Mark Thompson Author

A member of the Society of American Travel Writers (SATW) and New York Travel Writers Association (NYTWA), Mark Thompson is an editor, journalist, and photographer whose work appears in various periodicals. The author of the novels Wolfchild (2000) and My Hawaiian Penthouse (2007), Mark has been awarded residencies at various artists’ colonies, including The MacDowell Colony, Yaddo, and Blue Mountain Center. He holds a Ph.D. in American Studies.

Ireland: A Cold Dip in the Irish North Sea

You probably need to be a little mad to go wild swimming in a “scrotum-tightening sea.” That’s the term that Irish author James Joyce used to describe the polar waters of...

Indulge Like a Rock-Star in Vancouver

Some hotel suites are junior, and some are royal or presidential, but when your hotel suite is large enough to host your rock-star fantasies, then there’s every reason to...

Plunge Into Year-Round Summer Vitality in Oslo, Norway

In preparation for immersion into an 8°C polar plunge pool, it’s necessary to breathe correctly. That’s what the Wim Hof Method instructor told us, a group of travel...

Life in Switzerland’s Bad Ragaz

Two doors face you in the Tamina Therme at Grand Resort Bad Ragaz: one leads into the “textile sauna” for clothed individuals – and the other into Saunawelt (Sauna...

Santa Barbara is the American Riviera

Before Hollywood became Hollywood, there was Santa Barbara. Home to the world’s largest film studio during the silent film era, the Pacific Coast city became known as “the...

Old School Meets New School for Autumn in Boston

For everyone who went to school in Boston and treated the city like a campus, a return to the Hub can feel like an alumni reunion: everything is the same and yet everything has...

The Suite and Sweet Life of San Francisco

Travel to the City by the Bay in Style For many of us, a San Francisco life chapter is almost a prerequisite to LGBTQ+ adulthood. Until you live in San Francisco, at least for a...

This Is What LGBTQ People Love about Colorado

Imagine standing on the corner of San Francisco’s Haight and Ashbury during 1967’s Summer of Love, casually sharing a joint with a time traveler from the present. Now imagine...

From Glenmere Mansion to St. Moritz, These Celebrity Destinations Will Make You Hate Your Life

Hit the heights like George Clooney, see Baja like Eva Longoria and make a great getaway with Sarah Jessica Parker. It’s not often that one receives a transfer by Rolls Royce....

This Is What Gay Travelers Love about Zagreb for the Holidays

They call it the city with a million hearts. At the holidays, it just might steal yours. Christmas can unleash your inner child and all the holiday trappings that go with it....

Exploring New York beyond the Five Boroughs

We seek out spectacular architecture, fab food and wine, splendid scenery and unforgettable art in New York — and we’re not talking about the city. Throughout my childhood,...

This is Why Tourists Adore Gay Amsterdam

Back in the 1980s, Amsterdam was the Sin City of Europe. it was the city where my boyfriend and I traveled whenever we needed respite from the Bible-bleating hegemony of the...