Best place to propose?
 

I have a handful of united miles (150k or so) and was thinking of taking a weekend trip somewhere far away and romantic. Anyone have any advice?

define "far away".

I would try Lugano.

For 150k and some flexibility, you could do 2 saver awards in Business to Hawaii, the Caribbean, or Central America.

Hawaii is a bit cliche I suppose, but the sunrise at Haleakala in Maui is quite a sight. St. John is very lush and laid back and is a nice place for quiet time.

The real expert in this area is my stepbrother, who has proposed to three different women in Fiji. Maybe the third one will take. :confused:

Best of luck to you.

Lugano eh? Never even heard of it, have any good info about it? Hawaii is a little too cliche.. We have been there twice in the last two years anyways (albeit oahu). Any other ideas? What about in Europe?


Thanks!

Your location is the big question.

My girlfriend, who lives in Milan and has a summer home in Lugano, would not be very impressed by graraps' suggestion -- but many other women would.

If I were to take her to dinner at Odette's, along the canal in New Hope, PA, she might find it exotic, but I doubt PHLbuddy would overly excite some local lass with the same offer.

Two years ago, I took a woman for lunch at Nathan's on New York's West Side. If she had lived near Coney Island and I suggested we get some Nathan's hot dogs she might have shrugged "Okay". This woman, however, was very impressed by my offer -- mainly because we flew up from her home in Savannah.

In November, we are having a big meet in Venice. A lot of people are very excited by the idea. When I told my Milanese girlfriend that we were going, her first reaction was "What? Venice? AGAIN?"

I've got an idea that is certainly not as cliche as Hawaii, and may just be what you are looking for.......

I'm not sure if you have ever, or have not been to Prague, CZ, but the Charles Bridge (Karluv Most) on a beautiful summer night could not be a more perfect setting IMHO. If you have been there, you know exactly what I mean. I really wanted to propose to my wife that way, but at the time, I was but a poor college student with no means to make that actually happen.

Lake Bled in Slovenija may also be something that is attractive to you, esp. if you are more attracted to the outdoors and the beauty of nature vs. a city.

Best of luck to you in whatever route you choose!!

Alex

We're in Atlanta, and I've been sort of a world traveller most of my life, living in Japan and Singapore, and travelling all over, she's been living in chicago most of her life. The only requirement is that I can use the miles to get the ticket, the time of year is most likely next march/april (around the two year mark). It also has to be a relatively quick trip, as I'm blowing all of my vacation time this year to do a 3 week jaunt to hawaii, tokyo and singapore with her. Thanks for all the suggestions.

If she, too, has done a lot of travelling -- especially in Europe -- then I would second the suggestion for Lugano. It is a small Swiss city in the Italian canton of Ticino. If you fly into MXP you can be in Lugano in about an hour by bus or car.

If she has not done a lot of travelling, Lugano is out. It simply doesn't have the "Wow! I never thought I would actually see THAT in person!" factor. No famous sites, no spots that everybody should see at least once.

Take her to Paris or Venice. No woman has ever turned down a proposal made in a gondola floating down the Grand Canal (possibly because they are afraid they will be made to swim back to the hotel.)

My son proposed to his girlfriend last Valentine's Day evening in Paris, on Square du Vert-Galant off Pont Neuf, surely among the most romantic spots in this most romantic of cities.
Other advantages: Paris is easy to get to and hotels usually offer winter sale prices. And did I mention romantic?

Dovster's girlfriend would clearly disagree, but I think Venice is the most romantic city in the world (at least the parts of the world I've been to).

Paris would be my second choice.

If that's the whole point of the trip, I'd suggest that far away is contraindicated. At least, it would be for my fiancee, who isn't much of a happy flyer. Twenty-four hours of travelling would not put her in the mood to say "yes." Even if she

Niagara Falls. Lots of B&Bs up there, and nice and quiet.

--Chris

PS-- Hope she says yes!

Agreed. But I personally wouldn't like to propose to my SO surrounded by a crowd of 359183765913.2 tourists. Prague is fine and so is Paris and even Rome (sorry but I hate Venezia with a passion), but they are a bit too crowded for such a personal, intimate occasion.

Have you been there during higher tides? ;)

for a quicker trip - Montreal or Quebec City - the feel of france w/ out the jet lag from Chicago. Amazing Fairmont Hotels in both cities...and excellent romantic restaurants - or if oyu liek the more outdoors picturesque spots -

There was a thread on the Air Canada board some time ago about a fellow who proposed to his fiancee in Banff at the Banff Springs Hotel - another lovely spot. Probably cold but the view and the snow and the feeling is amazing. As I recall the hotel did a lot of extra things re room upgrades etc to make it very special.

The high tides add to the romance; walking the planks and navigating your way around the mysterious alleyways and crossing the bridges only adds to the magic which is Venice. Good second choice is the proposal on the Charles Bridge in Prague. A very cool idea, indeed.

I actually popped the question while I was changing the baby.

Yosemite was the romantic location where we had been some 9++ months earlier. A beautiful - and inspiring - place.

Best wishes, and good luck,

Teacher49

Hey! I have never heard Venezia say anything bad about you! :)

If you are talking about the city during the tourist season, I agree with you --but not during the off-season.

As far as Lugano is concerned, it is a very bad place to plan to propose. How can anybody be expected to have romance on his mind when Mongers is open, serving their fantastic chocolate cakes?

:D

Banff sounds like an excellent idea. After doing some research, the Banff springs hotel looks absolutely perfect. Anyone know what calgary is like in Late March/Early April? Any suggestions on things to do there (other than propose) ? Thanks again for all the input.


