It’s the most romantic time of the year – which means companies are releasing all kinds of love related news and surveys.
The latest comes from British Airways, who did a quick interview of European travelers, and how often they flirt with their fellow passengers.
According to the survey, Germans are the most likely to try and hit on you in the sky, followed by the Swiss.
The “passionate” Italians are all the way down in 6th place. At the bottom of the list are the Dutch and Belgians.
To spice things up a little, British Airways also asked passengers if they belong to the Mile High Club.
The results are quite surprising – 7% of Swedes claim they have joined the club, followed by 5% of Norwegians and 5% of the Dutch passengers who participated in the survey.
Once again, the Belgians painted a pretty bleak picture of their country, by coming last with just 1%.
Of course, these numbers could also be the complete opposite, and the results might mean that 7% of Swedes lie about having sex.
So, lets have our own little survey, and see whether Gadling readers are kinkier than the Swedes (or that we can lie more than they did!)
%Poll-26213%
(Via: Dutch Telegraph)
Which of these ladies got busted for “loving in the air”?
There we were, the husband and I, standing up in a dark movie theater with a huge smile across our faces. We had gone to see the movie Slumdog Millionaire and were just about to leave, but when the credits began rolling the Bollywood dancers started to move their bodies in sync.
“Wait, I want to see this!” my husband exclaimed as I began to walk up the aisle.
“Really?” I asked, even though I already knew his response would be, yes, really! What I didn’t want to see was my husband doing those same Bollywood dance moves later that night. He can’t help himself. That’s why I love him.
As I stood there watching the dancers perform the “go away” dance move, as my husband calls it, a move that requires one hand to flutter from the front of the face to the back of the head, I immediately flashed back to another time in my life, back to the days when I was single and used to work the New York – San Jose route.
Why would an amazing film like Slumdog Millionaire remind me of a San Jose trip? Because we used to layover in Fremont, California – not San Jose, California. It was cheaper, I guess. Have you ever been to Fremont? Let’s just say I spent many layovers eating wonderful curries, drinking delicious chai tea, and checking out the local video store for a Bollywood movie I once worked on eight years ago called Mehbooba starring Sanjay Dutt, a movie I never did find.
Oh yes, that’s right, yours truly is not only a mother / flight attendant / writer, but also a not so famous ex Bollywood actress. In the movie Mehbooba, a film that was shot in New York City and other amazing places around the world, I’m just an extra. I’m the girl wearing the red dress on the boat, which is actually the same boat that was used in the movie The Mosquito Coast starring Harrison Ford. While I lounged on the wooden deck, Sanjay Dutt actually kissed me on the cheek. I do hope they didn’t cut that part out.
For the record, Mehbooba means my beloved. My husband actually had it engraved on my wedding band. Only he spelled it wrong – Mehabooba. Just a random fact about me.
Another random fact about me, I don’t like Valentine’s Day. There’s just to much pressure to have fun and fall in love and spend too much money doing so – just to be let down in the end.
My dislike for Valentine’s Day began in elementary school. That’s where, each year, I was forced to decorate a tissue box with construction paper in shades of red, pink and white on the day of love. A person can’t help but get excited about what they’re going to find in their box at the end of the day, even if that person is only ten years old! Of course my box never overflowed with hearts and candy the way those of my classmates did.
Then, years later, I gave my college boyfriend a special gift. I don’t remember what it was, but what I do remember is what he gave me. Nothing. He was too busy breaking up with me – not just once, but twice, on two different Valentine’s Days! What can I say, some people just have to be slapped in the face with rejection!
After college I dated an engineer who wanted to celebrate Valentine’s Day the day after – on the 15th. Or the 13th would’ve worked, too. “It’s cheaper that way,” he’d said matter of fact. Of course now that I’m older and wiser I see the logic in that, but back then it only made me hate the day even more.
Though I do have many bad memories, there was one Valentine’s Day I did actually enjoy. It happened in Fremont, California of all places. And it may even have to go down as one of the most fun nights of my life. My date that night at the Bollywood disco after a scrumptious dinner at an Indian buffet was Katherine, the flight attendant working in first class with me that month of February in 2001.
