1. Everything French is romantic, no? Cavey's, 45 East Center Street, Manchester, 860-643-2751, serves elegant French cuisine in its downstairs restaurant. Zagat voters call this a "special date place."
2. Say "I Do!" at A Cardinal House, 2205 Main Street, Glastonbury, 860-633-8109. This small bed & breakfast inn is perfect for elopements and vow renewals because Dr. Michael F. Lepore, who owns the inn with his wife, Nancy, is a Justice of the Peace.
3. Cosi, with locations in West Hartford and Avon, Connecticut, is an especially good choice for a dessert date--perch yourself on a cozy couch and make your own S'mores over a fondue pot flame.
4. When was the last time you kidnapped your sweetheart for a horse-drawn carriage or sleigh ride? I thought so. Call Allegra Farm Horse & Carriage Service in East Haddam, 860-680-5149, or one of these other Connecticut horse farms that offer sleigh rides, to reserve your private outing.
5. If a room with a Jacuzzi is your notion of the perfect potion for passion, the Howard Johnson Express Inn, 1760 Silas Deane Highway, Rocky Hill, 860-529-3341, offers in-room Jacuzzis.
6. For fine dining in front of a cozy, crackling fireplace, head for the 1734 Altnaveigh Inn & Restaurant, Route 195, Storrs, 860-429-4490.
7. Here's an unusual, romantic idea. Park your car on Route 20 in Windsor Locks, Connecticut, at the end of the runway at Bradley International Airport, wrap your arm around your sweetie, and watch the planes take off and land.
8. What better way to show your true love you'll be there to catch her when she falls than to take her ice skating at the International Skating Center of Connecticut, 1375 Hopmeadow Street, Simsbury, 860-651-5400. The Center offers a regular schedule of public skating sessions.
9. Pucker up in the park. Citysearch visitors chose Bushnell Park as Hartford's Best Place to Kiss in a 2001 survey.
10. Hartford Advocate readers have voted The Mill on the River, 989 Ellington Road, South Windsor, 860-289-7929 or 888-344-4414, Connecticut's most romantic restaurant in many recent polls. The restaurant offers romantic river views and a multi-cultural menu. Call ahead for reservations.
Happy Valentine's Day!
