Prague Days Five & Six

Prague Days Five and Six 

We were joined by some of their friends for a great Columbian meal and several hours of conversation before hopping on a tram to head out to a few bars for some more drinks.. that meant Absinthe shots for me! I love the stuff, tastes great and gets you f**^ed up!! Plus the whole ritual is fun. 

After that the girls recommended a good gay club for me to check out that I hadn't tried yet, and the Swedes decided to go with me for a drink since it was on the way to their next place, and they're way cool dudes. The place was HOPPIN. Packed with fun, hot people and playing great music. I said goodbye to the boys and spent the next few hours dancing and meeting people. Closing out the night again around 5am. Perfect last night on my trip. 

Sunday I got up early and packed, checked out of the hotel and went to The Globe for some drinks and breakfast. It was raining, so I spent a few hours there before getting called by the boys to meet up for lunch, and a recap of the previous nights debauchery. 

We walked across Prague to Bohemian Bagel, a KILLER resturant that I wish I had found at the begining of my trip. We even ran into one of our friends from dinner the night before. After a great lunch we walked around Prague Square and across the Charles Bridge before crossing back and hitting an Absinthe shop so I could bring home a bottle of the Green Fairy. I said a final goodbye to the boys and headed back to my hotel to write my last blog entry of my actual trip... if there's another it will simply be about my 2 days of travel home. I have to catch the night train to Frankfurt tonight and then my flight home tomorrow. 

Its been an amazing trip. I met a bunch of great people that I'm sure (thanks to Facebook) I'll keep in touch with. The Swedes are planning a trip to LA in the fall so it will be fun to show them around my neck of the woods. So many great and new experiences, it's sad to see it end. However, I will be happy to get back to my friends and my bed, my job and my family, all are missed. Thanks to everyone who stayed in touch with me, and read my blog, hope it wasn't too boring (I know on some of them I wrote a LOT of details :P). 

Posted by Josh Gray-Emmer on Sunday, April 6, 2008

So alas, from Prague, goodbye.... 

Posted 6th April 2008 by Josh Gray-Emmer

Prague Night Two

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Wow, what a freekn crazy night!! We started with drinks at a really cool bookstore/bar and then moved on to a killer pizza place for dinner. It was so cheap and so good I'll be back for sure. Then we moved on to the opening of Red Room. The owners were from the states and bought us all shots (MORE Finnish Fizu!). Then I said my good0-byes and took a cab over to Termix, a local gay dance club. The place was small but packed with good looking dudes... none of whom seemed to speak English.. After about an hour of not having fun I texted the gang. They were on their way to Mecca (A Czech mega club). I headed over.. and was SOOO glad I did. The crowd was mixed, the music was great and I danced till 6am. Needless to say I'll be sleeping in tomorrow...

Posted 3rd April 2008 by Josh Gray-Emmer

Prague Days One & Two

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I arrived in Prague and promptly met some Americans who helped guide me on the proper metro to get to my hotel. It was MUCH nice then I thought it would be. I hung out for a bit got my berings and decided to walk around the town. This place is simply amazing. I can't believe that all the buildings look the way they do. Everything is old and ornate. Even the most simple buildings are gorgeous. I picked up a few things I needed grabbed some dinner and a beer and headed back to the hotel. I got an e-mail from the Americans telling me to head over to a bar near my hotel, and when I google-mapped it, it was only a block away.. so of course, I had to go. There were only a few people there and the Americans weren't one of them, but I met some very nice British girls and Swedish boys and we all had a killer night. We even made plans to hang out the next day.

The following morning I got up and walked around town before meeting the British girls on the Charles Bridge to go explore Prague Castle. On the way we stopped for lunch and drinks. The castle was fantastic and the views from the castle were spectacular. I took so many pics because I was just so blown away. Having the girls around made exploring Prague a bit more fun for today. We had some ice-cream on the way back to out hotels and made plans to meet later tonight.

Posted 2nd April 2008 by Josh Gray-Emmer

Helsinki Last Few Days

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My last few days in Helsinki were a blast. On Friday night we all had dinner together then went over to Kai's place for drinks and some madness (see the pics) before heading out to Red Room where we stayed till late. On the way home there were even snow angels, and Jarvi snow-69 angels (my favorite kind).

The Fins made me a traditional salmon dinner on my last night there with all the fixins.. I'll have to bring the recipe back to the states. Other than that, I went out every night. On the Saturday before I left I went out to DTM and partied till the club closed. Then I met some peeps and walked about 20 minutes to an after-party. When I left around 6am I accidentally left my camera there. I hadn't gotten the name or numbers of anyone at the party and I certainly didn't know where I had been. I was crushed. Lasse drove me to the club, and I remembered the direction we had walked and a few key features about the place and the street and we were able to locate the building. We even broke in and left a note on the right apartment. 30 minutes later Marko called and said he had my camera... Only in Finland! Great people, beautiful scenery, relaxing and fun!

