Ask MetaFilter posts tagged with romantic

romantic rustic getaway in washington?

dahliachewswell — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 01:52:23 -0800

Where should we camp/stay to feel isolated and romantic within 1-5 hour drive from Olympia, WA? I'm planning a weekend getaway for an anniversary around Thanksgiving, we'll be driving from Olympia, WA. The most important aspect is a beautiful natural surrounding, on the water would be fun but not necessary.

We're looking for rustic accommodations, ranging from: somewhere we have to hike a bit to and bring our own water and food on foot, an relatively uncrowded campground, somewhere with a rustic cabin for rent, something else...

An area with an interesting history would also be a cool option.

Good food in Chicago?

ztdavis — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 09:41:42 -0800

Where are your favorite places to dine in Chicago? Romance is preferred, good food is a must, and I'd like to spend less than $100 for my wife and I. We'll be in the loop, so near downtown but don't worry about that too much.

There were good answers back in February, but many of those were above my price point.

Planning the romantic weekend of a lifetime.

scrute — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 04:24:39 -0800

My friend is looking for a romantic weekend getaway from London. Cheap flights are a possibility, the main requirement is that it be really special and memorable. Suggestions? A good friend of mine is moving to London this fall to live with her long-time, long-distance boyfriend. To celebrate the occasion (honeymoon-style) she wants to surprise him with a weekend away that he'll never forget. The weekend in question will be in November. He's British (she's Canadian) and he's done all 'the usual' England things, so if it's in the UK, it needs to be special (Wales? Scotland? Lake District?).

Short flights are within the realm of possibility, but he travels a lot around Europe for work, so it still needs to be pretty special if its outside the UK (for example, a weekend in Paris is not, in itself, a big deal for him.) They're both very active - diving, skiing, hiking are all good things as long as they involve a wonderful romantic retreat at the end of the day. It can't require visas for him though, since she needs to plan it without his knowledge.

Hivemind, please help my friend find a wonderful way to celebrate the beginning of her new life!

Romance in the Buffalo area (aside from Niagara Falls)?

inigo2 — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 10:59:45 -0800

I'm looking for things for a couple to do up in the Buffalo / Youngstown NY / Niagara area for a few days in July (early July. Like later this week.) Ideally looking for romantic-type stuff (that doesn't involve Niagara Falls, already done that one a few times now). We're into camping and hiking and general outdoors stuff. We'll have a car. Any (fancy?) veggie/vegan-friendly restaurants in the area? I've seen this thread, and this one. But definitely looking for any additional comments/suggestions, especially for something romantic.

Sub question -- anything romantic to do to pass the time of a long car ride?

Please help. Please.

How do I save this friendship?

Anonymous — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 06:07:35 -0800

How do I save this friendship? I met Josh two years ago and he has been one of my best friends ever since. A month or so after we
started hanging out, we had a talk that was very awkward, and ended with me saying "let's stay
friends." After the talk, he denied that he ever really felt like that and I just tried to forget about it
completely.

Over the past two years there were a handful of moments that made me slightly uncomfortable because
of things he said or did, but since we both dated and had relationships with other people over that
period of time and discussed these relationships with each other openly I was confident he was over me
and forgot about it.

Three weeks ago, late one night while we were hanging out, he told me that he has never been in love
with anyone else and I was the only person he could ever be in love with and wanted to know if I was
open to try dating. I said that I couldn't because I had started recently dating someone else (only kind
of true)

The truth is I don't think I could ever date Josh. We would be very compatible in so many ways it
makes me very sad that I don’t feel any of the lust or romantic attraction that one needs to date
someone else. We’re so compatible that maybe someday I’d suddenly feel lust or whatever for him,
but since its been two years already and it hasn’t happened yet, it’s not fair to lead him on or give him
any hopes.

After the awkward talk we just had, I tentatively held out an olive branch but let him know it was cool if
he needed time apart, and then we immediately went back to being just friends and pretending we’d
never had that talk. But now I feel weird (and I think he might too).

