What Does Your State Do Best?

The rest are here.

MC 900 Foot Jeebus

It's not quite 900 feet, but the statue going up in Poland will be the world's biggest Jeebus. Why are they building it? For the MONEY, silly.

Although erected ostensibly to show gratitude to God, the town hopes having the massive statue will bring tourists into a community that has lain off the beaten track for most of its existence. "If we had opened a racetrack or a golf course here, tourists would have come only for the season. But with a statue of Jesus the season will last the whole year," a local official told Wprost, a weekly news magazine.

Afternoon View - Circle Line

With the historic New Jersey Central Railroad Terminal in the background.

Afternoon View - Flyover Necessities

Afternoon View - On Mount Royal

Today's excursion included a trip to the top of Montreal's namesake. More on today in tomorrow's recap. I hope to see some of you local homos tonight at Gotha at 9pm!

RECAP: Montreal Day 2

Yesterday my able homo-guide from Touisme Montreal and I picked up a couple of Bixi bikes and made an all-day excursion across the enormous Jacques Cartier Bridge over the St. Lawrence and down onto Île Sainte-Hélène in the middle of the river, where we toured Parc Jean-Drapeau.

There we circled the Biosphere from the 1967 World's Fair and rode the actual raceway of the Canadian Grand Prix, past the Casino de Montreal and the Olympic Basin. Then we crossed back across the St. Lawrence, rolled past the way cool Habitat 67 (above) and down into Old Montreal, where we docked the Bixis and strolled around the cobbled streets in a sea of tourists, stopped for girly frozen drinks on the rooftop terrace of the fancy-schmancy Hotel Nelligan, and had a fab meal at Garde Manger.

After dinner we headed back to the gay village to drop at the Divers/Cite concert being held at the park directly adjacent to my hotel, where the capacity crowd was jumping to DJ sets in between live performances from local Montreal bands and singers. I was unfamiliar with the artists and didn't understand a word, but it was all pretty great. And I got to run into my pal Suzanne Girard, the co-founder of Divers/Cite, whom I know from back when she ran Montreal Pride.

Then I had to run off to meet up with my beloved Farmboyz, who have driven up to revisit their former hometown. I was pretty beat from my 10-mile bike ride (those bridges!) but I managed to hang on for a few drinks at Le Stud (packed!) and the Aigle Noir (Black Eagle), from whose front deck we enjoyed the parade of hotties down St. Catherine. GREAT day! Lots more to come. Full-screen versions of the below slideshow are here.

Vote For Father Tony!

Now that he's a retired man of leisure, our beloved Father Tony has entered GayTravel.com's contest to become their Gay Travel Guru, a six-month gig which would take him all around North America to sample and review gay hotspots. The contest has now entered its second round and is open to voting from the public. Please click over and view Father Tony's sample videos and consider throwing him your support. (Make sure you rate him a "5.") And here's his direct plea for support from JMG readers, shot from his oceanside balcony in Fort Lauderdale. Tough life, I know.

Mexico City Offers Free Honeymoon To First Gay-Married Argentine Couple

Mexico City's tourism agency is offering a free honeymoon to the first gay couple to wed under Argentina's just-passed marriage equality law.

The offer was "in recognition of tolerance, but also to promote gay friendly tourism in Mexico City," said Alejandro Rojas, according to a statement. Argentina on Thursday became the first country in Latin America to legalize same-sex marriage, following a landmark Senate vote which stirred controversy in the majority Roman Catholic nation. Authorities in the Mexican capital, which legalized gay marriage last year, offered air tickets for the first couple to benefit from the Argentine law, and was seeking sponsorship from hotels and restaurants in Mexico City and the beach resort of Cancun, Rojas said. Around 15 percent of world tourism -- 150 million tourists per year -- is gay friendly, while gay tourists are discerning, respectful and spend 47 percent more than heterosexual tourists, Rojas added.

Mexico City legalized same-sex marriage in December.

