Should You Go Away For Valentine’s Day?

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How to avoid the wrong consequences from a getaway weekend

Valentine?s Day. It is the annual day-long celebration of love and lovers, and it is quickly approaching. If you have a special someone, she will no doubt expect chocolates and a romantic dinner on the day in question. Virtual flower-grams and other 21^st century innovations are also now part of the standard fare.

But this year you may have it mind to do something truly special. Filled with a sudden inspiration to carry out some over-the-top gesture of romantic feeling, you may be thinking of taking your girl away for Valentine?s Day. This year, the holiday falls on a Wednesday so you might have to do it on the weekend before or the weekend after the 14^th.

The point of such a trip for you?and it is not an unreasonable one?is to show her you are not a dull, unromantic boor; that you have what it takes to show a girl like her a good time.

She may be worth it! You may be dating a woman who has it all: looks, brains, humor, and kindness. A last-minute weekend getaway to mark Valentine?s Day may just be what your relationship needs to give it juice and energy. However, taking the trip also risks setting you back and making things more complicated than they were before you left.

Should you go away for Valentine?s Day? Perhaps. But before you book the airline tickets and the hotel room you ought to ensure you?ve got everything right:

The right zone

If there has been any discussion of marriage, if it has ever come up in the course of a conversation, then you are in the marriage zone. And you should think twice before taking your girl away for a romantic holiday if you are in that realm. She may think you intend to propose to her while on the trip. She will be disappointed, if not angry, when she sees that no such proposal will be made.

Find a way to lower expectations before you leave. Make sure that she knows you have no intention of proposing to her on, before, or just after Valentine?s Day.

The right place

You must also take care in choosing the place you want to set off to. Don?t go on the cheap, and don?t make the holiday all about you and not at all about her. A romantic holiday should be precisely that: someplace that evokes an atmosphere and feeling of love and sensual adventure.

In my experience, New York City is the best spot in America for a weekend getaway. It does not have this reputation but it should. The many wonderful?and now safe?public parks, the late night bistros and cafes, the myriad restaurants overlooking the Hudson River, the carriage rides?these are some of the many attractions of the city.

If you desire an overseas location, there is no shortage of places, and everyone knows them. Paris, Prague, Venice, and Rome are probably the most recognizable names. Amsterdam also deserves to be on the list. It is a city of canals, waterfront restaurants and cafes, and pulsating sexual energy.

The right attitude

Although it is perfectly fine to take your girl away to show her a different side of you, the holiday should not be used as a form of couple?s therapy. Do not think that going away for a few days will resolve your troubles. Any fundamental problems between you will still exist when you return.