Remember the time you decided to completely drop the Valentine’s Day ball and tried to make a reservation for you and your loved one at the very last minute only to find that every restaurant in Ottawa was fully booked and you ended up eating at a pizzeria in Gatineau as your girlfriend glared at you from across the booth???
364 days later, nothing has changed. You’ve forgotten to make a plan yet again and the weekend of love is looking more and more ominous as it approaches. But this year, in a nutshell has you covered with a list of last minute ideas that will paint you in a Casanova-light and make your sweetheart swoon. No pizzerias. No glaring. No worries.
Not to say that the nuts are qualified love doctors, but in our own lives we’ve found that trying something new with your partner is a great way to revitalize the relationship and keep things interesting. Our list, for whatever type of couple you are, aims to take you and your loved one through a new experience and shake things up a bit this Valentine’s Day.
The Home Lovers: For the couple who would rather have a night in…than a night out
The Date: Try an at home wine and cheese flight with local wines and cheese. Our resident sommelier has paired the wine and cheese together to make for a fun way to get the night started.
Wine and Cheese Pairing #1: Riopelle ( available at the International House of Cheese) paired with Charles Baker Riesling (LCBO). This pairing contrasts the saltiness of the cheese with a wine that carries ample residual sugar to combat it’s salty counterpart.
Wine and Cheese Pairing #2: Bouq Emisaire (available at the International House of Cheese) paired with Vineland Sauvignon Blanc (LCBO). This pairing echoes a very classic pairing used in the Loire Valley of France. A chalky goats milk begs for a wine that is high in acid with lively citrus flavour to cut through the textured cheese.
Wine and Cheese Pairing #3: Blue Benedictine (available at the International House of Cheese) paired with Brights 74 Tawny(LCBO). Again, a classic pairing of blue with port where the intense flavour and saltiness of the blue cheese can be charmed by a round, rich and sweet tawny.
Brownie Points: Set the tasting up picnic style, in your living room. Adding a few candles won’t hurt.
Casanova status: If the cheese tasting has only begun to whet your appetite, order in from the upscale caterer The Red Apron. Their fine cuisine is sure to leave an impression.
The Nature Lovers: For the couple who wants to be outdoors at every moment, but has already skated on the canal too many times this season for it to be novel any more…
The Date: Snowshoeing in Gatineau Park to catch sunset. Trailhead offers inexpensive snowshoe rentals ($25.00 for adults) where you can trek through 20 kilometres of trails with varying levels of difficulty.
Brownie Points: Find a spot to kick off the snowshoes and cozy up with your date, but be sure to have some hot cocoa (with a heavy-handed splash of baileys) in tow to keep the two of you toasty.
Casanova Status: After sunset, head back to the town to finish off with a night cap at the Albion Rooms outdoor icebar. 
Enjoy some of Albion Room’s unqiue cocktails outdoors – by heat lamps of course- but be sure to stay bundled up out there.
The Artistic Lovers: For the creative types who approach Valentine’s Day with an open canvas
The Date: Fortunately, Ottawa has this couple covered with multiple shows and exhibits livening up the national capital this weekend.
National Gallery of Canada: Open Thursday 10-8 pm, Friday 10-5 pm with multiple exhibits including Him + Her, a 14 channel digital video installation featuring clips of Jack Nicholson and Merryl Streep.
http://www.gallery.ca/en/see/
Music: Blue Rodeo at Scotiabank Place 8 p.m.
http://www.capitaltickets.ca/
Winter jazz fest at the National Arts Centre (3 shows)
Renee Yoxon 5pm
The Jensen Sisters and Ben Monder 7pm
Grace Kelly Quintet 9pm
http://nac-cna.ca/en/
Brownie points: Buy her a memento of whatever show or exhibit you happen to choose, but save it until the end of the night.
Casanova status: If you’re really ahead of the curve (which, lets face it, if you’re reading this for ideas you probably aren’t) pick up the memento from the NAC or the night’s show before you go and give that to her before the date as a way to let her know what’s in store for the evening.
The Work Lovers: For the couple who are constantly on their iphones, won’t look up from the computer screen and drink more coffee in 24 hours than humanly possible
The Date: A staycation, where your date involves nothing but relaxation in a venue close to home. Put on the bath robes, wander down to the sauna and chill out.
Brownie points: Couples massages are a great way to spice things up and will certainly be appreciated by your counter-part ( and saves you the elbow grease). Try Brookstreet Hotel (5 course meal and 1 night stay $329/couple + the cost of massage) or Holtz Spa (prices range from $235-500)
Casanova Status: Most hotels are happy to accomodate requests like having champagne set up in the room prior to your arrival. Set this up as an extra surprise for a small fee.
The Food Lovers: For the couple that loves to wine and dine, going out for a nice meal occurs weekly
The Date: A bar crawl through Ottawa, where each destination is the pit stop for one drink and one appetizer. You missed the boat for a dinner reservation, but did you ever think that the bar seats in most restaurants don’t take reservations at all. If you’re willing to dine out a bit later, you’ll have a good chance at finding a spot at the wood with full access to the dinner menu.
Brownie Points: Print out the maps below and put them in card detailing that she gets to pick which one of three bar crawls to go on. It will make you look like you put in that tiny extra bit of effort.
Casanova status: Because you will be marching from restaurant to restaurant, presumably in the cold weather, pack a pair of cute mittens and a scarf that you can equip her with as you tear through the city.
1. Union 613 2. Town 3. Fresco Bistro Italian 4. Oz Kafe 
1. Brother’s Beer Bistro 2. Eighteen 3. Play Food & Wine 4. Fat Tuesday’s 
1. Petit Bill’s Bistro 2. Absinthe 3. Hintonburg Public House 4. 10Fourteen
And it’s a full moon this weekend – perfect for an evening showshoe – x-c ski! : )