1. I’m worried that he may be neglecting other things, people, or opportunities in his life to spend
more time with me. I like spending time with him and love to do it whenever we both can, and
I can’t really call him out on maybe not doing stuff because he’s maybe still carrying a torch for
me.
2. I know exactly how he feels, I was once madly in love with a male friend and I told him of my
feelings and got shut down. (I guess what goes around...) I’m not in love with said male friend
anymore, but I know that I’ll always carry a little bit of a torch for him, and if he ever came to
me feeling the same, if I weren’t in love with someone else I’d definitely give it a go.
3. Spending time with him is not as fun as it used to be, because now I feel like every thing I say,
my body language, and every action has to be guarded and second guessed so I don’t give him
the wrong impression.
4. I get really mad sometimes when I think about the whole situation. I wish my life was one of
those romantic comedies and I’d wake up tomorrow and be madly in love with him. I get angry
at him (not fair I know) for making me feel all bizarre and queasy about our relationship when
he is really one of the best friends I ever had.

I won’t end my friendship with him and I wont reopen the wound by bringing up the subject again only
to shut him down. I need help and ideas on what the best things to do so that a)we stay really good
friends b) he moves on and finds a girl who is crazy about him?

Inexpensive romantic dinner in North End Boston

jk252b — Fri, 30 May 2008 08:57:54 -0800

BostonNorthEndDinnerFilter: Quick! Where should we eat tonight. My girlfriend and I are staying at the B&B in Constitution Harbor tonight for a little romantic getaway (that is, getting away about a mile from our Cambridge home). We want to have dinner in the North End but since we're graduate students, have little cash to spend especially after the B&B price.

We basically only know the expensive places from before we were students, so I'm wondering what some of the reasonably priced restaurants are in the North End that are still nice for a romantic dinner (ie, not full of kids or loud drunk college students). A meal of about $50 for the two of us, including wine, would be good.

We're checking in to the B&B around 3:00 today, so the quicker the response the better!!

Super-romance for a night in California?

YoungAmerican — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 21:46:05 -0800

Where should the lady and I stay on our (one-night) honeymoon on the Central Coast? So, my sweetheart and I carefully scheduled our wedding so that we'd have a week to honeymoon before law school started back up... then we found out that there's going to be a pre-school orientation for three days of our honeymoon week. Blech.

We're getting married in San Francisco on a Saturday night in August. Orientation starts on Tuesday morning in LA. Can anyone recommend a beautiful, romantic spot (inn, hotel, b&b, cabin, whatever) that's between the two where we can spend the night Sunday? We're thinking somewhere in the Central Coast (Carmel, Monterey, whatever) or perhaps as far south as San Luis Obispo or something, but we're open to pretty much anything. Price shouldn't be insane, but several hundred dollars would be OK, since, well... the real honeymoon's off.

One catch: they have to allow (small) dogs. We have one, and unless we decide to FedEx it to LA, it'll be along for the ride.

In conclusion, never, ever go to law school.

Romantic chicago

dpx.mfx — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 20:06:54 -0800

In your experience, what is the most romantic restaurant in Chicago? I know there are lots of threads about Chicago, and dining, but I'm looking for personal recommendations on what you found to be the msot romantic setting. I'd appreciate "money is no object" suggestions, as well as more reasonable ideas. If you have suggestions for romantic things other than dining, please let me know that, too!

Chicago Hotel, Dinning and Nightlife?

pazoozoo — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 13:47:12 -0800

Downtown Chicago, 2/16 and 2/17. A hotel, a bar and and dinner for two... My wife and I had our first little one this year and we are ready (I think) to get away for a weekend. We are looking at spending the weekend 2/16-2/17 in downtown Chicago. We are both mid-30ish and are looking for recommendations of hotels (not stuffy, heavy, or old...maybe boutique hotels?) a few places for drinks and people watching and lunch/dinner. Shows, art openings etc that will happening on those dates would be great too. We don't want to do much driving and would like to keep all of our activities fairly localized.

