Holiday Romance? I Wish.

No holiday romance for me…

Unfortunately there wasn’t enough time for any holiday romances whilst I was away on my solo adventure.  At least, that’s the excuse I’m using.  Five days in each country realistically isn’t enough time to have a hot love affair, is it? Despite my dreams of being approached by a Shemar Moore/Lance Gross/Common/David Beckham lookalike in some trendy Manhattan bar or restaurant, it really just wasn’t meant to be (sob!). Personally, I blame all of these New York based romantic comedies for misleading me.  Hitch, How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days, Maid In Manhattan, Brown Sugar, Sex & The City, The Back-Up Plan – they all lied.  Where was my Will Smith, my Taye Diggs, my very own Alex O’Loughlin trying to steal my yellow taxi before sweeping me off of my feet huh? New York romantic comedy my ass.

LOVE in New York City (6th Ave & 55th St)

It really is a damn shame because ooooh child, the things the New York accent does to me. As I said in my tweet at the time the accent is so hot it can make practically any guy seem attractive. Phew! *Fans herself*

Although there were no hot dates or significant liaisons, I did have an absolute ball. I spoke to guys and yes there were a few interesting opportunities I could have taken advantage of, but didn’t.

New York City

These are the times I wish I was more brazen. Here I am, in one of my most favourite cities in the world all on my lonesome. I could’ve taken on any personality, I could’ve been anyone, I could have been ‘that chick’ who makes eye contact and flirts like crazy. But oh no, lil ol’ me decided to play it safe knowing being alone that if things went wrong I’d have no-one there to help. No-one to make sure I was safely tucked in my bed each night. No-one to make sure I hadn’t ended up face down in a ditch somewhere. Anyway, I digress. What I’m trying to say is that I didn’t go all out with the guys because I was being sensible ol’ me. I received compliments, head nods, smiles and greetings every single day. What an appreciative bunch of fellas these New Yorkers are eh? It was lovely to be stopped and asked for my name and/or my contact details a good few times but sod’s law, why is it always that none of those guys were ever my cuppa tea?

I did see a good share of drop dead delicious guys in NYC but mostly I watched them from behind the safety of my shades. I know, what a cop-out. right? I can’t help it, I’m such a wuss when it comes to hot guys. There was one guy in particular  who left me speechless. Holy shit he was so unbelievably droolworthy! See tweets here and here.

The closest I came to any ‘action’ in New York was courtesy of my long distance friend and snogging partner from my last NY trip. Lets call him ‘Queens’, as that is where he is from after all. Queens and I met during my last trip to NY back in 2006 and we’ve kept in touch ever since. That’s the beauty of Facebook, MSN messenger and the odd phonecall eh? Anyway, on my last night in NY I hung out with Queens, a girl I assumed he was dating, (they were exchanging saliva at one point, so ummm…) and a girlfriend of mine. Can you believe Queens still had the cheek to invite himself back to my hotel room at the end of the night? After he’d taken his ‘friend’ home first, I might add. I so wasn’t about to let that happen, I mean what a lo-hoo-ser, and poor girl!

Barbados

Dover Beach, Barbados. A perfect place for romance. *Sigh*

For me personally, the New York boys win hands down. In terms of their approach (their accent) and their style (errr, yeah their accent) but strangely enough, it was the Bajan (Barbadian for those not in the know) boys who were more upfront and more eager to impress, sometimes in an almost more pushy sort of way. The men in Barbados are *very* friendly, to say the least. They like tourists, pretty ones in particular. It’s all a novelty to them. I find it really easy to be drawn in by all of the compliments and the attention being showered on you, especially when you don’t get that level of attention at home.

The difference is the New York guys say hi, they compliment and they may ask for a number but then they leave it at that. Whereas, the Bajan guys want to know your name, number, which hotel you’re staying at, what you’re doing that night and if they can be your companion for the rest of your trip.

Admittedly, I took full advantage of the attention and was a total slut on last years trip to Barbados (shhh, I deserved it, leave me alone) but that wasn’t something I wanted to repeat this year. Once again, being a solo traveller meant I was more sensible. I wasn’t out partying every night drinking heaps of Mount Gay Rum like I was last year so in comparison, I was extremely well behaved. Yes, there were ‘opportunities’ that came in the form of last year’s two summer flings (yes, two). It was lovely to see them and spend time hanging out with them but I dunno, maybe I just didn’t have enough rum flowing through my veins this time around.

