Inspired by "Roman Holiday"
The fiancé of my recently engaged friend, called me the other day to ask for suggestions on what he should do for her for Valentine's Day. "I'm on a tight budget!" he said. I quickly thought about it and gave him some inexpensive (but still romantic) ideas.
These friends of mine live in San Francisco. Being a former resident and expert of the city, it was easy for me to come up with something. My friend, like me, loves the movie "Roman Holiday," so I used that for inspiration and suggested to her fiancé that he take her out for a "Roman Happi-day."
image from the movie, "Roman Holiday" (after she finished her gelato)
I told him to start the day by taking her to the Palace of Fine Arts, which has a very Roman feel:
They could take a walk around the water, hand-in-hand, admire the architecture, feed the swans, and he could buy her a gelato to eat while they walked and enjoyed each other's company. Afterwards, he could take her into Little Italy, where they could have cappuccinos at a little Italian cafe, and maybe catch one of the many street performers/musicians.
My friend is rather petite in size, like Audrey Hepburn. I put an outfit together of what I picture her wearing on her date, inspired by the movie (see first picture above):
(I did pretty good, huh? The ring is almost exactly what her engagement ring looks like)
After cappuccinos, he could take her back to their apartment and cook her a simple Italian meal: spaghetti and meatballs. After dinner, they can snuggle on the couch or in bed and watch "Roman Holiday."
These friends of mine live in San Francisco. Being a former resident and expert of the city, it was easy for me to come up with something. My friend, like me, loves the movie "Roman Holiday," so I used that for inspiration and suggested to her fiancé that he take her out for a "Roman Happi-day."
image from the movie, "Roman Holiday" (after she finished her gelato)
I told him to start the day by taking her to the Palace of Fine Arts, which has a very Roman feel:
They could take a walk around the water, hand-in-hand, admire the architecture, feed the swans, and he could buy her a gelato to eat while they walked and enjoyed each other's company. Afterwards, he could take her into Little Italy, where they could have cappuccinos at a little Italian cafe, and maybe catch one of the many street performers/musicians.
My friend is rather petite in size, like Audrey Hepburn. I put an outfit together of what I picture her wearing on her date, inspired by the movie (see first picture above):
(I did pretty good, huh? The ring is almost exactly what her engagement ring looks like)
After cappuccinos, he could take her back to their apartment and cook her a simple Italian meal: spaghetti and meatballs. After dinner, they can snuggle on the couch or in bed and watch "Roman Holiday."
Total cost of date?: $25
Breakdown of costs: 2 gelatos, 2 cappuccinos, 1 package spaghetti, 1 jar spaghetti sauce, 1 bag frozen meatballs. The Palace of Fine Arts is free to visit, as are the street performers/musicians (naturally).
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For the L.A. version, I would have told him to take her to the Getty Center to admire the Roman art and have cappuccinos at the museum's cafe while sitting outside in museum garden. Then cook a simple Italian dinner at home. Instead of gelatos, spend the $5 on a cheap bottle of wine from Trader Joe's to have with dinner. Total cost is still $25. Getty Center admission is free!
* * *
I had fun doing this and thought, given our tight economy, I would come up with a couple more inexpensive date suggestions for Valentine's Day (or any day, for that matter), inspired by my favorite Audrey Hepburn movies. Check back for more suggestions over the next few days!
1 comment:
Very fun.. It is sort of Rachel Ray $5/day.. have you ever seen that show?! I love that museum in San Fran and the Getty in LA... both dates sound good to me!
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