Pride Adventures

Perhaps one of the most exciting aspects of being gay is being able to celebrate with your community at parties, parades, and events the world over.  People often ask what it's about and why we do it and "what's with the costumes and outfits?"

There is no quick answer and while the sense of being part of something bigger in a world that has historically been quite hostile is certainly a central reason, right now it feels more like a real dichotomy of celebrating advances in equality that are happening globally with protesting the horrific devolution of minority rights in places like Russia.  Somehow getting together and having a good time en masse feels like a real way to do exactly what those places don't want people to do - celebrate diversity and inclusion by showing we're proud of who we are.

This year took me to Brighton and to London for some serious celebrations.  Photos below from Brighton:

And London:

Friend Adventures

One of the most brilliant bits of living in London is the number of people who fly through, stay for a bit, or decide it's the perfect place for them to live as well.  That is combined with the ease with which you can get pretty much anywhere on earth from this fine city.

Brilliantly, Amy arrived just before her birthday and is STILL HERE, which is excellent for everyone and everything but my liver:

Nipping to DC meant seeing this lovely trio:

And this less-lovely trio:

A recent move to Abu Dhabi allowed Miss Zubes to stop in for a long weekend:

Reconnecting with Stacey, Mika, and Hillary:

And catching up with the Brussels crew also while in DC:

Looking forward to more people flying through, staying for a while, or something in between as well as visiting people far and wide because the world intersect in London and London intersects the world.

-Kyle Taylor

Family Adventures

All this travel has meant tons of time with the immediate family as well as great opportunities to reconnect with family I haven't seen in years.  That also meant meeting new members of the Taylor/Brown/Burgoine clan.  Such fun!

Most importantly, we celebrated my sister's graduation in Boston:

I met this little dude:

Spent some quality time with Uncle Kit, Auntie Julie, and the legend, Grandma Jean:

Celebrated Easter with the Shepherds:

Road public transport with the Taylors:

Reconnected with the Browns/Burgoines/Other Surnames:

Met these two little dudes:

Party rocked with the legend that is Courtenay:

Let these two be friends:

And did some whiskey tasting with the ultimate Kitty Cat:

Next up, all the friends that happen to accidentally fly through London, followed by a note on Gay Pride before regular programming commences!

Adventures Outside London

The other thing that's been filling the months is weekends and weeks away.  A slight obsession, we've been b-bopping here there and everywhere enjoying the incredible British summer, easy access to Europe, and family festivities in the USA.  I'm a very fortunate boy!

From a friend's pool in the Dorset countryside:

To the spectacular Jurassic coast:

To glistening Boston:

To the center of American power:

With spectacular memorials:

And the Space Shuttle!

There was Durdle Door:

Portland Lighthouse:

A ruined castle:

And some brilliant beaches:

Not to mention a British phone box in the sand:

Coventry Cathedral:

Leicester:

Cologne (Koln) Cathedral:

And the perfect Capital Rotunda:

There's lots more coming - The Peak District, Blackpool, Scotland, Brussels, Portugal, and Abu Dhabi all by mid October.  Bring it on!

-Kyle Taylor

A Big London Staycation

Alas, it has been quite some time since my last post (about 9 months, in fact) and the reason is quite simple: life was epic and there wasn't time to post about it too.  That was combined with a several month computer-tastrophe that involved an eventual replacement (which is also very broken, but that's a whole different story.  Here's a snapshot of what I've been up to:

Dressing like a true American superhero:

Watching amazing street theatre in Covent Garden: 

Hanging out with the Queen:

Enjoying the spring weather:

Being mesmerized by clear blue skies:

And more clear blue skies (3 months of them, actually):

And, um, more blue skies:

And a few more:

Watching Shakespeare under the stars at the Globe:

Working here:

Getting a trendy haircut:

And keeping it:

Wearing tank tops because it was 95 degrees:

Being proud:

Meeting Kim Cattrall:

Having picnics:

Walking in the road:

More blue skies:

Admiring Lego Art:

Hanging with Penguins at night:

Getting artsy fartsy with the camera:

Tasting Whiskey:

Admiring the skyline:

Watching movies on rooftops:

More amazing skies:

Going on dates at cute pubs:

Getting secret angles of Big Ben:

Watching musicals in the park:

Going on dates on rooftops:

Watching people run the marathon:

Turning umbrellas into art:

Enjoying awesome sunsets:

From many angles:

Having this view on my front door:

More updates on the way, as well as a commitment to write more often!

-Kyle Taylor