"In the morning, you wake up and wonder if it was all a dream. Your roommates tell you that no, it in fact was not. Then, your crappy Italian cell phone pings." - http://clapway.com/2015/06/15/fire-and-ice-an-italian-love-story/

Falling in love in Italy is every girl’s dream, right? It is the adventure of a lifetime. We willingly let our imaginations travel into the unknown experience of what falling in love with an Italian will be like. Well, unfortunately, if you’re not careful, it can go downhill fast.

At first, you’re having innocent fun. You go to a bar without any intention on falling in love. You have a few drinks with your best friends, travel companions and random hostel acquaintances. Pretty soon, the wine is going to your head and men worthy of falling in love with are everywhere.

Italian men are nothing if not passionate. They are just as set on falling in love as you probably are; except to them, love means more than a one night stand.

You see him; he sees you; your eyes meet; and, cue the fireworks. Amidst the music, the summer heat, and the atmosphere your bodies are drawn toward one another, like cheese is to wine; you know you were meant to be, even if it’s just for the night.

“Hello,” he says in his sexy, sultry, Italian accent. He also tells you his name, but you can’t remember how to pronounce it. He buys you another drink, one that you don’t need, and you start dancing. No one else matters because you are falling in love; that’s what you tell yourself at least.

The night progresses way too fast, and before you know it the bar is closing down. At this point, you both are glued to each other and have no intention on letting go. He walks you outside and before you know it, he is kissing you. He kisses your neck, your lips, and your collarbone. His hands wander everywhere, and he has no regard for the fact that you are in a public square, surrounded by cobblestone roads and various couples.

You manage to breathe while he tells you he wants to see you again tomorrow. Eagerly, you nod your head and reach for your cheap Italian cell phone. You put in his number, then call him to make sure he has yours. Your friends spot you and drag you away, leaving you to the comfort and safety of your warm sheets, dreaming of your Italian love.

In the morning, you wake up and wonder if it was all a dream. Your roommates tell you that no, it in fact was not. Then, your crappy Italian cell phone pings.

“I can’t wait to see you tonight,” the message reads. Even over text you can imagine his sexy Italian accent. And you spend all day waiting for the night to come so you can sneak back to your Italian love.

Fire and Ice: An Italian Love Story

"It so happened that on one such solo detour to the beach and I was sitting on the sand and just observing people like I love to do, I started to ponder on the possible reason why beaches are romantic."- http://clapway.com/2015/06/02/the-reason-why-beaches-are-romantic/

“Romantic” is a highly favored adjective when you want to describe beaches. The reason why beaches are romantic is something that is mysteriously not pondered upon often, and yet everyone uniformly agree that there is something extremely romantic about a beach. From beaches turning into the most sought after wedding destinations to the place where a number of proposals have been said to have happened, beaches and romance have a pretty strong bond. The real reason behind it, in my opinion, is what I would like to share here…

I have not yet journeyed miles together with a certain beach as my travel destination, because I am lucky enough to have one just ten minutes of drive from my place. It so happened that on one such solo detour to the beach and I was sitting on the sand and just observing people like I love to do, I started to ponder on the possible reason why beaches are romantic. From where I was sitting, I could see almost dozens of couples cuddling on the sand or walking with their fingers entwined and that was when it hit me. The reason was not just one single factor. It was many and varied.

The first factor I could put my finger on was the breeze. The salty sea breeze blows your hair into disarray and your clothes start billowing around you and you feel like you are up in the air, one with the wind. That feeling of floating with the wind in your hair combined with the smell of the sea is an amazingly exhilarating feeling and puts you in a mood that I felt was pretty close to how it feels when you fall in love. The jubilant feel elevates your mood as effectively as a strong dose of love would. The breeze is definitely on the top of my list of reasons why beaches are romantic.

The next, I felt was the sounds of the beach. The waves crashing into the shore, the wind buzzing through our ears and the faint but distinct sounds of the beach life that might or might not be willing to come forth before your vision, together gives us a unique other-worldly feeling, just like love.

If you have ever been in love, you would know that it feels a lot like you’re way outside of reality and whatever’s happening is not of this world.

And when you close your eyes and listen to the symphony of the sea and wind, you realize it isn’t much different. Real close actually.

I think I’m justified in saying that women are far more romantic than men on a scale of majority. Being a woman, I also know that one of our dream proposals just has to be at a beach. Having your special someone bending down on one knee on the shore with a ring that sparkles like the water around and with the shallow waves caressing your feet, saying yes and then taking a long stroll along the shore is every woman’s fantasy. I believe this unexplainable fantasy that women so loyally hold to is a major reason why beaches are romantic. Or considered to be!

By the time I wrapped up my thoughts and started to leave, I noticed that the number of couples had increased almost doubly in the mean time. Well, no matter what the reasons are, beaches are romantic and that’s that.

The Reason Why Beaches Are Romantic