Last Minute Valentine’s Idea: Go To Japan, Bathe In Chocolate

by Jonathon Morgan on

If you’re in love with a chocoholic, this may be your ticket never-ending bliss. Just in time for Valetine’s Day, one Japanese spa has created a new service: chocolate baths.

Revelers hop into water mixed with cacao and fragrant bath powders, to which staff add creamy chocolate — pouring it onto the bathers, who then…well…use it accordingly.

With recent research indicating that chocolate helps release “feel good” hormones — creating sensations commonly attributed to being in love, a dip in the chocolate bath might be just what you need to convince that reluctant partner to take the next step.

Or just use it as an aphrodisiac. The choice is yours.

The World’s Sexiest Penthouses

by Willy Volk on

Private, elegant, and with a hint of superiority, penthouses are, by their very definition, sexy. Way up high, looking down on all the little people scurrying about like so many ants, penthouse users seem eternally to be sipping cold drinks (brought to them by their in-house butler) and snuggling by the fire (sparked by the aforementioned butler). Though I like my adventure a bit more rough-and-tumble, I could certainly enjoy a night or two of high class in a penthouse. Don’t agree? Check out the view from Trump Towers’ Penthouse, and your opinion might change. Golden…and dizzying.

If you’d like to try a night of living large, then check out Concierge’s list of the top 10 sexiest penthouses. From Miami to St. Barths, from Australia to the Maldives, the list is To Do List for people who love Big Pimpin’.

Generally, penthouse luxury doesn’t come cheap, however. The costliest penthouse profiled (the Hong Kong Intercon) runs a hefty $11,215 per night. Yikes. For the rest of us, Milan’s The Gray runs a more affordable $648 a night — and, frankly, looks way cooler. Now you just have to get to Italy.

Word for the Travel Wise (02/07/07)

by Adrienne Wilson on

Before puckering up to give your mister or misses a big smooch-a-roo next week, try practicing some of these foreign langs to woo them with over your candlelit dinner. I’m sure his or her corazon (heart) will melt like mantequilla (butter), so long as you stick to one foreign tongue and not two. Oh, and pick up the entire bill, don’t go Dutch. Got it?

Good.

Today I’m supplying you with a list of “I Love You’s” from around the globe:

  • Chinese – Wo ai ni
  • Croatian – Volim te
  • Dutch – Ik hou van je
  • French – Je t’aime
  • Polish – Kocham cie
  • Spanish – Te amo

For more ways to say the three word heart-racing sentence in other languages visit this NY Public Library page.

Heart-Shaped Destinations

by Willy Volk on

Okay, so we wouldn’t’ve known about these heart-shaped places if it hadn’t been for the eagle-eyes over at Google Sightseeing. Nevertheless, here are some heart-shaped objects that can be seen from way up high:

If you live in the area of any of these places, it might be cool to swing by and exchange gifts! Unfortunately, you’ll have to print out some of the aerial views in order to explain the significance of the location to your Sweetie. (“Honey, why are we in a swamp…?”)

The Most Romantic Places on Earth

by Willy Volk on

Of course, Valentine’s Day is largely about romance. In my opinion, the most romantic place I’ve ever been was on top of Table Mountain. After riding the aerial cableway car to the top, my wife and I found a secluded spot, whipped out a bottle of South African wine, and watched the sun set. It was beautiful. However, many people might not think of a mountaintop as particularly romantic. To that end, here are some other places that might be more “classically” romantic:

  1. The Samode Palace in amber-soaked Rajasthan, India.
  2. Chaa Creek’s Treetop Suites high above Belize.
  3. Mfuwe Lodge’s chalets, overlooking animal-packed South Luangwa Park.
  4. Bavaria’s Schloss Neuschwanstein, nestled among so many mountains.
  5. Chile’s Hacienda Los Lingues is for the horse lovers.
  6. California’s Muir Woods, which conservationist John Muir claimed was “best tree-lovers monument that could possibly be found in all the forests of the world.”
  7. The Daintree Cape Tribulation coast is where the Great Barrier Reef and the Daintree rainforest meet, and the only place on earth where two World Heritage areas exist side by side.
  8. Zanzibar’s gently-sloping Paradise Beaches.
  9. The Sheraton Moorea is guaranteed to make you melt.

What should we list as #10?