Romantic Things

Things are romantic if they suggest something without insisting on it. For example:

• Candles are romantic. They glow, but don't actually cast very much light. Most everything looks better that way.
• Wine cellars are romantic. They are full of mysterious caskets, just waiting to be opened, but also willing to wait as long as it takes for you to make up your mind.
• Cemeteries are romantic. They are scary, but not actually dangerous.
• Weddings are romantic. They are about commitment, but someone else's.
• Italians are romantic. They are effusive but you don't have to worry about them actually doing everything they say.
• Trains are romantic. They are going somewhere, but there's usually plenty of stops along the way where you could get off. The gentle rocking motion and the distracting scenery don't hurt either.
• Sunsets are romantic. The day is ending and the night is beginning, but the pace of change is very gentle and relaxed.
• Roses are romantic. They are pretty, but you have to be careful how you handle them.
• Thunderstorms are romantic, in a similar way to cemeteries: scary, but not actually all that dangerous. Oddly, a thunderstorm in a cemetery isn't as romantic as you might imagine.
• Picnics are romantic. There's food, but you have to go to quite a lot of trouble to eat it.
• Latin poems are romantic. They sure sound good, but you can't reasonably be expected to understand them.
• Beaches are romantic. They lie on the raging battle front between land and sea, which is full of passion but not going to be resolved any time soon.
• Lighthouses are romantic. They are surrounded by dangerous waters, but are snugly safe themselves.
• Fireplaces are romantic. There's a fire, but it is in a place.
• Italics are romantic. Anything involving leaning suggests the possibility (but just the possibility) of falling.
• Bridges are romantic. There's a raging river, but you're not in it, you're just leaning over and looking at it. No harm in that, right?
• Shawls are romantic. They are pretty but it is not quite clear what they actually do. Vagueness is very romantic.
• Southerners (of any country) are romantic, if you are up north. They suggest the warmth of the sun, which is often better than the sticky sweaty reality.
• Farms are romantic. As long as you don't think about it too much.
• French accents are romantic. French is the language of logic and love, of precision and ambiguity. French sounds carry just the vaguest suggestion of what their written form might be - just a tenuous, tantalizing hint, nothing you can really pin down. There is no better language for romance.
• Fountain pens are romantic. They are elegant and yet can make a huge mess when ink spills everywhere.
• Castles are romantic. They seem impregnable and strong, yet also have drawbridges and fancy fluttering flags.
• Kisses are romantic. I shouldn't have to explain this.

Do you have any suggestions?

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Very Romantic Things

The following are probably very romantic things:

• A reading of latin poetry in a lighthouse during a thunderstorm.
• An Italian kissing you on a train as you head to the beach for a picnic and to build a sand-castle.
• A southerner sitting by their fireplace writing you a love letter (in italics) with a golden fountain pen.
• A dalliance in a candlelit wine cellar during your best friend's wedding.

Other romantic things

• Romantic things to do online.
• Romantic nicknames.
• How to be romantic.