So, lack of holiday romance behind me; I’m back home, back to reality and back on the (dating) case.

Back To Life, Back To Reality

My far too short solo adventure is over and unfortunately I’m now back home in London. Five nights in New York City followed by five nights in Barbados have whizzed by in the blink of an eye. I had an absolutely a-may-zing time and I’d do the whole travelling alone thing again in a heartbeat.

Now that I’m back to real life, it means my date break has ended too. It’s therefore time for me to throw myself back into the dating world and as mentioned before, I’m going to be looking at new and exciting ways to meet guys.  I’ve had enough of POF and their ‘voluntary illiterates’ (copyright; Wendi B) so now I’m thinking of trying something new;  eHarmony? Sitting In a Tree? Urban Social? Are there any other good dating sites out there I should consider?

Online Dating: Don't ya just love it?

The very lovely Sarah F of The Loves and Life of A London Girl has thrown a couple of workshop suggestions my way; Flirtology and Get the Guy both sound interesting so I’ll be sure to look into these options too. (Thanks Sarah!)

I might be up for a bit of speed dating this time around too. Once again, if you know of any good dating events, please feel free to throw them my way.

I’m feeling refreshed after my break and looking forward to jumping back into things with gusto.  Here’s hoping this time around I manage to meet guys who aren’t complete and utter doofus’, freaks, cling-ons or teenage-boys-stuck-in-mens-bodies. A little bit of  happy, romantic, butterflies in my tummy sort of dating would be nice, I truly think I deserve it.

Time to jump back onto the dating merry-go-round. Watch this space!

Toodles for now,

TSFx

Headed For A Solo Adventure

So this is it. I’m actually doing this. Tomorrow I’m travelling across the Atlantic Ocean to take on both The Big Apple and the beautiful island of Barbados, all on my lonesome. Scary, but exciting at the same time.

The downside of being single at my age is that most of my friends already have holiday plans with their boyfriends or they’re staying at home with their hubbies and babies. Hold up, let me be more truthful. I did have someone to travel with in the beginning. At first I was going to NYC with one of my oldest, dearest friends. You know, that friend you went to junior, secondary school and college with? The friend who you were inseparable from as a teenager? Well, that’s her. Despite our shared childhood we have very different adult lives. She’s been with her ‘other half’ since they were 17 and they have a 13 yr old son. So whilst I’m up here in London living the single life, she’s back in our hometown living the family life. Anyway, she decided she’d finally have some fun and come along with me for a girlie trip but unfortunately it wasn’t meant to be. A month after we booked our flights and accommodation, she discovered she was pregnant. Wonderful news considering they’d been trying for awhile but not so wonderful for our plans.

After a few weeks of trying to find a replacement travel buddy I gave in to the realisation that I was going to do this alone. Actually, the more I thought about it, the more excited I got! I’ve travelled alone before, a couple of nights in Paris, a couple of nights in Amsterdam but I’ve never done anything on as big a scale as this but hey, that’s what makes it exciting isn’t it? It’s a brand new experience, a chance to meet new people, a chance to be selfish and to go where I want, for how long I want with nobody to tell me otherwise. I know some people in NYC and I have relatives and friends in Barbados, so I can choose when exactly I want to be alone. Perfect!

Also, another positive is that apparently people (ahem, men) are more likely to strike up a conversation with a lone female. Not in a ‘creepy axe murderer’ kinda way but in an ‘he thinks I look more approachable and then he’s going to go gaga over my British accent’ kinda way. Here’s hoping my trip brings opportunities and of course,  heaps of hot men.

See you on the other side my lovelies, until then, feel free to check out some personal pics from my previous NYC & Barbados trips.

TSF
x

New York City

The view from my hotel room, NYC, June 2006

Times Square at night

The Brooklyn Bridge, looking at Manhattan

Barbados (and yes, it really is this beautiful!)

The Boatyard Beach, Bridgetown

Dover Beach, Christchurch

Sunset at Paynes Bay, St James