Let me introduce you to Travel Belles – an online travel magazine for women:
I have been to Boston and loved it, but would have loved a bit more inside information on where to go, where to eat, where to explore. This is what many online magazines provide. I am also a woman traveling on my own, interested in the woman’s perspective and this is where blogs like Women Travel Blog and Travel Belles fit in.
Travel Belles Guide to Boston by Briana Palma
No matter what happens this weekend with Hurricane Irene and her annoying march towards the East Coast, Travel Belles will always love to visit Boston, Massachusetts. The city of Boston has gotten a bad rap lately, leading the pack of GQ’s worst-dressed cities and coming in dead last on a recent study ranking places by the kindness of their inhabitants. But don’t let these lists stop you from visiting Massachusetts’ capital. After years of suffering through the notorious Big Dig and other construction projects, the city is buzzing with energy, especially at up-and-coming areas like the South Boston seaport and the Rose Kennedy Greenway. So here’s to making the most of your visit to Boston and discovering all that the city has to offer in history, art, shopping and more. Well, to that and not having to ask for directions. Read the post
Guest post by Deb Lamedman
Exploring Portland, Oregon
It’s wonderful to share experiences and vacation time with others. But there is definitely something to be said for picking up and taking off on your own. One of the best destinations I know for women traveling alone is Portland, Oregon. If you are a woman traveling alone, friends traveling together, or a lesbian couple who want to experience a fun weeklong get-away, Portland is an exciting city that offers opportunities to enjoy outdoor activities such as hiking and kayaking as well as cultural events such as museums, theatre and art galleries.
Portland is chock-full of friendly people and opportunities to partake in all types of activities. If you’re on a budget, the Portland International Hostel and Guest House in the trendy Northwest section of town is not only affordable, but is also in a great neighborhood that provides convenient access to many of the city’s prime visiting spots. Plus, I cannot say enough about the staff and volunteer who are happy to help with any questions you have regarding their fair city.
If you are visiting Portland for the first time, staying at the hostel feels like you are staying with old friends. Plus, for the gal on a budget, they are offer plenty of freebies such as free bread, maps of Portland, free wireless Internet access, free storage and free parking. They also offer opportunities to go on pub crawls, walking tours of the city and often host live music on certain nights of the week.
One of my favorite things about staying in this hostel is the people you will meet. There are many single female travelers staying here and it’s a great opportunity to meet women from all over the world. This particular neighborhood in the Northwest district of Portland is home to a large variety of unique shops, cafes and coffeehouses.
Additionally, the hostel is in very close proximity to the Macleay Park Trailhead in Forest Park and offers beautiful hiking trails and an opportunity to enjoy some of the most beautiful scenery around. The trails in Forest Park range from beginner to advanced, the scenery is spectacular and your fellow hikers that you will meet along the way will give you a kind nod and a warm smile!
The best time of year to visit Portland is in the summer and fall. After October, there tends to be quite a bit of rainfall through March and the weather may not always be predictable. To take advantage of the bike paths, boating and outdoor activities indicative of Portland, I would recommend you schedule your trip during the warmer, drier months.
Whenever you decide to go, you will find great food, hospitable locals and some really beautiful scenery. Discover the Northwest and put Portland on your vacation “to-do” list!
Guest blog organised by Chelsea of Lesbian Dating where our Women Travel Blog site is named as one of the top 20 Lesbian Travel Blogs
Guest post by South African villa company, Cape Portfolios
Traveling alone is a wonderful way to get to see what you wanna see, when you wanna see it and on your own timetable. Below are five cities that a highly recommended for single ladies traveling alone because they offer a good environment for meeting new people in a relatively safe, friendly atmosphere.
Sed0na – Paris – Rio De Janeiro – Lahaina, Maui – Cape Town Read more
Cristina writes of news of Kulana Artist Sanctuary in Hawaii:
You know how you can make one decision that takes on a life of its own & whirlpools you towards all kinds of future galaxies?
Well, that’s what’s happening at Kulana these days!
Between Cristina’s movie adventures, & 3+ year resident organic food grower Carl’s move to the mainland, & our newest long-term visitor to Kulana being a builder with skills she’s excited to share…we’ve decided to sell the 3 cabin/4 bedroom + main house on 3 acres with its meditation trails & organic food beds, etc. “retreat” that has been our special home & business for the past 10+ years!