Posted 2nd April 2008 by Josh Gray-Emmer

Helsinki Days Two, Three and Four

I've been behind on my blog here in Finland so I decided to combine the last few days into one entry. This place is gorgeous. It's been pretty snowy so I've spent a lot of time inside, in coffee shops and bars. Ville has graciously allowed me to stay at his place while he stays at his girlfriend's. This is saving me a ton of money, which is a lifesaver as I come to the end of my trip. The Fins are on the Euro, and it's quite expensive for pretty much everything here. So far Hong Kong has been the best place for my dollar, which was certainly not what I had expected starting this trip.

My adventures to Sweden and St. Petersburg were thwarted by expensive Visas an plane tickets respectively, so those trips will have to wait till next time. So far my time here in Finland has been very relaxing. I've been exploring the city quite a bit and getting a ton of exercize as I walk miles a day in the snow (which promptly undo with beer every night).

Some of the highlights have been dinners here. On the first night in Helsinki I went with Ville to a classic Finnish restaurant and had reindeer and potatoes. It was very good. So far there has been almost no native food on this trip I haven't liked. I need to remember to be more adventurous with my eating habits when I return to LA. Last night Anna, Ville and I cooked a pasta dinner at Ville's pad before he and I trekked through the snow to see Juno (over rated at best).

Other than that we've been exploring a lot of small neighborhood bars. I've been to DTM (the biggest gay bar here) twice, but both times during the day, when I was pretty much the only person there. The architecture is stunning and you'll notice a lot of shot of it in my pics. I wish LA had more buildings like these. Tonight I plan on partying for sure, and Friday I'm going out with Ville and all his friends. Thats it for now!

Posted by Josh Gray-Emmer on Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Posted 27th March 2008 by Josh Gray-Emmer

Helsinki Day One

Four hours after I got to the hotel, the wakeup call came in.. I had 45 minutes to pack up my stuff, shower and get to the train for Hethrow Airport. Lucky, I made it and 6 hours later I touched down in Helsinki. It was snowing outside and I could feel the cold as I entered the terminal. Ville, Lasse and Juri, picked me up and we grabbed Toomas before heading to the store to buy supplies (beer and food and beer and beer) for the night at the cabin.

After that it was a quick hour car ride to The Jarvi cabin in the woods of Finland. I guess almost all families in Finland (a country of less then 6M people) has one of these.... it was a really cool very relaxing place surrounded by trees on a stunning frozen lake lit by the moon. After some whiskey and a few beers we headed over to the sauna house right on the lake where we loaded the firewood into the sauna and took an axe and punched a hole in the lake for water for the sauna... and I learned.. to JUMP IN. These Finish boys are freekn crazy. However, you only live once.

We went back in the house to play UNO (the drinking version of course) and wait for the sauna to get hot.. 45 minutes later, I was the looser (thank god, I was gonna need the whiskey warmth to handle the FREEZING LAKE). We headed back to the sauna house, stripped neked and got in the burning hot room, chatting and laughing. As they poured water on the hot rocks the room burned warming every inch or me inside and out... I was gonna need that too.

Then it was time. They opened the door and we all headed, butt neked across the snow onto the icy lake and over to the watery hole of doom. I slipped several times getting covered in snow before taking my turn jumping into the frozen water and screaming like a girl... but I was proud of myself for doing it.. and once back in the sauna it felt great.

After a few more trips into the snow (I cant believe I was actually hanging out with 4 hot Finish dudes naked in the snow... random), we headed back into the house, where we warmed up and Ville cooked sausages over the fire for us for dinner. Sometime after that I passed out, and the boys took pics of me..... Truely a great, relaxing, and VERY Finnish day.

Posted by Josh Gray-Emmer on Thursday, March 27, 2008

Posted 24th March 2008 by Josh Gray-Emmer

Prague Days Three & Four

Considering how late I was out, I think getting up at noon was still pretty good. I headed out around the town. Taking in more of the sights. I'm not sure I would ever get used to seeing all the stunning scenery even if I was living here. I took it really easy all day buying a new book, relaxing and having coffee in Prague Square, and just enjoying the city. Treated myself to a nice dinner at my favorite place near my hotel and called it an early night.

