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I was chatting with my friend tomcal the a few days back about Prague and Barcelona. I love the areas and want to go back and visit this year. I had a bit of free time last night so I thought I'd share some of my thoughts about EU with you guys. The Official Boy Toy Guide To Vising Europe One of the great things about being gay is that we have a lot more disposable income than our breeder buddies. After all, we don't have to worry about buying diapers for years every time a condom breaks! And, we don't have wives who insist on spending money on curtains instead of cock rings. Which means that we get to travel much more often than they do. And we get to travel on our own, which means we get to have great sexcations. Now, there are tons of guides out there for guys who are traveling to Asia about how to deal with their customs so you don't come off as a Western imperialist dog. But, there aren't that many guides about how to fit into European culture. Many people think that because most Americans are descended from Europeans, they have similar customs to ours and we can just do what we normally do. But, that's simply not the case. There is more than just a language difference between Americans and Europeans. There are also cultural differences and getting to understand them will help you fit in and make sure you are not perceived as an ugly American. With that in mind, get ready for the Boy Toy Guide To Visiting Europe! The first thing you need to do is lower your voice. Americans speak much, much more loudly than European people do, and speaking in your normal voice will both single you out as an American and make you seem very rude. So, keep your voice down. The second thing to be aware of is that there are topics of conversation that are fully acceptable in America, but not at all acceptable in Europe, the first being that people don't like to talk about their jobs or how much money they make. Asking someone what they do for a living is incredibly rude. Asking them if it pays well is even ruder. Politics and religion are also things to be avoided. Most people in Europe are secular. They already think America is Jesusland, so don't give them any more ammunition. And, most of them are anti-capitalism and anti-imperialism for them, even Obama is far more right wing than any serious political figure in their countries - so anything you say about politics is going to come out as offensively right-wing. Personal body space is also very different in Europe than in America. We Americans tend to assume that we should put several inches of space between us and the people around us. In Europe, they don't have those problems. So, if someone is sitting very close to you in a bar or walking very close to you on the street, they are not being rude; they simply don't have the body distance issues that we have. Everything also moves more slowly in Europe. If you are at a cafe or a restaurant and it seems like it is taking forever for you to be served, that's not laziness or bad service. It's just that nobody is in a rush. Just relax and remember that you are on vacation. The good side of this is that unlike in America, they will not be trying to rush you out the door. If you order a coffee in a cafe, you can stay at your table for two hours reading a book if you'd like you won't be pressured to either order something else or leave. One conversation that you can have safely and that will get cute guys talking to you is football. Not the NFL, but real football, otherwise known as soccer. There are three teams that nearly every male in Europe is willing to talk about Manchester United, Arsenal, and Real Madrid. Just go to the Wikipedia entry for any of those teams, memorize a few details, and you can get any dude in Europe to talk to you. There is a myth that you don't tip in Europe. This is simply not true. You don't tip as much as you would in the United States, but you still should leave something after you get a drink or a meal. Leaving five euros after dinner is fine. Leaving 50 cents after you get a drink is also fine. Neither will break the bank and both will make you look like a good dude. People tend to be much more open about sex and sexuality in Europe than in America. In several countries, infidelity is not only accepted but somewhat expected, as long as everyone is discreet. This means that just because a dude is wearing a wedding ring doesn't mean he won't be up for a little bump and grind if you charm him the right way. And, a dude who just got finished telling you he has a boyfriend may still be very interested in you. You'll find that people tend to eat much later in Europe than in America. In France most restaurants don't open until 8 p.m., and rarely have anyone in them until 9. In Spain people don't really eat dinner until 10 p.m. or later. So, if you are used to eating around 6 or 7, try snacking during the day instead. People in Europe are also much less judgmental about drinking and smoking than we are in America. Making comments about how you hate smoking will get you singled out as a puritan. And, don't be surprised if the people you hang out with drink more than you are used to. Speaking of drinking, if you end up hanging out with anyone from Ireland, Wales or England, there is a round buying system. Generally, if more than two people are hanging out in a bar, one of them will buy a round of drinks. Then, it is expected that at some point in the evening you will buy a round of drinks as well if you don't, you will be considered an asshole. This is true even if there are eight or nine people at the table buy one round for everyone. It will balance out because you'll have eight or nine people buying drinks for you as well. These are just a few tips, but keeping them in mind will help you avoid making the most common cultural blunders, which will make you look good, and, more importantly, more attractive to the boy toy of your choice. So, remember them the next time you visit the old country!

Thank you for the Trip reports Totally Oz ! I am glad that you are feeling better.

