Go Travel to the City

When You’re Wrong, You’re Wrong

Time for me to eat my own words.  After espousing the grandeur of the middle of nowhere and bashing the foolishness of spending Valentine’s Day at a  fancy pants restaurant in the city, I went on to spend Valentine’s Day at a fancy pants restaurant in the city.

Turns out the surprise my boyfriend planned for us was dinner in the middle of the Cape Town Waterfront – which explains why he cringed when he read my last blog post.  Oops.  I realized that taking such a strong stance on how to spend Valentine’s Day might have been a mistake as our car headed further and further into town.

The view from our fancy pants city restaurant

So the same rose petal cliché that I scoffed at only hours before turned out to be…awesome.  While I maintain that the middle of nowhere is romantic, I admit that the city is, too.  Awesomely romantic, in fact.  What can I say?  When you’re wrong, you’re wrong.

I must apologize to cities across the globe for my earlier snub.  In order to help repair our relationship here are a few ideas for a romantic time in the middle of somewhere.

Be a Tourist

Go to all the tourist attractions.

If you can’t travel to a new city, be a tourist at home.  Visit the sites that you normally roll your eyes at – the city castle, the Ferris wheel, the waterfront and the botanical gardens.  There’s a reason foreigners enjoy these things.

Food Hop

So many things to eat!

Pub crawls and bar hopping are the celebrity brothers of the food hop.  Like its name suggests, a food hop involves food.  Lots of food.  It’s a sophisticated (?) game that involves going to cool looking delis, cafes and street vendors and sampling just one thing off their menu.  It’s more of a Food Roll than a Hop by the time you and your boyfriend or girlfriend are done.

People Watch

Watch the weirdos go by

Cliché as it may be, people watching is fun.  Find a city bench for you and your honey to sit and while away the afternoon making up stories about where everyone’s headed and where they’re from.  Making up fake voices for them is always a hit with me and my boyfriend.  We’re weird.

Walk

See the city by foot.

The most romantic way to a see a city is to walk it.  Avoid the crowded subways and buses and strap on some sneakers.  Sharing a walk around the city with your partner is a chance to chat, exercise and marvel at the architecture, parks and strange hobos you encounter.

The romance of the city is captivating and just plain lovely.  Next year spend Valentine’s Day wherever and however you want – and don’t listen to any travel bloggers who don’t always know what they’re talking about.