Listen

Description

After last week’s Disney World episode, we wanted to dedicate space for our time in Orlando proper. One of the more underrated — and frankly, misunderstood — cities in the U.S., Orlando is a beautiful, metropolitan, and immensely queer-friendly place, no matter how many rainbow crosswalks Ron DeSantis tries to erase.

This week, we’re recapping our time in Orlando for Pride last month, which was a HUGE spectacle. Maybe too huge? Lol. We detail our time at the downtown festival, where the parade and the crowds rivaled some of the bigger Prides we’ve been to.

Later, we escaped the hordes at the dreamiest wine bar (Quicksand), followed by the dreamiest bottle shop (Golden Hour), which so happens to be owned by the same creative force. Between sips of natural wine, and bites of jambon beurre, we lined up for brunch at LGBTQ+-owned Se7en Bites, which became a resounding voice of protest against the Pulse Memorial’s rainbow crosswalk erasure, and we had a home-cooked meal by some of our dearest friends anywhere.

Lastly, and bizarrely, we discuss the hotel we stayed at, the Sonder Wellborn, which apparently just abruptly closed all of its nationwide properties, and literally kicked guests out?! Crossing our fingers that an independent operator takes over that historic property near downtown Orlando!

Where we stayed: Sonder Wellborn (womp womp)

Where we ate/drank: Quicksand Bar à Vin, Se7en Bites, Golden Hour Wine, The Jones Dinette, Beefy King

Where we explored: Come Out With Pride Orlando

Thank you for reading, following, and listening!

With Pride,

Matt and Nathan

Thank you for following The Gay Lane. To support independent queer creators, please consider subscribing or making a donation. We take great Pride in authenticity and originality, and that means going the extra mile — or thousands of miles — to celebrate queer culture in unexpected places. This may sound simple, but it takes a great deal of intentional effort, time, and resources to bring this to life with the quality and care that we believe it deserves. Your support makes all the difference.



This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thegaylane.substack.com/subscribe