I know I have been pretty quiet here but not a lot to report. I have been sticking close to my apartment except for 1 night in BoysTown where I took 2 boys home pictured below. They were a lot of fun if a little shy. I have Satellite TV so I have been able to watch March Madness which has played havoc with my sleep time. Some boys are more willing for photos then others so I have posted what I have and will try to get more . As you can see from the photos , Thai boys can look pretty young. No one in these photos is under 20 . Thais tend to look very young because of facial structure and the fact , it is unusual to find Thais taller then 5'10" and many are under 5'8" That is why in the GoGo Bars the ages can easily range from 18-35 but you would never guess the age of the older ones. I had a regular in Bangkok for 2 years and never asked his age but I always assumed he was maybe 22-23. Then one day I saw his advertisement on a Gay Match site and he had his age listed as 32. To this day I can't believe he was that old. O f course it helps that the normal diet here is much more healthy but unfortunately the Fast Food Craze from the West is becoming more prevalent.

This is making me hungry!!!!! :tongue:

Thank you TomCal for your wonderful trip/boy reports!

Banking needs to return to the Post-Great-Depression rules. That is the long and short of it. These new rules that are necessary for the so-called global market are what is making Global Banking a basket case and tempting so many financial houses home and abroad into unwise speculative behavior fed by blatant greed. The above article referred to Cypriot banking as 'Casino Banking'. I think we can see this term applies quite broadly as we look back at Bear-Stearns, Lehman, Citi... etc. and even today with Jamie Dimon steering JP Morgan though multi-billion dollar speculative losses. Break up deposit banking and riskier business baking as in the past. Guarantee the deposits and let the casinos spin their wheels of fortune with stockholders holding that risk.

Thanks. But only stabilized. My MD is the Chief of Cardiology at CardioTrauma which is their specialty. Now called HospitalCor. I see him tomorrow, cross my fingers and then back in the States on Tuesday and a visit to my ex-cardiologist with my numerous EKG's and blood work. The major reason I stopped working at such a comparably young age.

For sure my heart couldn't have withstood that level of excitement. Let alone the two drips staying inserted in my veins. And unfortunately the ER was only separated by curtains. But I likey-likey the thought.

I once had an overnight for ten bucks, two beers, and a roofie. Actually, scratch that, the ten bucks was for the roofie. Glad you're back out on the streets. Had he known you were laid up, so to speak, I'm sure Tomcal would have brought the party to your room.

Devassa. My favorite place to drink and eat petiscoes in Ipanema and Lapa as they have like eight different types of brew to sample. And their frango a passarinho, well done with extra garlic and lime is a oral ecstasy, of another sort. For the past two and half years, I've been using Barraca da Miriam, #53. Before that, we used Sonia and Vanya. Oz, after seeing these photos, I am pretty sure that I need to switch back to Sonia.

No. Definitely the four beers were for him. Per PariRio, anybody wanting to have sex with anyone 40-50, or even me at nearly 57 would need to be especially drunk. Yep. Isn't that what he wrote? Besides the beers, I neglected to include the triple Famous Grouse on the rocks when we got home. I definitely wasn't going to waste any of my single malts on a programa boy. Good thing, as he only finished half, although he did finish himself off and me. Even better(?)(some gallows humor), I spent yesterday afternoon and evening, the rest of my day and the following morning in the ER of Hospital Cardiotrauma in Ipanema on Farme de Amoedo. I had thoughts all night long, and just on the very next block at To Nem Ai, of TomCal surrounded by hotties begging him to be his for a small donation of 150Reais for entire nights of pleasure and Paris Rio sitting at an adjacent table turning down ugly gross, 40-50 year-olds and even some younger with offer to him and his incredible hotness of $100-400US for an hour or less of sloppy, icky sex. He probably would have vomited on sight of this nearly 57 year-old, falling-apart corpus. By the way, it wasn't the fault of the boy, as I had some hints of problems earlier in the day, that I had pooh-poohed, even before meeting TomCal and Oz for lunch.

The problem for me is still the "loading". Waiting for the site to LOAD is like waiting for a guy to cum when you are giving it your all with your mouth and 2 hands. Sometimes it takes FOREVER.....

My friend Marco and I spent the day at the gay beach in Ipanema and we had a good time. We had lunch at Debassa in Ipanema with my friend tomcal and his date and watched all the boys go to the beach and then we joined them. Tomcal returned to his place for what I guess was more guys. LOL I just relaxed at the beach with Marco. He had several friends at the beach and some of them gave him a few buds of happy smokes and we lit up. We just chilled, relaxed and smoked a bit while enjoying the scenery and the "tranquility" of Rio!