How can we not keep thinkin' of love on Valentine's Day? We already figured out--a little sadly--that Paris is the ciy of arguments, if not a damn fine place to break up with your other half, at least for the British. But all is not lost with the we-thought-they-were-romantic French, because Singles Week at Avoriaz Ski Resort exists.
Yep, the UK Times checked out a special Singles Week in the French Alps. The travelers are all singles who've found out about the week through one of a variety of online dating sites, like the UK's Dating Direct.
Single you come, and single you might well leave unless you get really lucky, but in the middle of your week in France you definitely won't be lonely. Various games and activities are set up to help people get to know each other (there's a "musical snowball fight" for example), and big meals and plenty of booze help things along.
Being Europe, you may find yourself attracted to someone who doesn't speak your language--about two thirds of the last Singles Week participants were French-speakers--but the language of love is international, right?
And to think we'd always considered Paris the capital city of Love. It might be for some, but a recent British survey unearthed the disturbing result that 34 percent of British travelers consider it:
the city most likely to cause them to argue on a romantic break, with lovers' moods darkened by a "grey" and "difficult to navigate" city and surly restaurant service.
What might be worse is the fact that 10 percent of Britons surveyed have ended their relationship while on vacation with their partner. That makes going on holidays sound kind of risky.
Other top cities for arguments and break-ups included Marrakesh, Morocco and Amsterdam, so take these results to heart next time you're planning your hopefully-romantic trip.
Ever break up with the love of your life and wonder what to do with all his (or her) junk? Then the Museum of Broken Relationships is for you. The collection of trinkets imbued with romantic memories will help you get over your ex--or inspire you to contribute to the project which started as a small show in a shipping container in Zagreb.
Now open in Berlin, the traveling museum has expanded its holdings to include an ax (for smashing furniture, not exes), a vintage Vespa, an antique watch, a soccer club t-shirt and pink fuzzy handcuffs. The exhibit's directors have decided against showing photos of old flames in compromising poses, though such pictures have been offered. Says Zvonimir Dobrovic, one half of the (formerly intimate) curatorial team:
It's voyeuristic, but in a nice way. We have a window into the lives of others. It shows that in the end, people can laugh at their own misfortune.
For now, you can find the collection at the Kunsthaus Tacheles, a former department store-turned-art space downtown. The organizers hope to take it to Tokyo, New York and Sao Paulo to help other slighted lovers get on with their lives.
What have YOU done for love? Australian couple Cath and Andy took off on a two-month honeymoon across South America, and if you have any romantic illusions about the aphrodisiac of travel, their blog A Journey To The Altar And South America will soon unburden you of them. Lucky llama fetuses in La Paz. A human sacrifice museum in Arequipa, Peru. A broken toe in... oh, that was just the bachelorette party.
Their time in South America is drawing to a close at the end of the month, so go over there and wish them a slightly less eventful last few weeks.
You: red cowboy boots. Me: ten-gallon hat. Go boot scootin' with me or you'll end up in one of my songs. Judging by its Craigslist page, most people in Nashville meet (or almost meet) in supermarkets -- but dust off those bolo ties anyway and hit these nightlife spots:
Tribe -- "Straight or gay, it doesn't matter -- as long as you're confidently hip and ready for a good time," wrote the New York Times about this music video bar and club. 1517A Church St.
The Stage -- Maybe the Oxford English Dictionary is out to see on where the word "honky-tonk" comes from, but that's exactly what you can enjoy here underneath a painting once owned by Waylon Jennings. 412 Broadway
Layla's Bluegrass Inn -- This "hillbilly and country music" bar is not an actual hotel -- but you wouldn't be able to sleep with the sound of boots on the wood dance floor, anyway. 418 Broadway
At the end of last summer, we sent you all on a massive tourist drive to Münster, Germany, where an Australian black swan had fallen in love with a swan-shaped plastic paddleboat. Trouble brewed over the winter when the swan refused to fly south--because the paddleboat didn't. The swan (named Petra) survived and now all is well again:
According to biologists in Muenster, north-western Germany, Petra has been circling its plastic lover, staring endlessly at it and making crooning noises, all the typical signs of a swan in love.
Experts believe Petra's picked the plastic boat for her lifelong partner, so whenever you're headed to Germany next you can drop by to see the happy couple.
California dreaming is so last month. This time of year we're picturing ourselves by the pool on a warm, dry Arizona day -- and we could use a sunscreen buddy. If you're an Arizonan or just a temporary sunbird, check out these Phoenix-area hot spots:
Randy's Restaurant and Ice Cream: This family style joint specializes in breakfast "fast and hot and cooked the way I like it" according to one Citysearch reviewer. 7904 E. Chaparral Rd. in Scottsdale
Philly may be the City of Brotherly Love, but you don't go to Craigslist to get that platonic good feeling of which Ben Franklin was such a fan. Recapture that real lovin' feeling at one of these hot spots:
The Khyber 56 S. 2nd Street -- This seven-days-a-week music venue is hosting upcoming shows by indie acts Takka Takka, Electric Six and Now It's Overhead -- the perfect place to meet the ironic-T'd, the tattooed, and people who look "so freaking amazing on the dance floor."
Woody's 202 S. 13th Street -- This gay bar and dance club, a fixture in the m4m listings, has been open since 1980 -- or as the About.com review puts it, "it merely seems like it's older than Independence Hall."
Aspen 747 N. 25th Street -- This fusion restaurant around the corner from the Philadelphia Museum of Art has dozens of beers on tap and cinnamon challah french toast on the plate.
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by amandak