The Tourist Lane

It turn out that the Manhattan sidewalk "tourist lane" I told you about a few weeks ago was actually the work of pranksters Improv Everywhere. Of course. Posing as city workers, they even got people to abide by the lanes.

Tavern On The Weenie

Central Park's famed Tavern On The Green, which recently closed in bankruptcy despite being the second-highest grossing restaurant in the country, is going to have a new life. As a snack bar and souvenir stand.

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg envisions an unexpected, humble but most likely temporary destiny for the closed, bankrupt, once-glittering Tavern on the Green restaurant: a snack bar, visitor center and retail store. The mayor’s announcement came after six months of negotiations collapsed on Thursday between the restaurateur who was expected to become Tavern’s operator and the union that represents its 400 former employees. In a statement, the mayor said that the city would solicit proposals “from anyone that wants to reopen it as a restaurant,” adding that “during that period, which will last several months, we’ll use the venue as a visitor center and snack bar, similar to the successful Central Park Dairy, and also a retail shop.”

Earlier this year the restaurant's opulent fixtures and artwork were sold at auction.

Tourist Lane

For all you busy busy busy city folk that complain about dawdling visitors, the Awl tips us that some joker has created separate lanes at Fifth Avenue and 22nd Street. Now all we need is a lane for those evil double strollers.

Ten Things Not To Do In NYC

Travel site Concierge lists their ten most over-hyped tourist experiences in NYC.

1. Hansom cab ride through Central Park.
2. Dining at Tavern On The Green.
3. Eating anywhere in Times Square.
4. Comedy shows in Times Square.
5. Shopping at Century 21.
6. Nightclubbing in the Meatpacking District.
7. A pedi-cab ride through mid-town.
8. Eating from a hot dog cart.
9. Visiting the Empire State Building.
10. Cupcakes at Magnolia Bakery.

Since I first read the above-linked story last night, the site updated their list to note that, hello, Tavern On The Green is closed. Otherwise, I agree with most of the list. Except for Century 21. And hot dog carts.

Arizona, It's Not For Everybody

(Via - Americablog)

Volcano Hits NYC Economy

Iceland's volcano isn't just wreaking havoc on the European economy, NYC has taken an estimated hit of $250M so far.

City officials are bracing for the loss of $250 million in tourism-related revenue as the ash clouds prevented nearly 12,000 European travelers from visiting New York over the weekend. "The people we were expecting are not coming and not spending money at restaurants," said Marjan Inbar, a spokeswoman for the New York travel office NYC & Co. "They're not shopping, not going to attractions," Inbar added. The volcanic ash wafting over northern Europe is already costing the airline industry $200 million a day and devastating overseas tourist attractions. New York is about to feel that pain. "Until this ... goes back to normal we can lose a lot of money," Inbar said. International tourists make up only 20% of the visitors to New York, but account for 50% of tourism spending, city officials said.

On the very slightly upside, I was told last night that the city's gay bars were packed with "stranded Euro-gays" this weekend.

MASS: iPhone App For Gay Tourism

Heralding it as the first of its kind, the state of Massachusetts has launched an iPhone application for gay tourists. "From restaurants to lodging to attractions, this iPhone app gives travelers an easy way to plan a trip and experience the Commonwealth." The app can be downloaded on iTunes and at the above link. Below is the list of functions.

• Explore a directory of accommodations, nightlife, restaurants, events and attractions.
• “Explore By Region” allowing users to browse points of interest based on areas of the state.
• Search specific types of activities and attractions tailored to their lives within the “Persona’s” section including: “Art Lover,” “History Buff,” “Sports Fan,” “Outdoor Enthusiast”
• Keep up to speed in the “Spotlight” section that features an event, attraction or activity for the user and includes the latest LGBT hotspots.
• Stay connected with the latest LGBT happenings on their iPhone with MOTT’s online blog: http://www.lgbtmassvacation.com/blog
• Stay informed on the latest Massachusetts LGBT scene.