JUST FOR 2
GETAWAYS WITH YOUR BEST SQUEEZE| BY RICHARD A CURTIS
LOVELY BUBBLY
Paris may be the city of love but champagne is the official tipple of romantics everywhere. And thanks to a flighty new TGV rail service, you can make tracks from Paris to the heart of Champagne in 45 minutes. Reims is perfect for those looking to wander hand in hand down historic streets. And after all that walking, what better than a glass of bubbly. Head for Place Chanoine-Ladame and take your pick of the champagne houses nearby. There’s Taittinger (9 Place Saint-Nicaise, +33 (0)3 2685 4535, www.taittinger.com) or Piper-Heidsieck (51 Boulevard Henri Vasnier, +33 (0)3 2684 4344, www.piper-heidsieck.com). Both will give you a tour and a taste, though the latter is funkier. Finally, make for the Place Drouetd’Erlon, to find a pleasant terrace table at one of the many romantic restaurants.
Book train tickets from Paris online at www.tgv.co.uk
WET AND WILD
You’ve done splashing each other in the pool and the sea – now it’s time to graduate to one of the world’s biggest waterfights. In the first week of August every year, thousands congregate in the Canary Islands’ Gran Canaria to soak each other until they’re wringing wet. It’s a tradition established in the ’70s, called La Traída de Agua (fetching the water) and began as a hunt for water to feed orange and almond crops. It takes place in Lomo Magullo – bring a bucket. Gran Canaria can be reached in an hour by ferry from Tenerife.
A VERY CHEESY DATE
You’ve heard of cocktail bars, sushi bars and New York even has a rice pudding bar – but now the two of you can prepare to get cheesy in Rome, at the city’s first mozzarella bar. For fans of this creamy, tangy, melt-in-the-mouth buffalo-milk cheese, Obikà is absolute heaven, serving three main regional varieties gathered from the country’s top producers. Yes, you can accompany these milky white blobs of joy with salami, salad and other culinary backing tracks – but mainly, it’s all about the cheese.
Obikà is also a magnet for the beautiful people, with a hip vibe and a good selection of Italian wines to choose from as you people-watch.
Obikà, 26 Via dei Prefetti, Rome, +39 06 683 2630 www.obika.it
CZECH MATE
The stag parties are deserting Prague, a recent report suggests – so is it safe for intrepid couples to return? We say yes, especially when the new Mandarin Oriental hotel offers boy-, girl- and couple-friendly spa treatments in a 14th-century converted monastery. The spa has two vaulted couples’ suites – one of which is designed for a mud-slapping Rasul experience – plus a vitality pool and steam showers. The Oriental Harmony (£123) is a two-hour, four-hand massage experience that tends to leave recipients gibbering with contentment. If you’ve less time, the 20-minute Linden Blossom body scrub costs £24, uses a blend of brown sugar, aromatherapy oil, and crumbled linden leaves, and is an ideal pick-me-up after a long tramp through the city. It’s a good idea to book in advance. To find out more or book, contact the Mandarin Oriental Prague on +42 (0)2 3308 8888 or visit www.mandarinoriental.com
BERLIN ON SEA
A city break needn’t be all about seeing the sights and cobble-bashing. In Berlin, you can go for a frolic on the beach without leaving the metropolis. There are about a dozen city beaches to choose from, complete with their own bars: for a sense of the surreal, have a cocktail and a swim at what used to be no-man’s land between East and West Berlin at Europabar am Oststrand (Mühlenstrasse 78-80, Friedrichshain). Or there’s an artist-designed swimming pool – the Badeschiff – created from the hull of a container ship on the river Spree (Eichenstrasse, Treptow). All this idling about by the water doesn’t mean you’re off the culture hook, however. If you’re in town on 25 August, make the most of the Long Night of the Museum, when you can avail yourselves of 100 museums and galleries that stay open until 2am.
Find out more at www.mdberlin.de
STAR-CROSSED LOVERS
Take a guided tour around the Milky Way together. In early August, on a night when the moon is just a tiny crescent and the sky is at its inkiest, hundreds of people find their way to the lighthouse in Martigues, Provence, in the south of France. From here, around 20 telescopes are trained on the heavens and experts talk visitors through the constellations. Warm up for your stargazing experience with an early evening swim at one of this pretty town’s beaches, and a slap-up meal, before the main astronomical event. Perfect for lovers – star-crossed or otherwise. Gather at Phare de la Couronne in Martigues – an hour’s drive from Avignon. The event begins at 10pm, date to be confirmed.
Check www.martigues-tourisme.com for details.
Would you like to leave a comment ?
You must be logged in to leave a message.