I had just planned on having another not so great Valentine’s Day, which is why I had opted to work that day, but Katherine decided to take matters into her own hands. She started asking passengers if they could fix us up with someone – anyone! Who lived in Fremont. You have to understand that Katherine was the kind of person who could say anything and get away with it. I think the British accent had a lot to do with that. While we did make quite a few of our passengers laugh, we never did get set up, and eventually found ourselves alone drinking chai tea as we celebrated together in a coffee shop across the street from our Fremont layover hotel.
“Why don’t you two come along with me!” said the owner of the shop. He’d been eavesdropping in on our conversation. “Just pay me gas money.”
So that’s what we did. We paid our new friend gas money and he took us to a private party not too far away. Katherine and I danced the night away to music we’d never heard before, nor have I heard since, and we learned dance moves that only my husband could appreciate. Of course back then he wasn’t around to appreciate them. No one was. Just Katherine.
On the flight back to New York Katherine stood in the first class galley wearing her pin striped apron and looked me square in the eye, and said, and she said this very seriously, “Heather, you were the best date I’ve ever had.”
Of couse I felt the same way about her. The sad thing is I never did see my special Valentine’s date again after that wonderful month working together. I heard Katherine quit flying shortly after 9/11. A lot of flight attendants did.
So now that I’m married to a wonderful man who has spectacular dance moves of his own, a passenger I actually met on a flight from New York to Los Angeles just a few months after 9/11, and now that we have a beautiful two year-old son who travels so often he calls his belt a seatbelt and prefers to keep it fastened at all times, things have changed for the better. Valentine’s Day is no longer about me. It’s about us.
This year the three of us will be celebrating together at home. I don’t know what we’re going to do, but I do know that mommy and daddy will be spending a romantic evening out alone on the 12th instead of the 14th this year. You better believe my husband will be getting a copy of the Slumdog Millionaire CD, as well as the just released Mehbooba DVD! Yes, it took eight years, but it’s out, the movie is finally out, and my poor husband will be forced to watch it!
With Valentine’s Day coming up, I searched for a photo that had something to do with love. When I typed in the word love to Gadling’s photo pool, this lovely homage to the color blue appeared. Hmmm. Let’s go with it. Love can be blue as in the song that goes, “Blue, blue my world is blue, blue is my world when I’m without you. . .”
In StrudelMonkey’s case, this glorious blue world of stone was found at the beach on the west coast of Ireland. Here’s an indication of how moving in close to the subject can make for an alluring image.
If you have an alluring image to share, send it our way at Gadling’s Flickr Photo Pool. It might be picked for a Photo of the Day. To hear “Love is Blue,” keep reading. Happy Valentine’s Day early.
The video is of Paul Mauriat and his orchestra playing the song “Love is Blue.”
Given that this Saturday is Valentine’s Day, it’s only fitting that we dedicate this week’s Undiscovered New York to a closer look at some of the city’s most amorous locations.
At first sight New York (especially in February) can seem a vast, cold and lonely place. But this initial impression held by many visitors is an oversimplification. Delve beneath the “hard” exterior of pushy, fast moving New Yorkers and you’ll discover a city of warmth and surprises that spring from just about every corner. In other words, New York is the perfect place to explore and uncover with that “special someone.”
But once you’ve taken the carriage ride around Central Park and been to the observation deck of the Empire State Building for your Sleepless in Seattle moment (I swear, I’ve never seen it), what else is there do? A city this big is bound to have dark corners, fabulous panoramic views, and hidden activities where you and that special someone can spend some quality time alone, right? And what about the staunchly single? What’s there to do that’s not overly cheesy and romantic? Step inside Undiscovered New York’s guide to “Romance” in the Big Apple, plus a special guide for the “proudly unattached” at the end of today’s post. Drinking the Night Away New Yorkers are the first to admit – nothing loosens the tongue and warms the heart better than a good alcoholic beverage. And befitting a city of its size and scope, New York has some astoundingly good candle-lit cocktail lounges where you can sip an artfully crafted beverage with the one you love. Here’s three of our favorites:
Angel’s Share – inside an unassuming Japanese restaurant in the East Village, up a flight of stairs, through a huge throng of tables and past a side door is Angel’s Share. This Japanese cocktail lounge, which specializes in artfully crafted cocktails made from scratch with fresh ingredients, practically guarantees you a romantic night out. If it’s not too crowded make sure to ask for a table near the windows to watch the symphony of life pass by below.