Day four started much earlier. I walked over to the train station and purchased my ticket to Frankfurt on the night train for Sunday. It's gonna be sad to have to go home, but I'm looking forward to seeing all my friends again and sleeping my own bed. I spent the rest of the day doing more exploring of the city. Its the kinda place where getting lost is really fun. I found a coffee shop down an alley behind a spectacular church and kicked it for a few hours before heading back to my hotel and getting ready for the night. I met up with the Swedes and their friends from the night at the bar opening for a great dinner and fantastic conversation on world politics. Afterwards they were going to a strip club before going clubbing so I made plans to hit a gay place for a few hours and meet back in our neighborhood later.

It worked out perfectly. The club I went to was spectacular and the guys there even better. I'll skip the next 4 hours from the blog and jump to meeting back up with the Swedes at Nebe to close the night out at around 4am again. Great evening. Can't wait to do it all again tomorrow.

Posted by Josh Gray-Emmer on Thursday, April 3, 2008

Posted 5th April 2008 by Josh Gray-Emmer

London Day Two

The following day I woke up and headed out despite having less than 4 hours of sleep I had downed a lot of water the night before and was ready to go. I headed for some lunch at an Indian restaurant in SoHo (crazy expensive, just like everything else here), and then walked over to a coffee shop to charge my camera and read and relax.

While I was there Adnan happen to walk by with to other friends of his visiting from Australia. Perfect timing. Over the next couple hours we walked around London, hopped on a double decker red bus and explored the city. Late in the afternoon I went home, changed and left to meet Manny (DJ at Heaven, who is Tom and my friend from LA), for dinner.

We ate at this really cool japanese place with long communal tables and people chatting loudly over soba and sushi. Afterwards we walked over to a few clubs and Manny introduced me to some friends of his at Incognito. He then left to go work at Heaven Lounge and I hung out there for a few hours before finally heading over to Heaven at midnight.

Four rooms dominated the place and I made friends instantly with a group of hotties. There I danced the night away, finally making my way home on the night bus at 6am as the sun was coming up. Another crazy day in London.

Posted by Josh Gray-Emmer on Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Posted 24th March 2008 by Josh Gray-Emmer

London Day One

I woke up just as we were landing, a perfect nights sleep thanks to earplugs provided by the stewardesses when a baby onboard decided to start screaming. I grabbed my stuff and headed on the train and then the tube to my hotel. It was pretty easy to find. The place I was staying in Paddington was pretty small.. make that VERY small.. I was paying more than I was in Hong Kong and it was even smaller... hard to believe. But it was clean and modern and I didn't plan on spending much time there anyway. I went to an internet cafe nearby and made some skype calls, checked my mail and tubed it up to SoHo.

I think I've died and gone to gay heaven. This place is both modern and surrounded by history. Classy yet fun. Everyone here seems to be gorgeous in many sort of ways. Not the typical Los Angles superficial hot, but sophisticated, well dressed, smart, and with accents!! Every person with their own distinct personas.

The streets here are full of mixed crowds and packed with coffee shops restaurants and bars. I'm really looking forward to going out tonight. I know that 3 days here will not be enough, but I can tell already that I might spend more here in 3 days than all 14 in Hong Kong... shopping is almost out of the question and food alone will put me in the poor house. Everything here costs as much as in the states, but since it's the British Pound it's really twice (or more) as expensive. Oh well.. you only live once, and it's been a long time since I was in London. Cheers!

So after hanging out for a bit I went over to a nearby pub for a drink.. there I met a couple nice dudes who recommended that I check out Fire in another section of town later that night.. I had a few beers and chatted it up before heading down the street to G-A-Y bar for another few beers.

There I met a whole bunch of people. Everyone in London is so nice and easy to talk to. Not to mention really good looking. Upstairs I met Gary, Danny and Collin. Gary the tall blond and I hit it off instantly. We spent the next 2 hours chatting and talking and drinkn... then Gary and I cabbed it back to my pad to drop of my stuff and hang out for a bit before meeting the other boys back out for dinner at a traditional British restaurant. I had the fish and chips of course.

We then hit a few more bars before I finally said good bye to them and met up with Adnan who is Mike Rosenthal's friend from New York. Adnan was really cute and way fun too. We walked around soho for some more drinks before heading over to Popstars which was NUTS. Maybe like 4000 people spread over 4 levels and at least 6 different rooms. Everyone was excited for Gossip to be performing... but I was just enjoying the dancing and the hot guys. Sometime around 4am I left the club and hopped in a cab with some nice Icelandic ladies and headed back to Paddington to crash...

Posted by Josh Gray-Emmer on Saturday, March 22, 2008

Posted 22nd March 2008 by Josh Gray-Emmer