Grand Marais Lodging

The French Riviera: Nice and Cannes

The French Riviera, or Côte d'Azur, ranks among Europe's most enduring - and alluring - gay playgrounds. True, this stretch of rugged Mediterranean coastline at the southeastern tip of France doesn't generate quite as much buzz with GLBT travelers as Sitges, Ibiza, or Mykonos, as it's not a pure party playground. But the sunny and sophisticated French Riviera (www.frenchriviera-tourism.com) is ideal for a romantic getaway, and the most gay-popular communities - Cannes and Nice - abound with beautiful beaches, chic shopping, exceptional art museums, and atmospheric cafes and open-air markets.

Nice

Nice (www.nicetourisme.com) - the largest city in the region, with about 350,000 residents and an international airport with direct flights from North America - also supports an active GLBT organization, AGLAE (www.aglae06.fr) which sponsors Gay Pride each July and produces a gay guide to that's distributed free at many businesses. The city is home to several fine museums, including the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, and the Matisse Museum of Nice. This is also a fine city for shopping, with dozens of upscale boutiques set along Rue Pastorelli and Rue du Marechal Joffre, including the famous Galeries Lafayette department store.

For great views of the city and harbor, climb the stairs to Castle Hill and stroll among the botanical gardens and medieval ramparts, soaking up the views of the bustling port neighborhood - you can see for miles up and down the coast. At the base of the hill, bustling, Old Town's narrow streets, classic architecture, esteemed galleries, and open-air flower and food markets contain a number of the city's gay-frequented businesses.

Old Town fringes the city's shoreline, which you can stroll along the broad, palm shaded Promenade des Anglais, which fringes the miles of pretty (but pebbly) beaches. A couple of the many beachside restaurants along here fly rainbow flags to welcome their sizable gay clienteles: the beach at Castel club (www.castelplage.com), which is lies in the shadows of Castle Hill, and the beach club run by the trendy HI Hotel (www.hi-beach.net), a favorite see-and-sun spot of the Nice A-listers. The clothing-optional section of rocky shoreline right below Restaurant Coco Beach, a short walk beyond the Port of Nice, is another favorite gay hangout.

Continue east around Cap de Nice to reach the exclusive village of Villefranche-sur-Mer, immortalized in the Bond movie Never Say Never Again. It's also home to St-Pierre Chapel, whose restored interior contains murals painted by famed gay novelist Jean Cocteau. Across the bay is one of the world's wealthiest enclaves, Saint Jean Cap Ferrat - everybody from Tina Turner to Bill Gates have homes around here. Head farther toward the Italian border, and you'll reach the ancient cliff-top village of Eze and beyond that the Principality of Monaco, with its exclusive casinos and ritzy shopping.

Great Lakes Sea Kayak Symposium – Grand Marais, Michigan

I am on my way home from an exciting six weeks of travel that ended in Michigan at the Great Lakes Sea Kayak Symposium . It was my first time at this event, and I was there to instruct and give the Saturday evening presentation.

I flew from Denmark to Michigan on Monday, and spent Tuesday catching up on time zones and watching movies on my computer from the comfort of a hotel room. On Wednesday morning I rode with event organizer, Bill Thompson of Down Wind Sports to the event, located in Grand Marias. I then had the day to explore the quaint town and went on a walk along a beach to two lighthouses. I marveled at the surf break, reminding myself that despite appearance, this wasn’t an ocean, it was Lake Superior.

On Thursday I was a guide for the Grand Island West Side Trip, a 20 mile trip along stunning cliffs. The lake was calm and clear, and the sun was bright. The group stopped often to play in rocks, go through archways, play under waterfalls and marvel at the incredible scenery. We stopped for lunch at the north end of the island, then made our way back along the same route, smiling and ready for the weekend.

On Friday I instructed Boat Control in Wind and Waves with Steve Scherrer and several other instructors. I spent the afternoon hanging out and teaching rolling with some other instructors in the designated rolling area, and on Saturday I conducted two rolling classes.

A glance at a whiteboard told me that someone had entered me into the GLSKS Race. After finding out that my total water time for this particular race would likely be under five minutes I decided to leave my name on the list. What I wasn’t told was that participants were expected to run to their kayaks (many of which had been filled with water and had their footpegs moved), then zigzag through a series of buoys going in so many directions that the race easily turned into a “contact race.” I paddled through something that was being referred to as the “Tunnel of Death” (a lovely area where buckets of cold water were tossed at race participants… by this time I’m thinking that I should’ve dressed for immersion instead of left my cotton t-shirt on, or at least taken the extra few seconds to attach the sprayskirt after hopping in the kayak) and then an area where a couple of swimmers were drifting around grabbing kayaks and shaking them.

Voyageurs' harbor: Grand Marais, by James L. Carter

Grand Marais

Nina's North Shore guide, big lake, big woods, big fun

Scenic Driving Michigan

Frommer's USA