What's on in London: there are countless things to do in the capital of the United Kingdom and the gay scene abroad. Here are five to check off your list right now.BE SEDUCED BY AMORA, THE ACADEMY OF SEX AND RELATIONSHIPS This brand-new museum--it opened April 4--explores sex and relationships in the spirit of equal opportunity--and interactivity, natch. Need help finding your partner's G spot? The lifelike replicas of a man and a woman are for you: Insert your finger, and if you hit the elusive pleasure center, a light goes off. Among the other attractions are a wall of plaster casts of genitalia genitalia /gen·i·ta·lia/ (jen?i-tal´e-ah) [L.] the reproductive organs. ambiguous genitalia and a corridor that simulates the experience of having an orgasm. To get yourself in the mood, visit AmoraLondon.com. CATCH A MUSEUM SHOW London certainly doesn't lack fine institutions with magnificent collections, but at the moment two major exhibitions may hold special appeal for gay tourists: The Gilbert & George retrospective at the Tate Modern The Tate Modern in London is Britain's national museum of international modern art and is, with Tate Britain, Tate Liverpool, Tate St Ives, and Tate Online[1], part of the group now known simply as Tate. (through May 7, Tate.org.uk) offers galleries full of provocative work by the queer artistic rabble-rousers, while at the Victoria & Albert Museum, fans of Kylie Minogue  Kylie Ann Minogue (IPA: /'kaɪ. can view a compendium of her stage and video costumes as music videos and concert footage blare (through June 10, www.vam.ac.uk). TAKE A "BESPOKE' TOUR OF THE CITY Kevin Caruth, a gay former marketing executive, launched his Urban Gentry tour service this April to give visitors an insider's view of London. His "ready-to-wear and "bespoke be·spoke v. Past tense and a past participle of bespeak. adj. 1. Custom-made. Said especially of clothes. 2. Making or selling custom-made clothes: a bespoke tailor. " tours (from $292 and $371, respectively; UrbanGentry.com) offer set or customized itineraries for the citys art fashion, design, and other creative scenes, led by experts who arrange chats with the movers and shakers in their shops, studios, and galleries. SPEND A NIGHT OUT IN EAST LONDON East London, city (1991 pop. 240,474), Eastern Cape, SE South Africa, on the Indian Ocean. The city grew around a British military post founded in 1847. Its harbor was developed from 1886, and today it is a leading South African port. Like former industrial or immigrant districts in many countries, the neighborhoods of Brick Lane, Hoxton, Shoreditch, and Hackney have gentrified into hip outposts for shopping, dining, and partying. Start your evening by eating dim sum to an electro-funk beat at the Drunken Monkey (TheDrunkenMonkey.co.uk), then have after-dinner drinks nearby at Lounge Lover, the baroque-meets-thrift-shop boite boîte n. A small restaurant or nightclub. [French, from Old French boiste, box, from Late Latin buxida, from buxis; see box1.] with an impressive cocktail list where Madonna had her last birthday party. For dancing. Favela favela In Brazil, a slum or shantytown. A favela comes into being when squatters occupy vacant land at the edge of a city and construct shanties of salvaged or stolen materials. Chic features Brazilian ambience and Portuguese covers of American reck reck tr. & intr.v. recked, reck·ing, recks To take heed of or to have caution. [Middle English recken, from Old English reccan; see reg- and soul classics (FavelaChic.com/london). SEE HARRY POTTER NAKED Despite the saturation coverage of Daniel Radcliffe's skin-baring star turn (opposite The History Boys' Richard Griffiths) in the West End production of Equus, tickets are still available through the shows final performance June 9 ($97, www.ticketmaster.co.uk). GETTING THERE No, it's not just marketing hype: Virgin Atlantic truly is the chicest way to cross the pond. At press time the airline was offering nonstop round-trip fares from New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of as low as $545, competitive with other carriers. WHERE TO STAY The 1 1/2-year-old, elegantly appointed Park Plaza Riverbank, across the Thames River from central London and near the up-and-coming gay scene in Vauxhall, boasts postcardworthy views of Parliament, Big Ben, and the rest of the skyline (from $175, ParkPlaza.com/londonuk_riverbank), while the swanky swank·y adj. swank·i·er, swank·i·est Swank. swank  i·ly adv.swank Great Eastern Hotel, designed by Terence Conran and constantly abuzz thanks to its hip restaurants and bars, is adjacent to Liverpool Station and thus perfectly situated for East London excursions (from $578, London.GreatEastern.Hyatt.com). |
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