Happy Holidays, Privates!
As we eagerly approach the new year (please 2022, chill the hell out on us), we wanted to share our favorite kinds of tips and tricks: travel and sex, duh! Sof went to Portugal, and Cokes has the inside scoop on a long-debated reverse cowgirl rumor. Saddle up because these recommendations are quite the rodeo!
Sofâs Field Notes from Portugal
It's impossible to choose the best part of my Portugal trip because the seafood alone deserves a love letter, not to mention the cobblestoned streets and the sunsets over the Tagus river, but the most memorable is hearing fado for the first time. Fado (fate in Portuguese) is a musical genre that originated in Lisbon in the 1830s, and I fell in love with it â the only way I can describe it is as the crying of the soul, passionate and mournful at once, which of course appealed to this Russian. There's a Russian word I have tattooed on my side, toska, for which there's no direct English translation, but I found out that the Portuguese have it too â saudade, loosely defined as "a longing, symbolizing a feeling of loss." I listened to three different performers of fado, two women and a man, at O Faia, an incredible restaurant that's been there since 1947 and was owned by several generations of fado singers, where the delicious dinner and show are included. The best of the performers was the oldest woman, Lenita Gentil (I got her CD! But you can check out some of her songs here until you can catch it in person), because as our waiter said, the more life and hardships you've seen, the better your fado. An art where age is an asset to a woman?! God, I wish I could sing.
Another not-to-miss place is Pena Palace, a dreamy candy-colored Romanticist castle in Sintra, only a 40-minute drive or train ride from Lisbon. A UNESCO Heritage Site, it sits on a hill in the Sintra Mountains, and on a clear day, the view is incredible. We were there on a foggy day, but I wasn't disappointed â the castle seemed to be rising from and disappearing into nothing, and the bright yellow looked especially surreal against the gray.
Then it cleared up as we were leaving, and I took this.
I mentioned this on the podcast, but you really need to see some pics to appreciate hot air ballooning in Coruche â see below. And you should also know that the photos don't do the experience justice; watching and helping fill up the hot air balloon while the sun rose with a dozen other people with their balloons was amazing. Also, I'm scared of heights (Cokes knows how tightly I clung to her on the Ferris wheel in Helsinki), so I was terrified for the first ten minutes, but then it was one of the most beautiful and unique experiences of my life. I even got to pull the lever that releases the fire!!! (Yes, I'm a child.) I still think humans are testing god by going in the sky, but it was really cool to conquer my fear and get such a special memory as my reward.
Stay tuned for my notes from Morocco in the next newsletter!
xoxo Sof
Top Christmas Towns in the U.S.
Can you believe Christmas is NEXT WEEK?! We can't either, but if you find yourself with some downtime around the holidays, MyDatingAdvisor.com shared their ranking of the top Christmas towns to visit throughout the country!
Whether you're returning home to see family and find yourself jonesing for a dazzling 25-foot Christmas tree, or you're taking a solo trip and are ready to be met with holiday cheer, this is the perfect time to visit one of the best holiday towns in America.
While their full list ranks 152 of the best national Christmas towns, we're highlighting the top ten locations based on My Dating Advisor's metric of festive activities, weather, dining, hotels, transport, and other indicators of holiday spirit. âŹď¸
Best Christmas Towns in the USA:
Helen, Georgia
You might not expect to find an Alpine village along the banks of Georgia's Chattahoochee River. But, Helen reinvented itself long ago as a Bavarian town filled with traditional German holiday activities like Kinderfest, the Christkindlmarkt, and their Festival of the Trees.
Blue Ridge, Georgia
In Blue Ridge, You can enjoy a train ride with Santa and Mrs. Claus on the Blue Ridge Scenic Railwayâs Santa Express, hear a Christmas story, sing Christmas carols, and meet tons of Christmas characters.
Carmel-By-The-Sea, California
This beautiful coastal European-style village with a west coast vibe comes to life around the holidays with their annual Christmas tree lighting along Ocean Avenue, pretty Christmas lights, dozens of wine tastings, and gorgeous beach sunsets. Sign us up!
Leavenworth, Washington
This snowy Bavarian village has an annual Christmas lighting festival, handbell concerts, a lively Christlkindmarkt, harp music, a weekly festival with carolers, Gluhwein, and sledding gathered around the town's tree.
New Hope, Pennsylvania
In this east coast locale, you can be sure to enjoy a white, snowy Christmas (unless climate change has its way) and take in the scenery in their charming North Pole Express while sipping on hot cocoa and eating Christmas cookies.
 Pine Mountain, Georgia
The small town of Pine Mountain hosts the ultimate Christmas extravaganza, Christmas at Callaway, with an extra beautiful trip through the illuminated forest of light.
Ligonier, Pennsylvania
Ride in a horse-drawn sleigh, sing carols, and experience Ligonier's pop-up Christmas village in this snowy getaway.
Jacksonville, Oregon
The gold rush town of Jacksonville mixes American history with modern tradition in their little pioneer town. Learn about life in the 1800s while sipping on hot cider and local wines as the townspeople stroll and sing carols in vintage costumes.
Gatlinburg, Tennessee
Alright, CineFiles, it's time for a Great Smokey Mountain Christmas. You can ski, cuddle up in a cozy cabin, or enjoy some classic Appalachia, Bluegrass, and Country music near the famous national park.
McAdenville, North Carolina
To the locals, this town is known as Christmas Town, USA. Here you can find 265 evergreen trees covered in 500,000 lights and more than 160 decorated houses throughout the town. The best part, you can view everything for free!
Honorable mentions: Solvang, California, an authentic Danish town only 2 1/2 hours north of Los Angeles, and Hershey, Pennsylvania's Christmas Candylane at Hershey Park because⌠chocolate, of course.
đ¨Private Parts Unknown got a shoutout in Find That Pod
Find That Pod's weekly newsletter highlights 5 of their favorite podcasts and brings them straight to new listeners' ears. It's always fun to see what episodes they suggest to get listeners started, and we feel very seen by their apt description of us. Subscribe for more great podcasting recommendations!
InsideHook asked Courtney to help suss out a rumor about the reverse cowgirl position, and this dick-breaking journey is quite the rodeo! Thankfully, writer Kayla Kibbe looked into the real-life incidences of this dramatic injury and found that it is relatively low, affecting a rough estimate of around one in 175,000 penis-havers. But whether or not reverse cowgirl is actually riskier than any other position remains a topic of some dispute.Â
The logic that supports this potentially dick-damaging theory involves analyzing the difficult angles and rhythm partners need to maintain during intercourse, like these excerpts from Courtney.
So, Courtney suggests focusing more on the rhythm â and slow the hell down!
For more answers about how to safely saddle up, read the full Inside Hook article here đ¤
Have you listened to our latest ep? đ
For episode 69, we bring you the perfect 69 â a sexy marriage of old and new travels⌠did you expect anything less? Sofiya shares more about her recent trip to Portugal, Lisbon, Marrakesh, and Morocco, and we revisit our MOST POPULAR EPISODE OF ALL-TIME. You know, the one where we visit a Tokyo sex club and end the night with huge, cheesy smiles on our faces after buying sex for the first time. Who knew happy ending massages could open our minds on so many levels?
We love you so much, Privates! Thanks for following along on our adventures.
xo Cokes & Sof