Romantic Paris Staycation

This was from my destination date night for Valentine's Day 2024.

Valentine's Day is just a few days away. If you haven't planned anything yet, it's okay, there's still time to get the most coveted reservation, the one at home with your sweetie. If that doesn't sound all that exciting to you, what if I told you that you'd be taking them to Paris (or really any city they've been dreaming of)?

In 2022, we took a vacation to Paris, and it was awesome, but not every year can be a Paris year. In fact, I know I'm privileged to have been to Paris even once. So, if Valentine's Day snuck up on you, I'm going to show you how you can pull together a romantic staycation over this week, if you get on it right now. You may need to put it off to Saturday, but you can still do it.

This is one of those times I decided to make all my own food, which is unusual, because I like to get a meal delivered, and you might want to, too, but if you don't, following is the list of foods I made. I wanted as much to be heart-shaped as possible and I wanted to do a tea time spread, as that is one of our favorite things to do:

• Mini Hasselback potatoes: loaded version
• Radish tea sandwiches - I cut the bread into hearts and froze and I also added a little radish heart on toothpicks
• Cucumber flowers with dill butter - I did these as open-face and cut both the bread and the cucumbers into flower shapes
• Sweet pea and leek tartlets - instead of using big tart pans, I used heart-shaped baking tins from Michael's
• Salmon petits toasts - I made the filling for this and instead of toasts, I spread it on tortillas, cut them into strips, and then rolled and used toothpicks to shape them into a sort of heart shape
• Curry chicken tarts - I actually purchased a container of curried chicken from Trader Joe's and put them in phyllo cups I had in the pantry
• Savory peach tarts - I couldn't find fresh peaches, so I used canned peaches that I dried off between paper towels, and used hot honey instead of cooking the peaches with chili flakes. I also cut my puff pastry into heart shapes

I set my coffee table with a pink sequin tablecloth that was actually a curtain panel, added a heart runner for an interesting look. I also got a 3D travel-themed Valentine's Day card, in place of my usual flower centerpiece. All my tablewear (runner, tiered tray, heart dessert server, heart plates) came from Target. I used red napkins I already had, mismatched teacups from my cabinet, and my bird teapot. We drank a chocolate raspberry tea that I received for my birthday, and I also had a mini bottle of rosé prosecco. They have different stuff this year.  

If you can't find these items at your local Target, don't have a local Target, or don't want to use what you already have, here are some items you can sub in and get before V-day:

• Heart shaped plates: melamine | paper | ceramic
• Tiered serving tray
• Cake/dessert display
• Heart baking tins | heart tart pans | heart ramekins
• Conversation heart napkins
• Heart table runner
• See-through, stovetop tea kettle with infuser (on sale right now!) | I love this affordable red polka-dot kettle | or if you're looking for a traditional teapot
• Tea bags - if you're using loose-leaf tea, I find that these (I actually use the Coffee Sock, but they won't deliver before the 14th) are actually better than every other infuser I've used.
• Mini cookie cutters | if you just want hearts, here's a set
• Barbie champagne flutes | or maybe these cutie floral wine glasses
• 3D Valentine's Day card | Paris themed card

As a background, I picked a Parisian river view with the Eiffel Tower behind it. If you've followed my destination date series, then you know I usually do two backdrops, and this time I did, too, but used the second one in a different way. I wrapped our TV stand with a rose garden backdrop, because we watched a few videos of a Seine cruise. 

You can pick up fun things like these ring pops or Valentine head boppers or glasses at your local dollar store. These glasses Eric has on are actually blue, which you can see in other pics, but somehow came out green in the pics where he's wearing them. Mine are pink, but almost disappeared in pictures.

I probably spent the equivalent of a fancy dinner out on this destination date, but I didn't have to hear a bunch of people's conversations, I didn't have to dress up (you can), and I didn't have to drive anywhere and wait for my table to be ready. We had a fun time and it was a nice, relaxing, and romantic evening in. I hope this gives you some good ideas for your own romantic evening in. If you want more tips for things to do outside of your home, here's my post on how to do a romantic staycation on a budget. 

Have a wonderful Valentine's Day, if you celebrate. All of these ideas can also be used for a Galentine's or Palentine's celebration. Cheers!