Temple Bar – perfectly hidden on busy Lafayette Street, Temple Bar beckons visitors inside with a sumptuous wood paneled interior and lush, moody lighting. Though not particularly well announced outside (the only clue giving it away is a metal lizard and tiny sign), the interior and bar’s expertly blended drinks seem to speak for themselves (and for your date).
Apotheke – down a non-descript sidestreet in Chinatown behind a inconspicuous door lies Apotheke, a parlor of artfully blended cocktails arranged around an antique drug store theme. Apotheke seems to carry the cure for whatever might ail you – behind the bar sit hundreds of bottles special blended herbal concotions and flavor-infused liquors, perfect for that totally unique cocktail and that totally unique Valentine’s Day.
Taking in the View Nothing better embodies the unique feeling of a “New York moment” better than its many panoramic vistas. Whether viewing the city laid out from atop one of its many skyscrapers or confronting it head-on from the perspective of one of the many sweeping harborside views, you’re sure to be confronted with a scene that both inspires and delights. Here’s where you can do it best:
Brooklyn Heights Promenade – one of the most stunning views in all of Manhattan can only be seen from Brooklyn, at the Brooklyn Heights Promenade. This stunning walkway runs along the Brooklyn waterfront, affording visitors with amazing views of New York Harbor, the Statue of Liberty, downtown Manhattan and the Brooklyn Bridge. It has to be seen to be believed.
The Rainbow Room – high atop New York’s famous Rockefeller Center sits one of the more amazing vistas of New York at the Rainbow Room. Sure, the drink prices are ridiculous. Yeah, the music might be cheesy. And yes, the property’s future might be in danger. But you know what? When you see that vista of all of downtown New York laid out before you, glittering in the twilight, it can make up for a multitude of sins.
Staten Island Ferry – 25 minute trip to Staten Island, one of New York’s least visited areas? Free. 2 bottles of Corona beer? $6. An amazing, trip around New York Harbor? Priceless.
Unexpected Activities Sure, February 14th is supposed to be all about love. But those of us not so lucky to be partnered or still feverishly pursuing that special someone might feel a bit left out so far. Here’s a few unique New York activities for non-believers and lovebirds alike:
Chelsea Flower District – along a short two block stretch of West 28th Street is the Chelsea Flower District, New York’s principal business area for the wholesaling of floral and fake floral products. Nothing better embodies the gritty industrial charm and symbolic weirdness of Valentine’s Day than a visit to this odd street. Stop by early any morning (6-8am) and you’ll be confronted by huge bouquets of exotic flowers, the manic activity of shop workers and the rusted facades of fading floral shop storefronts. It’s a fun commentary on the meaning of romance and an interesting sidetrip if you’re looking for something different.
Museum of Sex – everyone might say Valentine’s Day is about love. But let’s face it, New Yorkers like to get to the point – it’s really about sex. And what better way to explore your carnal desires (or lack thereof) than a visit to New York’s Museum of Sex? The museum’s permanent collection houses over 15,000 “sex artifacts” including everything from art to photography to clothing and costumes as well as an extensive “multimedia library” (euphemism anyone?) of sexually related material. Perfect for partners and perverts alike.
Feeling romantic? How about a nice red Peek personal email device to stay in touch with your loved one(s)?
Peek is the contract-free all you can email and text handheld device, and was featured as one of our “best travel products of 2008“. Service is just $19.95 a month, and works with most popular email providers.
For a chance to win, all you need to do is answer the following question:
What is the official color name of the red Peek? (Hint: go to www.getpeek.com for the answer).
And remember, even if you don’t win, you can still take advantage of the Amazon and Peek Valentine’s day promotion where you can buy one Peek, and get a second at no additional cost!
Don’t forget to come back tomorrow for our other 2 giveaways!
To enter, simply leave a comment below answering the question posted above.
The comment must be left before Wednesday February 18th 2009 at 5:00 PM Eastern Time.
You may enter only once.
One Prize Winner will be randomly selected to receive one Peek personal email device (sorry, but monthly service is NOT included).
Open to legal residents of the 50 United States, and the District of Columbia who are 18 and older.
The total value of the prize is approximately $80.
Click here for the complete official rules of this giveaway.