Valentine's Day Dinner in Bend Oregon

terpia — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 10:56:46 -0800

ValentinesDayDinnerFilter: Help me find a great place to take my lovely girl out to dinner... in Bend, Oregon (or surrounding area). On the 14th, we'll be leaving Portland around 2'ish (pm), and will be heading to Sunriver, Oregon. We're going to be staying in a house, not at the Sunriver Resort, though that is a potential dinner consideration if I (you) don't come up with something better.

We'll be driving there via Mt. Hood - not the Santiam pass (but we could go that way if there's a good reason). I figure that if we drive leisurely or leave a little later that we'll be heading through Bend at just about the right time for a (hopefully romantic) dinner.

I've spent a decent amount of time in Bend, although I really only know a few bars, cheap restaurants and the Deschutes Brew Pub. I've been to the Pine Tavern, but only as a kid and I don't really remember much about it other than a giant tree in the middle of the place.

I'm looking for a place with some nice atmosphere and good food. I love all food, and she can dig most food, except for super-fancy-pants-food-and-caviar-type stuff. Budget isn't really a consideration - I can spend what I want.

I'd prefer a place that's quiet enough to easily converse. Bonus points if they can do a genuinely great steak and have a good selection of Oregon wines.

I really just want to surprise her by taking a detour to a great place for dinner. Suggestions for restaurants in Bend, Sunriver, or the immediate area would be greatly welcomed.

S/he's bi. Still interested?

plaingurl — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 17:51:36 -0800

You: Either gender, heterosexual or homosexual. Your potential date: identifies as your preferred gender, but bisexual. Would you be willing to pursue a romantic relationship, not just a sexual one, with that person? Why or why not? I am writing a piece of creative nonfiction addressing various aspects of bisexuality, including the experiences and opinions of people who do not identify as bi (or pansexual, if you prefer vocabulary that avoids the two gender system).

Columnists like Dan Savage actively discourage people from becoming romantically involved with bisexual people, but while he gives general advice, he is also addressing specific people in specific situations, and I am interested in how a greater population feels about the topic. I realize that there is an exception to every rule, even personal ideals, but I’m interested in the general. It is the 'because' statements that interest me the most, as I'm trying to see if there is a trend or commonality in people's reasoning.

Similarly, have you had an experience dating a bisexual person? Would you do it again? Why or why not?

If you have an opinion or experience but don’t want it shared on a public forum, please email me: bvk3630 (at) gmail.com

NOTE: This is not the place for a discussion of anyone else’s opinions or experiences to take place. Please do not criticize anyone for what they say; I am just as interested in the ‘no, I wouldn’t because’ than I am in the ‘yes, I would because’ and in order for that to happen, it needs to be an open, nonjudgmental forum.

Romantic (lacto-)vegetarian-friendly places in Manhattan on the UES?

NucleophilicAttack — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 13:51:36 -0800

I'm trying to book dinner reservations on Valentine's Day in Manhattan, as the really nice places are filling up fast. Suggestions for romantic (lacto-)vegetarian-friendly places on the UES? Budget of ~$100 per person, pre-tip. A restaurant with lots of mixed drink and cocktail options would be preferable. So far I've found this and this question, but I'm looking for places that are not hardcore vegan (milk products open up a great many options!), and a place somewhere uptown and probably a bit fancier.

Thanks!

Holiday Celebrate. Just one day out of life...it would be so nice!

Snoogylips — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 00:35:30 -0800

Looking to spend a romantic get-away weekend somewhere in Texas after the new year with my husband. Possibly January or February. We live in West Texas and would like to travel somewhere nearby and stay for a Saturday and Sunday. We do not drink, smoke, and will not be traveling or lodging with pets. We would like somewhere close by preferably in Texas. We usually visit Austin, Tx for getaways but I want something closer and not so busy. Just for ideas when we do go to Austin the main things we do are eat at Rudy's BBQ, Wan Fu, and watch movies at Alamo draft house. We usually stay with friends there but I prefer something for just the two of us. Cost is a factor-hopefully something under $150.00 a night. Doesn't have to be anything fancy just away from home for a day or two. We have never been to a bed and breakfast, so i am not sure about that. Maybe a lake house that would rent for two nights for a couple? Any towns and/or ideas?