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Visiting Places Along The Civil Rights Trail

The older I get, the more I realize that our education in Black history (and history in general) was woefully lacking and highly whitewashed. I'm always so upset to learn how cleaned up much of our learning was, when actual history is anything but neat and tidy. It's messy and complicated and though it can be heartbreaking to learn the truth of how people were treated, and are still being treated, knowing history is what helps us move forward and do better. 

As you know, I have been trying to do a better job of giving you ideas of what to do and where to go when you travel, so you can learn new things, eat delicious food, connect with amazing people, and come home a more well-rounded person. This starts with me making more posts about the important thing, especially now when our country is trying hard to erase even the few things we did know. 

This is, by all means, not a conclusive list, so check out the Civil Rights Trail website, where you can sort by state or type of landmark. You can view another list of places I suggest traveling, another infographic, and each day this month, I will be posting a story or article about Black creators, pioneers, or history on Facebook. I will also probably post a round-up of those at the end of the month, for those of you who aren't on Facebook or are trying hard to leave it. 

You already know one of my favorite places was the National Museum for African American Music. Some of these landmarks or museums can be easily overlooked, so I encourage you to do a bit of research before you travel anywhere, to learn more about their history regarding marginalized communities. Do you have a favorite place to learn about Black history? Post it in the comments!

Saving On a Romantic Getaway

As someone who hasn't celebrated Valentine's Day since I was a teenager, and even then didn't love it, I say make the holiday whenever you want and skip the crazy prices on the day/weekend/week itself. Take a getaway later in February or even March. Your money will go a bit further and you won't be fighting with a ton of other couples for overpriced "romance packages". 

Here are ways you can get away for less:

Use Groupon for things to do or places to eat

Groupon is an amazing site that offers deals on a wide assortment of things, not least of which is dining. I always set up notifications for my upcoming destinations and have the app on my phone, so I never have to print out a certificate if I don't have to. Dining certificates can be purchased quite often and many times you can grab a half-off gift certificate to a new local restaurant or one just trying to bring in new customers. 

We've used it for city tours, dinners, escape rooms, and even concerts. Sign up at Groupon for the destination of your next vacation (they cover many international locations as well as the United States and you can change your notifications at any time) and eat and go to attractions for less!

Scour Travelzoo's Top 20

Travelzoo has a Top 20 each week that they put out with their best deals, but you can also search for trips and portions of your trip directly on their site for cheaper activities, tours and more!

Invest in a city attraction card

If you have a list of must-dos on your list, check the ones offered on the city card of that destination to see how many are offered on that card. You can save up to 55% on a list of attractions and activities when you use GoCards or CityPASS. If they aren't available for either of these cards, because you're going out of the country or just because they aren't, just Google "city card [destination city]" and often you'll find something that works.

Get a vacation rental

Hotels can be expensive and don't give you great privacy or make you feel like you're that far away from others, so I usually opt for a vacation rental. You can find something for any budget and for however you like to travel. We almost always go for Airbnb when we aren't staying in a timeshare and are doing a stay of more than a couple nights. We've stayed in everything from a studio up to a three-bedroom, apartments, homes and even an Airstream trailer, from one night to one week and have been happy with our choices and always felt safe and like locals. 

Pick one splurge meal

If you're on a strict budget, pick a splurge meal and go to affordable restaurants the rest of your trip. If you have a bit more leeway in what you're spending, choose one meal to go big on. I do some research before I go and try to make reservations at restaurants I definitely want to eat at and choose the meal that won't totally break our bank. When we were in Palm Springs, I mostly chose breakfast to reserve and then filled in with more affordable options. If you're on a really tight budget, I recommend using the kitchen in your vacation rental.

Rent someone else's car

I try to use my own car when I can, but I am a big car renter. Rentals have almost always been kind of expensive, but since the pandemic and the rental companies sold off most/all their fleets they have been outrageous pretty much at all destinations now. I have been exclusively using Turo for my rental needs for 4 years now. Cars are owned by individuals and you rent from them through the app. I've had cars dropped off for me and also done contactless pick-up. Both have been great and all the cars we've had have been awesome. Think of it like Airbnb, but for cars.

Sign up for Turo for free (they will ask for your driver license info to do a quick background check on your driving record) and get a $25 credit, + refer a friend and you both get a $25 credit once they travel with Turo.

Hopefully, these tips can help you take an alternative Valentine's Day getaway, or even a regular trip another time of the year. What are your favorite romantic destinations?

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through them, I may be compensated monetarily. Thanks in advance for any purchases you make. It helps me continue to run this blog and bring you my best budget travel tips.