Washingtonpost news updates: A Love Surprise: Perfect Valentine’s Day Getaways You Hadn’t Thought Of

Monday, February 13, 2012

A Love Surprise: Perfect Valentine’s Day Getaways You Hadn’t Thought Of

A Love Surprise: Perfect Valentine’s Day Getaways You Hadn’t Thought Of - The Washington Post Print SubscriptionConversationsToday's PaperGoing Out GuideJobsCarsReal EstateRentalsClassifiedsHomePoliticsCampaign 2012CongressCourts &LawThe Fed PageHealth CarePollingWhite HouseBlogs & ColumnsIssues: EnergyTop Blogs

Election 2012 | Felicia SonmezThe Fix | Chris CillizzaFederal Eye | Ed O’KeefeFact Checker | Glenn KesslerOpinionsAll OpinionsPostPartisanLeft-LeaningRight-LeaningTolesCartoonsTelnaesAnimationsLocalColumnist IndexLocalDC: Politics| NewsMD: Politics| CommunitiesVA: Politics| CommunitiesCrimeEducationOn Faith/LocalObituariesTraffic & CommutingWeatherBlogs & ColumnsThe Root DCTop Blogs

Post NowThe BuzzCapital Weather GangDr. GridlockSportsRedskins/NFLCapitals/NHLWizards/NBANationals/MLBDC United/SoccerCollegesAllMetSportsOther SportsBlogs & ColumnsTop Blogs

The Insider| Mike JonesCapitals Insider| Katie CarreraWizards Insider | Michael LeeNationals Journal| Adam KilgoreNationalCorrectionsEnergy & EnvironmentHealth & ScienceHigher EducationNational SecurityOn FaithOn LeadershipInnovationsOn GivingBlogs & ColumnsTop Blogs

Ideas@InnovationsPost LeadershipUnder GodCheckpoint WashingtonWorldAfricaTheAmericasAsia &PacificEuropeMiddle EastNational SecurityWar ZonesSpecial ReportsCheckpoint WashingtonBusinessEconomyIndustriesLocal BusinessMarketsPolicy&RegulationTechnologyWorldBusinessBlogs & ColumnsInnovationsOn Small BusinessTop Blogs

Wonkblog | Ezra KleinPost Tech | Cecilia KangFaster ForwardPolitical EconomyInvestigationsLifestyleAdviceCarolyn HaxFoodHome & GardenStyleTravelWeddingsWellnessMagazineKidsPostTop Blogs

Arts PostAll We Can EatReliable Source | Roxanne Roberts & Amy ArgetsingerOn Parenting | Janice D’ArcyEntertainmentBooksCelebritiesComicsGoing Out GuideHoroscopesMoviesMuseumsPuzzlesTheater & DanceTVTop Blogs

TV Column | Lisa de MoraesCelebritology | Jen ChaneyClick Track | Chris Richards & David MalitzComic Riffs | Michael CavnaMultimediaInnovationsPhotosVideosThe Washington PostThe Washington PostAdviceCarolyn HaxFoodHome & GardenStyleTravelWeddingsWellnessMagazineKidsPostIn the NewsCarolyn Hax Michelle Fenty Merle Haggard SOPA/PIPA Michelle Obama Open marriage ???initialComments:true! pubdate:01/19/2012 15:21 EST! commentPeriod:14! commentEndDate:2/2/12 3:21 EST! currentDate:1/20/12 12:0 EST! allowComments:true! displayComments:true!

SOPA: 5 funny questions confused people asked

Photos: 11th season of ‘American Idol’

GQ’s ‘50 most powerful in Washington’ list

Your photos: Remember when D.C. had snow?

A Love Surprise: Perfect Valentine’s Day Getaways You Hadn’t Thought Of

LUCAS JACKSON/REUTERS - A woman stands near a waterfall near Eyjafjallajokull, Iceland.

Text SizePrintE-mailReprints By Robert Reid | Lonely Planet,

Why settle for a card and flowers for this Valentine’s Day? Travel, dang it! If you’re thinking of venturing out, here are six ideas you probably hadn’t considered. Best of all, Valentine’s Day is on a Tuesday this year, meaning you expect some extra savings on mid-week deals in most places.

Wherever you go, be sure to toast Arizona. The state turns 100 February 14.

Comments

Weigh InCorrections?

(Lonely Planet)

Gallery

?Trade the winter blues for the azure seas and cerulean skies of these warm weather destinations.

1. Going medieval in Canterbury

Valentine’s Day roots took a turn as a special day for lovers when Geoffrey Chaucer wrote ‘Parlement of Foules’ – a dreamy 700-line poem with its narrator visiting Venus’s temple and a ‘parliament’ where birds choose their mates, on Valentine’s Day. Cute.

Of course Chaucer’s most famous destination, from Canterbury Tales, is Canterbury itself, a medieval hotspot in southeastern England, with one of the country’s finest cathedrals, great pubs and theaters, and a superb five mile walk on North Downs Way to the 12th-century castle in the wee medieval village of Chilham.

Valentines should opt for top-tier ‘fabulous’ rooms at the boutique hotel Abode Canterbury – rates are over 20% less mid-week – and a meal at Deeson’s (25-27 Sun St), and a local ale at Parrot (1-9 Church St), a wood-beamed pub founded in 1370.

2. Wine & the coast at Mendocino, California

One of the California’s great secrets is a coastal ride north of San Francisco from Sonoma County to Mendocino’s rugged peninsula. It’s almost completely undeveloped with no stoplights to break up the bliss.

Mendocino is the place to base yourself for a couple days any time of year. The luxury B&B MacCallum House, with a mix of historic cottages and homes to book, is 20% cheaper mid-week (Valentine’s Day is on Tuesday this year), with prices at $300 per person. Spend days walking along the shore, eating at the North Coast foodie-haven Café Beaujolais, or detouring to small-scale, family-run wineries and breweries nearby.

3. Panama & Colombia

Cartagena, Colombia – where Gabriel García Márquez supposedly based Love in the Time of Cholera (the town is never explicitly named in the book) – is one of the most romantic cities in the Americas. A Caribbean town with cobbled alleys and horse carts to ride, good food, flowers hanging from balconies and dance clubs exuding joy of the lively local ‘folk’ music vallenato – seriously, you won’t be able to just sit and watch. The lushly colonial Alfiz Boutique Hotel is a ideal spot, and you can plan a daytrip to snorkel nearby islands or go spa au natural at a mud volcano where everyone gets dirty.

A good way to take in Cartagena, and get more, is winter package deals from Latin Destinations which offer six-night trips to Panama City – Central America’s finest city – and Cartagena, from $1060 including hotel and flight. (It’s about a third cheaper if you leave Sunday night, not staying on a Saturday night.)

4. Love train to Churchill, Manitoba

Don’t overlook the north for romance. This year marks the greatest visibility for other-worldly ‘Northern Lights’ in 50 years. Across Canada and Alaska, nearly nightly shows of neon green, red and blue smear across the black skies, created as solar particles collide with earth’s magnetic field. Everyone truly needs to see it once.

Continued12Next Page

EmailTumblrRedditStumbleuponDiggDeliciousWeigh InDiscussion PolicyAbout Discussions, Badges Newest firstOldest firstMost Recommended first SuperFan Badge

SuperFan badge holders consistently post smart, timely comments about Washington area sports and teams.