Looking for a special restaurant for a special lady, in San Francisco.

autojack — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 14:56:28 -0800

Where can I take my girlfriend for a romantic dinner in San Francisco? My girlfriend is moving back to Australia, possibly forever, on Sunday night. I need to find a quiet, dark, romantic restaurant where we can have a great meal and some time to ourselves on Saturday night. The more privacy (relative) we can have, the better.

I'm trying to avoid places where we would be sitting elbow-to-elbow with other diners and having to speak up to hear each other. I'd love a place with a fantastic view, but it seems like all the places with a view I've looked at have mediocre food. The lady doesn't eat beef or pork, so something with a good seafood or pasta selection would be a plus.

Basically, this is the last time I'm going to see her for at least five months. I'd like to go someplace special that we'll both enjoy and remember.

Whither the romance?

Anonymous — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 18:26:54 -0800

Why was my boyfriend so extravagantly romantic with his ex but not with me? I have a boyfriend of three months whom I'm crazy about in all the good ways. It was one of those things that I never thought would happen: where you meet someone and know right away that this is the person you want to spend your life with and everything just feels right. He's the most fantastic man I have ever met and pretty much everything I want. We both (tentatively) talked about our feelings early on and are on the same page. Yay for me!

He broke up with his last girlfriend a couple of months before he met me, after he moved to our city to be closer to his family. Their relationship had always been a bit tenuous: he had met her one night through a friend in his old town but was leaving the next day on a trip and she returned to her town (in another state) before he would return. However, she started emailing him and he reciprocated. He had always had reservations about becoming involved with her because they barely knew each other, the distance, she wasn't his usual type, and because she was about a decade younger than he was. They were "together" for about six months, during which time they had seen each other (when she visited) about three times. At the end of the academic year, she was accepted into a grad program in the city he was thinking about moving to and the plan was they would both move there—until he changed his mind and decided to move to my city. He said that he was also becoming uncomfortable with the relationship because she was "farther into it" than he was.

Anyway. I'm not jealous about the ex—I just wanted to give a little background to set up for my question. Obviously because they had a long distance relationship, their only modes of communication was either phone or email…and this is what I am wondering. They would write these incredibly romantic emails to each other and he would send flowers and gifts, and when she visited, he would make all these sweetly romantic plans for them…none of which he does for me although he's very affectionate, considerate, and thoughtful (and all that good stuff).

I know a lot of that has to do with the fact that he sees me every day thus obviating the need to email me. Even now that he's been away back east visiting friends the last couple of weeks, the fact that he is coming back is probably the reason he hasn't emailed me (as well as the fact that he either calls or texts every couple of days). Since we'd met, I had always written him love notes or love letters and he always tells me is incredibly lovely and sweet.

SO. Why would he be so lovey dovey with his ex but less effusive with his displays with me? Again, it's not that I think he isn't as crazy about me as I am about him, but why would he be so romantic with one girlfriend but not the next? DO men behave so differently in each relationship?

Proposing in Palm Springs

matthelm — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 10:08:32 -0800

Looking to propose while in Palm Springs this Thanksgiving. Any good romantic restaurants or locations that can be recommended?... We'll be spending the night at Sea Mountain Inn and I want to make this as special as possible...all ideas welcome...thanks

Help me be romantic in Rome

edjusted — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 11:49:24 -0800

My wife and I are going to Italy with a tour group late November, and it also happens to be our anniversary. We'll be in Rome the day/night of our anniversary. We're staying at the Holiday Inn Parco Dei Medici. Likes/dislikes: Foodwise, we're not really info "fancy/expensive/formal" dining, plus my wife isn't really into Italian food. And no wine. Cafe/diner type places are good, and any place with good bread is a plus. (Yes, we're a really exciting couple) Sights/shopping-wise: "cutesy," "unusual," or modern beats out historical. Any place that's on a hill and/or has a nice view of the city is always nice. As an example of the things we like, when we went to Paris once, one night when the rest of our tour group went to a lavish expensive dinner at fancy French restaurant, we ended up walking around the city, buying some bread at Fauchon, and finding a nice little sidewalk eatery to eat at.

