By Maury Zilber
Valentine's day is fast approaching. For many people, it's a holiday that can easily start to feel like more of a burden than a pleasure. With our cultural tendency to associate every holiday with gift giving, the potential for magic often gives way to a stressful feeling of obligation. To recapture the joy of the holiday, concentrate on simply expressing your love and appreciation for your partner and try to think of a unique experience that the two of you can share (as opposed to what gifts you can give one another.) The memory from a new adventure together will last a lifetime.
Whether you've just met or you've been together for decades, a romantic dinner date is something that will always be appreciated. If the restaurant is someplace special that you know they'd really like to experience, that's perfect. But if you can come up with something that they didn't even know existed, that's even better. For a unique dining experience that's fit even for a foodie and that also includes a bit of magic and mystery, you can't beat a dinner at Opaque in either Los Angeles, San Diego, or San Francisco. Although it's been raved about in magazines and on television programs quite a few times, many people still haven't heard about the pitch black dining experience that has taken Europe by storm in cities such as Berlin, Paris, and Vienna. For about two hours, you and your date will join a group of other diners in absolute darkness, giving up your sense of sight and thereby sensitizing your remaining senses of smell, taste, hearing, and touch. At the Santa Monica location, you'll be served in inky black darkness by a specially trained, blind waiter. At a similar restaurant in Japan, the servers instead wear military night-vision goggles. After making your menu selections and checking your coats and bags in a lighted antechamber, your server will lead you into the darkened dining room. Many people have never experienced absolute darkness before, so it can be temporarily unsettling – but you'll quickly adjust and begin enjoying a sumptuous meal that is unlike any other.
If you're significant other is someone who prefers thrills to mystery, an equally unique dining experience can be had with Dinner In the Sky. Although it doesn't come cheap, this one-of-a-kind dining experience serves up to 22 guests. If you split the cost among all the diners, it can become much more affordable. Dinner in the sky offers services in countries all over the world and can serve you in almost any location you choose. After arriving, you and your 21 guests will be strapped into specially made chairs surrounding a large dining table. Then the entire table – including your chef, server, and guests – is hoisted 50 meters into the sky for an 8-hour dining experience that no one there will ever forget. If you'd like to have live entertainment such as a Greek tragedy, cabaret, comedian, etc. you can also opt to have a second platform hoisted skyward for your entertainers. It's hard to describe the experience until you've actually been floating in the sky above one of the world's most beautiful landmarks. Check out the official website for photos and more information on bookings.
Dining is great, but theater can also be romantic – especially when it's interactive. Even if you missed out on Tamara back in the 80's (L.A's longest running theater show) and you didn't have a chance to see the recent House of Besarab you can find less elaborate interactive theater shows or murder mystery dinners going on in almost any major city thanks to outfits such as Killing Company, Gourmet Detective, and The Dinner Detective.
If you'd like your Valentine's Day Adventure to be more bedroom-oriented, you can always surprise your other half with a little roleplay using the playful fetish apparel and gear found at Male Stockroom.
To keep your single friends from feeling left out, gift them with things designed to cure their single status – such as a free membership at a hookup or dating site like Men 4 Sex Now or Manhunt. Better yet, buy them some free credits at a live cam site such as Flirt 4 Free or Cam4 so that they can enjoy a private show with the model of their choice. If you want to go all out, you can hire them a beautiful porn star escort from Rentboy!
