Valentine's Day in San Francisco - 2011

Come celebrate Valentine's Day in San Francisco this year!  San Francisco is wonderfully romantic, featuring plenty of waterside restaurants with fabulous bay views.  Start your evening with a ride on one of San Francisco's famous cable cars, then settle in for some champagne and a candlelit dinner, and you're all set!  Or be inspired by taking your special someone to one of the top 4 awesome viewing spots of the San Francisco skyline.  Here are some great links to all the best that Valentine's Day in San Francisco has to offer:

San Francisco Valentine's Day 2011 Events & Flowers Guide from Young Active Professionals

Valentine's Day Ideas from SF Citysearch

OpenTable's San Francisco Restaurant Reservations


SF Station's Valentine's Day Guide 2011

Celebrating Valentine's Day in Bermuda

A weekend trip to Bermuda makes a great Valentine's Day gift.  Escaping to Bermuda's beautiful pink sand beaches is just a short flight from the northeast cities of New York, Boston and Philadelphia, but you'll feel like you are a world away!  So sweep your sweetie out of the cold and into the sun!

To make your weekend extra special, click over to Lovers Lane on Bermuda.com, a virtual guide for all things Valentine's Day in Bermuda.  As proof that Bermdua truly is one of the romantic places on earth, folks from all over the island have listed their best ideas for celebrating Valentine's Day on this page. Whether it's a day at the spa, a nice dinner or chocolates and roses for your special someone, you'll find plenty of ways to celebrate -- and lots of great discounts, too. 

Valentine's Day Date Ideas in Boston

Boston provides countless opportunities to let love blossom (it was the setting for Love Story, after all). From museums to cafes to out-of-the-way places, Boston has inexpensive and romantic ideas for dates, ranging from the traditionally romantic to the truly unique.

For example, head to Boston's Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, which offers a beautiful place for you and your loved one to warm up and think of spring. Enjoy exploring the wonderful interior garden and the fabulous art collection together. If you can, time your visit to coincide with one of the Museum's weekend concerts.

And since Valentine's Day makes so many of us think about chocolate anyway, this is a good time to indulge in Boston's Chocolate Tour -- a veritable feast of chocolate indulgences. As the originators of tollhouse cookies, hot fudge sundaes, and the Boston creme pie, the folks in Boston knows a thing or two about chocolate -- we bet you and your sweetie will love learning as you sample chocolate creations from some of the finest culinary landmarks in Boston.

Want more suggestions for sharing a special experience with your sweetie without busting your budget?  Click over to our article on Date Ideas that are High on Romance, Low on Price.

14 Ways to Celebrate February 14th in New York City

New York City can be a city full of romance.  And this is especially true on Valentine's Day.  There is nothing like holding hands and sipping champagne at a table for two in one of NYC's legendary restaurants, of course.  But you don't need to make reservations at a pricey place to take advantage of the love in the air.  Here are 14 other ways to celebrate February 14th in NYC:

1. Invite your sweetie to indulge in his/her passion for something sweet at one of NYC's candy shops.  We especially like Dylan's Candy Bar and Economy Candy for their enormous variety of sweet temptations.  We can't imagine anything sweeter...
2. ... Unless it is the NYC Chocolate Tasting Tour where you can stir your senses by combining a drop of fantasy, a dash of stylish adventure, and a spoonful of great taste, and take advantage of chocolate’s reputation as an aphrodisiac.
3. Roses are a classic Valentine's Day gift.  But rather than present your special someone with an ordinary bouquet of hothouse blooms, walk along Park Avenue and enjoy Will Ryman's extraordinarily exuberant rose sculptures.
4. Climb up to the top of the Empire State Building in the evening, when the city sparkles and looks its romantic best, remembering that the viewing area has long been associated with lovers, like those in An Affair to Remember and Sleepless in Seattle.
5. Escape to a warm-weather paradise without leaving the island of Manhattan by slipping into the Rainforest at the Central Park Zoo.  Especially when it is chilly outside, it feels like the tropics here, so you can shed your heavy layers, show some sexy skin, and feel like Tarzan and Jane in the jungle! 
6. Jazz has long been loved for its sensuous sound - so why not take your beloved to one of NYC's great jazz clubs for the evening?
7. Impress your date with an "I heart NYC" moment (and a bit of culture) by checking out the Steglitz, Steichen, Strand photography exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  The sumptuous cityscapes, cloudscapes, and portraits will start you thinking about what you want to capture on film a little later on... 
8. Breakfast isn't the only time to visit Tiffany's.  Browse through their collection of heart-shaped jewelry (advertised with the tagline "Tiffany has your heart") or, better yet, their diamonds for the ultimate Valentine's Day gift!
9. And just steps away from Tiffany's are lines of horse-drawn carriages ready to take you for a romantic ride through Central Park.
10. Another romantic ride is the tram from Manhattan to Roosevelt Island, where you'll have the splendid views and the novelty of riding in the little red ski-lift-like cars that whisk you across the East River from 60th Street and Second Avenue.
11. If you prefer a more active date, consider ice skating.  The Rockefeller Center rink is a NYC classic, but there are a whole host of other venues for romantic twirlings on the ice -- see our list here.
12. After being out in the cold, a steaming Irish Coffee will warm you both up.  We think the Kinsale makes the best in town.
13. Begin or end your special evening with a ride on the Staten Island Ferry, enjoying the views of the city and of the harbor (and plenty of smooching along the way).
14. Stay in and snuggle on the couch together to watch one of the many love stories that take place in New York.  Click here for a list of our favorites.

One of the joys of traveling is enjoying the local cuisine, from the trendy restaurants and street foods in New York City, to the locavore food culture in the greater San Francisco area, or the tropical tastes of Hawaii.  But eating all of your meals out can be very expensive.  Here are some ways to save some money on restaurant meals when you travel:

1. One way to stretch your restaurant buying power is to sign up for one of the restaurant discount cards which seem to be proliferating. Click here for a summary of what each one costs, what it offers, and where to call for more information.
2. Another money-saving idea is to call the restaurant you are interested in trying before you visit to find out if there are any discounts, weekly specials, or deals like "kids eat free." Arriving between 4 and 6 p.m. may qualify you for an "early-bird discount." Some eateries also offer "happy hour," with reduced prices on certain items.
3. You should also consider signing up for a free subscription to Groupon for the city or location you will be visiting.  Groupon offers deals from 50-90% off, on services including restaurants.
4. And if you stop by the welcome center or visitors bureau, don't be shy about picking up the local coupon publications. They're often full of restaurant specials, meal coupons, buy-one-get-one-free specials, free menu items, and other savings.
5. One benefit of researching restaurants online is that you might find printable coupons for drink or meal specials right at the restaurant's web site.  And while your visiting them online, sign up for promotional e-mail newsletters to get alerts of specials. Follow them on Twitter or become a Facebook fan and you may be offered other benefits as well.
6. Purchase a Restaurant.com dining certificate. More than 15,000 restaurants participate in Restaurant.com's "$25 Restaurant Gift Certificates for only $10" program.  As they say: "Eat. Drink.  Save Money."
7. Skimp and splurge strategically at restaurant meals: for example, order tap water instead of soda or fancy bottled water, share an appetizer, but order the most fabulous dessert on the menu if desserts are your thing (you are on vacation, after all!).
8. Always ask about discounts you may get as a student; senior; or member of AAA, AARP, the military, or any other group.