My wife is really down to earth, so she's actually not into grand romantic gestures. But I do want to make the day/night special for her.

Oh, and this is the first time we've ever been to Italy, and we don't speak a word of Italian.

Can anyone give me suggestions on how to make our anniversary special, either near our hotel or at least somewhere accessible by us tourists?

Help me find obscure, romantic things to do in London

minifig — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 00:29:05 -0800

Can you find me obscure things to do in London to help me win my girlfriend back? So, things are a little rocky, to say the least, but we're talking and I think there's still hope, so I need a little help from the hive mind.

We live in London, and I've got some days that I'm devoting to showing her what she could have with me, so I need some help to find some romantic things in London.

The reason that I need your help is that we *live* in London, so I need something a little more obscure than a suggestion to go on the London Eye, since we've done that about 20 times already.

To give you a bit of a guide, we loved going to Denis Severs' House and I think she's been to the Soane Museum already and very much enjoyed it.

I suppose the final thing is that, under the circumstances, I don't want her to feel really manipulated, so although romantic is good, too obviously romantic might be bad.

What's the difference between strong friendship and romantic love?

Anonymous — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 10:03:24 -0800

What's the difference between strong friendship and romantic love? When I have strong feelings for people, I have a very difficult time determining whether I am interested in them as a romantic partner or not. I feel drawn to spending as much time with them as possible, I think about them a lot, their happiness is extremely important to me and their emotions have a strong impact on mine, I want to us to be extremely important in eachothers' lives, I hope to have them in my life permanently. This feeling of being drawn to the person happens both in the context of crushes on new acquaintances as well as with long-standing friends (and with both men and women)-- obviously in a more substantial way with friends.

Becoming a romantic couple with these people seems appealing to me because I like the idea of having a beloved partner at my side and promising to center our lives around eachother-- but for me, this desire does not seem qualitatively different from the feelings towards other good friends, only quantitatively, a matter of degree and intensity. In other words, I would want to marry my best friend because they're my best friend.

I think part of the challenge for me is that, while I wouldn't say I'm completely asexual, I am definitely towards that end of the spectrum. I don't really feel sexual attraction or pull towards anyone. The idea of holding hands, cuddling, kissing, etc with people I am emotionally attracted to is very appealing, but more because of intimacy than lust. I am sexually active with partners, but mostly because that's important to them and I want them to be happy. (I'm female and in my mid-20s, by the way.)

As a result, I find myself with a lot of confusion. The kind of love I feel for my boyfriend of 2 years does not seem very different from the way I feel towards a couple of my other very dear friends-- I ask myself, am I romantically drawn to all of them? None of them? Is there a different kind of love feeling out that will feel very different but I won't know until I find it?

So what I'm asking you is, other than the sexual aspect, is there a difference between intense, intimate friendships and romantic relationships? If so, how would you describe it?

Wedding night getaway within an hour of New York?

barmaljova — Sun, 05 Aug 2007 20:50:00 -0800

We're getting married in New York City and hoping to find a cozy romantic quiet getaway spot just outside the city. Ideally, this would be within an hour travel of Manhattan and be ~$150-200/night range. It'd be nice if there were a pool and/or jaccuzi and quiet natural environs. We are just looking for a beautiful place to unwind for one night before we have to start packing for our honeymoon. We're open to New Jersey or New York (Long Island, upstate) suggestions.