--Mark

I'm going against the grain in this thread. If you merely want to take a romantic trip, then just do it. But for a truly romantic proposal, take her to HER favorite place in the world. Maybe that place is across the planet, across the country, or across town. But take her to a place she treasures in her heart. Then get down on one knee and propose. That's what my fiance did. ^

I have to agree with Analise here. What is the one place she would feel is most special?

I know a girl for whom it would have to be Paris - or atleast somewhere in France. But I don't think there is an answer that works for everyone.

I think that works for some people, when they have a place that is truly special to them, maybe a place they used to spend saturday's with their father or a summer spot their family went to and brings back fond memories. A place where you met your fiance to be, etc. If there was such a place, I would have thought of it first. I think, however, it would be much more special in our circumstance to have a new place that can be ours...I know you get that on your honeymoon as well, but someday we can take the kids to wherever that place is, and she can say "This is the place your father proposed to me... it was the most magical night." She loves to travel, but hasn't done very much of it. I think going some place "magical" like that would be the right thing to do.


--Mark

My fiancée (now wife of two months!) and I got engaged in Key West on the first anniversary of our first date. I chose Key West because the location was warm (we got engaged in March) and fun, without the jet lag associated with Hawaii or Europe. We also only had two vacations days to work with so we were able to fly down Friday morning, return the afternoon of Monday and get the most time in Key West. Another positive was that we both had been there before, but not with each other, and had really good times…Key West fits out quirky personalities. Also, having been there before, I knew the lay of the land and knew exactly where I wanted to propose…I’m a planner and not real good at spur of the moment type things so this was helpful to me.

I proposed on the seawall of Fort Zachary Taylor at sunset and it was everything I had hoped it would be…quiet, peaceful and romantic without the craziness of Mallory Square. It was definitely a good pick for us!

Lot’s of great suggestions here so I doubt you can go wrong with whatever place you pick…Good Luck and congratulations!

I say forget about waiting until next spring.. take the ring (or a reasonable substitute) with you on your 3 week trip this year, and find the right moment. Then use your miles to take her back to the spot for the honeymoon, anniversary, or any time when you need to remember where it all started.

I grew up in Calgary -- and the bad news is that March/April is still the tail end of winter... if you're a skiier its the best time of year to be up there -- still great snow, but relatively warm (between -5 and +10 celcius) and the Banff springs (or better yet the Chateau Lake Louise) are about as close to a castle as you can come in North America. The downside is that you'll have no guarantees with the weather. There could be not a cloud in the sky (which happens a lot in the spring), or it could be pretty socked in.

Banff is good for a weekend - spend a day putzing around town and shopping, and a day in the spa. Pretty good food, and cheap prices of you are coming from the US. The town itself is about 1 1/4 hours from the Calgary airport on an easy highway drive.

Whatever you do, good luck !! I chickened out 3 times before finally getting my cojones up to propose in New York (and after my best laid plans of proposing on the skating rink of Central Park it rained and I ended up getting to one knee in our hotel !!)

Ok, now, what about South America? All the passion...

Brazil, Argentina... It would depend on what you 2 enjoy doing, but Brazil has some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. Not to mention that the seasons are opposite from here, so you could enjoy warm weather if you would like. If you are more the type to enjoy the city, Rio de Janeiro, is truly amazing! Especially at night, the Sugar Loaf and the Christ Statue. If not, there are many different beaches in the Northeast coast or the Iguazu Falls on the border with Argentina. Depends on what you like.

Will be glad to help you out any further if you'd like... :)

Carriage ride thorugh the gardens of Versailles.

Wow...all the great input.

Looks like I still have a lot of travelling to do if I want to see the world! South America is not a place I would have thought of as romantic, but I certainly want to hike through Peru some day. Hmm..now I just need a job that sends me these places!

Well thanks everyone for your help. I have tons of ideas now.


Mark

Lady's choice
 

It was Leap Year this year, meaning the ladies got a turn, so I proposed to my Japanese friend in Lapland - a place that is now special to both of us. It will be snowy next March, but not so cold as in Canada thanks to the Gulf Stream.
We went to Pyha not so far from Rovaniemi above the Arctic Circle.

And because of the snow I was able to propose seemingly on one knee without being too cheesy - I stepped off the walkway meaning that one leg was up to my thigh in snow. The Aurora Borealis was aglow above us (of course that is something that can never be counted on) we were alone amongst the trees and it was oh so quiet. The snow fell in a gentle haze of glass shards (not the usual six sided flakes) and it seemed as if we were being dusted with glittering diamonds.

From there we went to a mountain top restaurant and had a lovely dinner.

You can rent a log cabin in Finland from about 300 dollars a week with log fires, saunas, the works. It's best to hire it from Saturday to Sauturday. (And neither myself or my fiance drive.) The temperature shouldn't dip below minus 10 in March and will normally be just below the 0 mark.

We got our cabin from http://www.pyha.fi/cabins/- I couldn't recommend the people there more highly. They were wonderful!
Pyha and Luosto have their own websites: www.pyha.fi and www.luosto.fi
There's a range of activities there - skiiing, reindeer/husky rides, snowmobiling.
Whatever you do - hope it all goes well!

A few weeks ago I was in NYC. I was walking out of Central Park and this woman jumped out of the horse drawn carriage shouting "I just got engaged!". She was crying and hugging her new husband to be and showing passerbys her new ring. It was such a touching sight that won't soon be forgotten by me! I thought that that has to be one of the most romantic things I've ever wittnessed.

In other threads, proposing in a CP carriage has been discussed. Who knows....maybe the woman is an FTer.

I think itsa latest NYC scam. Did one of your friendly fellow sidewalkers suddenly take off his hat and shout "Why dont we all take up a nice collection for this happy couple to give them a nice start?"

MisterNice