We may be selling the property whole to someone dreaming of creating their own retreat/b&b/intentional community/creative sanctuary/yoga or healing oasis/etc. who finds value in having cabins of various sizes along with the main house/land…OR if the right new owner is only interested in the house and land, we may wind up taking our country-cabins with us!
In either case, this means: not only will we be relocating, but also that we have some version of this special property FOR SALE…in case you know anyone interested in purchasing Hawaiian property blessed-by-kahuna in the temperate-year-round tropics?
Though quiet & private, we’re located near national park hiking, Hilo employment, UH, art galleries, the free bus line, etc!
And as the ONLY retreat in our price range in this special neighborhood (or actually anywhere on the island!), we’d be delighted to hook the right buyer up with our realtor (and can provide partial owner financing for the sale of the complete retreat).
Though Cristina will be back & forth to L.A. & elsewhere from time to time, some version of creative community with her will most likely continue to exist. The shape, location, & perhaps how we operate will be different…but the spirit of special people coming together to co-create, with the intension of sharing our best selves & lives will remain.
Right now discussions are afoot with current, new, past, & returning Kulana-ites about what we’ve enjoyed most this past decade that we want to bring forward…along with our evolving goals for the future! Care to offer your 2 cents? 
Meanwhile, we’re continuing to welcome visitors & potential new residents to the artist sanctuary as usual…
Huge thanks to recent planters of poha berries & deck stainers & singers & old-time volcano storytellers & massage therapists & inner sanctum healers & weedeatters & pond lilly transplanters & pig fence builders & filmmakers & gourd carvers.
It has been a total joy living creative community with you…& investing in your/our past/present/future as world visionaries.
And for those of you reading this…if you’re someone nostalgically fond of what Kulana has been, or if you are one of the people who perused our almost 11 years of guest books and said: “I wish I could have been part of the dream-storming inception of all this!” …now’s your chance to come be part of our transition & rebirth! 
We hear from the latest travelers that Hawaiian
& some of the other airlines are having particularly good deals!
Image this:
sharing time & space
with a cozy collection of
ever-evolving “creative community”
at an artists retreat in HawaiiCristina Salat invites you to visit and stay at her home-for-the-creatively-&-spiritually-inclined on the Big Island Hawaii! Read more
Cruisin’ the Castro are celebrating 20 years of offering travellers and unique glimpse into the vibrant gay Castro area of San Francisco. Owner and guide Kathy Amendola has just added some new tours to the regular daily tour five days a week 10-12. I can highly rec0mmend the tours – they are fabulous and well worth adding to your list of things to do in San Francisco
The New Harvey Milk Tour
In memory of the 30th anniversary of the death of Supervisor, Harvey Milk, the “Harvey Milk Tour”, begins with Harvey’s immense presence in the Castro community moving on to his political progress at City Hall by becoming the first openly gay politician in the state of California in November 1977. Tour explores both the Castro neighborhood and the beautiful City Hall, where Harvey served and met his untimely death on November 27, 1978.
Also included in the tour is the new and exciting Gay, Lesbian, Bi-sexual & Transgender Historical Society’s “Castro Exhibit”!
Tour is Wednesday’s ONLY 10am-1pm $55 Adults & $35 Child (5-12yrs)
It is so nice to be somewhere warm in winter, I guess that is why thousands of people from Canada flock to Florida in the winter.
It is 77deg, warm and mild with very little wind, the sea is like a millpond. Despite the warmth I have not seen one person in swimming – the locals just don’t think it is warm enough – kiwis would all be in – this is as hot as it gets for many of us! Read more
I have just had to defrag my computer, and think it is a pretty good description of what has happened for and to me during my travels – I have been defragged.
My understanding of what defragging is on a PC, (or rebuilding the desktop with an Apple Mac) is that under normal working conditions we create a lot of ‘mess’ on a computer – files are disordered, temporary files are created, we jump from one thing to another, leaving a messy trail behind. Read more
My friends Mary Hunt and Diane Neu gladly delivered me to Union Station in Washington – it was an excuse to take their adopted daughter Min to see the big trains, the model trains and the Christmas trees and decorations in this magnificent edifice. I also managed to get a picture with the President Elect! Read more
East Village B&B is a fantastic centrally located apartment with great air conditioning (I needed that – it was really HOT) I had booked and paid ahead, and was sent many pages of excellent information, so felt quite confident turning up.by taxi at 8.30pm. Only problem no one was there. I waited an hour, rang the number I had been given, and got no answer. I started to panic – it was Friday of a long weekend, what was my chances of finding something else easily? Read more