Romantic get-away Seattle area

america4 — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 00:24:05 -0800

My girlfriend lives in Tacoma, WA; I live in Oregon. Looking for a romantic get-away this weekend on the ocean, with a view, or ???? I'm looking for a romantic place on the Washington coast, OR a romantic place in the San Juan Islands (I once saw a really nice place that was on top of hill/mountain on one of the San Juan Islands but can't locate it...any ideas?), or any other suggestions within driving/flying of Tacoma-Seattle area. Thank you for your help! I'm from Oregon and not that familiar with WA, etc.

Combining mini European city breaks into one great two week holiday

trashcan — Sat, 19 May 2007 01:12:51 -0800

Hi, I am trying to put together a series of city breaks in Europe so that I end up with one great summer holiday of around two weeks long. I'm thinking of using easyjet or some other low cost carrier so that I can spend most of the budget on romantic and well located hotels in the best cities Europe has to offer.

The trip is for my wife and I; we are from the UK and have previously been to Paris, Barcelona and know the UK cities well so these are off the list.

These are the cities I have in mind so far:

Rome
Prague
Amsterdam

I think three is about right, we could maybe manage 4 but imagine 3/4 nights at each of these would be perfect.

What do we like? Really varied - live music (rock), art galleries, inspiring history (the Colosseum is at the top of our list at the moment), food and awesome scenery.

I am not averse to hiring a car as well as flying, but what I guess I am asking is:

are there any better (?) cities,
more inspiring destinations that I haven't considered
better methods of travel
most logical order (thinking hectic at the start and gentle at the end?)
which hotels we should consider (location, romance, pool?)
we really want to be proud of our holiday....we only get a short time off and we want to look back and think, that was cool :o)

Burn The Canon!

SansPoint — Tue, 03 Apr 2007 20:36:07 -0800

EnglishMajorFilter: Why can't I stand much of the canon? How can I learn to appreciate it? Okay, I'm an English major and despite what the question says, I love it to death. I really do like analyzing works, and feel that this is what I should be studying.

That said, I simply can't stand a number of works in the canon that I have been forced to study. The first canon writer I found intolerable was Edmund Spenser. I've also developed a fond dislike of nearly the entire list of Romantic poets I've been exposed to (Blake, Wordsworth, Burns, Hemens, and Keats). I cannot stand Emily Dickinson, and the member of the canon I can't stand at all is Henry James. I've read The Turn of the Screw as well Daisy Miller and a host of other short stories that I've blocked out.

It's not for lack of trying, but what the hell am I not getting about these writers?

It's probably relevant that I list what I do enjoy, which is mostly modern/post-modern writing: James Joyce, Thomas Pynchon, David Foster Wallace, Haruki Murakami, Don DeLilo, Ezra Pound are the first writers that come to mind.

Bigger picture of romantic neolithic skeletons

jouke — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 10:02:38 -0800

Help me find a bigger picture of the romantic neolithic skeletons from Mantua Italy. There's this picture all over the news at the moment that portrays the neolithic skeletons of a man and woman in embrace.

I think the picture is cute and want to find the biggest/highest resolution version possible so I can use it in some romantic way for my girlfriend.

I've tried google, news.google.com etc. But they only provide a quite small picture of about 300*400 pixels. See Google images for instance.

I'm hoping somebody knows a way to find a bigger picture. For instance by finding a site of the Italian archeaological society. But I don't know enough Italian to search well.

Please help me get my woo on.

chickletworks — Mon, 05 Feb 2007 11:41:34 -0800

Please recommend romantic, New England-y restaurants and activities for an early Valentines getaway to Mystic, Connecticut. I’m surprising my girlfriend with a stay at a bed & breakfast in North Stonington, Connecticut this Saturday. We’ll be visiting the Willimantic Chocolate Festival and a couple of wineries, but I'd like to find a few other things to fill our weekend. I'm concerned that the typical tourist things like Mystic Seaport won't be a good idea, since it's supposed to be very cold this weekend.

I'd particularly appreciate restaurant recommendations, as my googling hasn't turned up much. I'd like to find a few places with a bit of romantic ambiance, but since we're both graduate students, our restaurant choices need to be on the economical side.

Thanks in advance, all!