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.

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.