res

by Heather Cassell

It was all about good times and picking up easy work for Caitlin Laman until she landed in San Francisco four years ago.

Now the 29-year-old is one of the city’s coolest mixologist at one of the city’s newest and hottest bars, Trick Dog (3010 20th St., 415-471-2999) in the trendy Mission District.

In her spare time, she’s giving Napa a little shake and stir as the consultant for the not-yet-year-old Andaz Napa’s (1450 First St., 707-687-1234) bars: Mercantile Social and Terrace B

by Heather Cassell and Super G

I wondered if I had actually crossed the border from the U.S. into Canada as I looked out the window of the Bolt Bus that transported me from Portland, Ore. to Vancouver, B.C. Was the check point, where they didn’t even stamp my passport, a figment of my imagination?

I very well could have been back home in San Francisco, just a bit greener and smaller. I was often told by Vancouverites visiting San Francisco that our cities closely resembled each other, but when I a

by Heather Cassell

Life has been a party for Leigh Cousins and Mandy Randhawa promoters of award-winning FlyGirl Productions, a queer women’s party company based in Vancouver, BC, Canada.

FlyGirl Productions’ monthly parties and all-girl festivities during Vancouver Pride have been a sellout affair for thirteen years, they say.

Next weekend, the girls are taking their party on the road to Calgary, Alberta, where they are throwing their first Hershe Day Club post-Calgary Pride party.

“It’s kind of ex

fiveTEN Oakland Events is Ready to Set It Off for Oakland Pride Weekend

(San Francisco, Calif. – August 21, 2013) fiveTEN Oakland Events is ready rock and roll during Oakland Pride Weekend, Aug. 30 – Sept. 2, 2013.

Double Duchess and the Memorials headline fiveTEN Oakland Pride Weekend 2013 packed with live performances by Lila Rose, Aima the Dreamer, Raw G., Micah Tron, Billie Jr., Queens D. Light, and Zakiya Harris and Soul Nubian.

DJs FFLood, Fusion, HeyLove, Lady Fingaz, Lady Ryan, Leydis, M

EDEN Pride Events Proudly Announces

EDEN Pacific Northwest

(San Francisco, Calif. – July 10, 2013) EDEN Pride Events, PQ Monthly, and The Seattle Lesbian is proud to announce a new partnership and women’s weekend: EDEN Pacific Northwest.

EDEN Pacific Northwest is a new four-day women’s weekend filled with live female musical performances, nationally renowned female comedians and artists, and world-class female DJs in Seaside, Ore. on October 3 – 6, 2013.

“Let’s rock the beach and enjoy being toget

You have never been to Hanoi? Please do hesitate to visit our nice city as everything is quite easy. Hanoi Imperial Hotel would like to give  you some travel tips  below and hope they are useful for your trip

1. Visa

It’s the best if you get it sorted before you leave, through your local embassy or travel agent. You can also pre-arrange a visa on arrival online but you run the risk of waiting up to 90 minutes in Hanoi airport while the visa officers decide whose turn it is to do some work.

2. Taxis

Fall is considered the most beautiful and romantic time for travellers to visit Hanoi.
The walkers doing early morning rounds of Hoan Kiem Lake can feel the approach of the much-talked autumn in the capital. They see the water surface of Sword Lake is like a mirror - so calm before the breeze starts.

A lot of locals and expatriates jog for their morning exercise before work or stroll around to admire the lake - and old trees and willows that are reflected in it.
Another crowd prefer sitting on the

Even though Noi Bai Airport Transfer is just a small part of our entire services, we always consider it as the vital one that determines guests’ satisfaction, because it is the very first impression of the guests about our hotel.

Our staffs are always told to be well mannered and professional in every transfer procedure. As usual, we revised information of the guests and flight, and prepare car in advance before going to the Noi Bai airport for pick up.

We also got to know about guests’ personal i

The 2013 US Open officially kicked off Monday night with Moët & Chandon – the official Champagne of the US Open – with guests including actors Kevin Spacey and Cuba Gooding Jr., models Kelly Killoren Bensimon and Elettra Rossellini Wiedemann, fashion designer Chris Benz and figure skating champion Johnny Weir celebrating the start of the Open with Moët & Chandon!  

Before all the action in the Moët Suite, Opening Night of the US Open began with the star-studded USTA Serves Opening Night Gala in t

For tourists who travel to Vietnam and come to Hanoi, Van Mieu- Quoc Tu Giam or Temple of Literature is always their first stop- off. The Temple which is known as the first university of Vietnam reveals the Hanoians’ spirit of study in the past.

A space of peace, green trees and solemnity covers the whole temple of historical and traditional love for study, making tourists feel like they were lost in a land of Confucians and traditional values.

Historical meaning

Tourists, particularly the foreign

Ta Cu Mountain Tourist Area, is located in Thuan Nam Town, Ham Thuan Nam District, 30km from Phan Thiet City, Binh Thuan Province, near Highway 1A. The area, covering 250,000m2, is a diverse ecological complex of forests, mountains and sea that is an ideal destination for visitors.

Recently, a suspended cable system, 1,600m long and 500m high, was set up in Ta Cu Mountain Tourist Area that consists of 35 cable cars and two stations with a transport capacity of 1,000 tourists/hour. This system all

If you visit the Mekong Delta, leave the boisterous atmosphere of the busy floating markets behind and go to My Khanh Tourism Village.

Located in Can Tho City, on the route between Cai Rang and Phong Dien floating markets, the village offers rich gardens of more than 20 kinds of fruit interwoven with a system of bungalows, as well as ancient houses.

A farmer's life: Tourists play the role of farmers and try to catch fish for their meals. 

Pointing to a 100-year-old traditional house, Pham Minh Sang

If you visit the Mekong Delta, leave the boisterous atmosphere of the busy floating markets behind and go to My Khanh Tourism Village.

Located in Can Tho City, on the route between Cai Rang and Phong Dien floating markets, the village offers rich gardens of more than 20 kinds of fruit interwoven with a system of bungalows, as well as ancient houses.

A farmer's life: Tourists play the role of farmers and try to catch fish for their meals. 

Pointing to a 100-year-old traditional house, Pham Minh Sang

Recent posts on India and Tanzania.......http://huffmantravel.com/author/shelane/

Chimp tracking was amazing!!!