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Valentine's getaways with a twist

Looking for something more than a typical romantic vacation? Check out these suggestions from TODAY Travel Editor Peter Greenberg

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Great getaways for Valentines
Jan. 31: TODAY travel editor Peter Greenberg talks with NBC's Natalie Morales about some romantic trips to book for you and your love.

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By Peter Greenberg
TODAY Travel Editor
updated 4:59 p.m. ET Feb. 2, 2007

Peter Greenberg
TODAY Travel Editor

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With Valentine's Day just around the corner, why not pamper yourself and your sweetheart by taking a romantic vacation somewhere around the world?

Here are some fascinating Valentine's getaways that offer something more than your typical romantic vacation for two.

Hotel Fouquet's Barriere in Paris (http://www.fouquets-barriere.com/
The hotel — at the corner of Avenue George V and the Champs Elysees — opened in November and is the first "Palace Hotel" to open in Paris in 80 years.  Here are the details:

2 nights minimum stay
Breakfasts
Welcoming caviar and champagne in the room. Champagne dinner at the hotel's Le Diane restaurant. One-hour photo session in the streets of Paris with a professional, old-time black-and-white photographer à la Robert Doisneau. One make-up treatment for Madame and one skin treatment for Monsieur before the photo session.  A souvenir album with the best 10 photos. A romantic Paris-by-night tour in a chauffeur-driven 2CV convertible or a Peugeot C6 (President Chirac's vehicle). Transport to and from the airport.
Cost: 1,599 Euros ($2,070 U.S.)/night for 2 in a superior room

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"Love is in the Air" for Eos Airlines
Eos promises to be "the world's most romantic airline" (for one night at least) with special Valentine's Day flights from New York to London. Couples get to dine face to face. During their meal, they will enjoy special amenities including Godiva chocolate, Tattinger champagne and even a book of love poems.  They are encouraged to check their box of Godiva chocolates carefully, as one box on each flight includes a Valentine's Day gift certificate awarding complimentary roundtrip tickets for a future Eos flight.  A honeymoon, perhaps?

After dinner, Eos' attendants provide turndown service, as couples settle in to sleep side by side in adjacent suites, each featuring a 6-foot-6-inch fully horizontal beds, full-size pillows, down comforters/duvets and Bose noise-canceling headsets.  Each suite offers 21 square feet of personal space, and individual aisle access.  Plenty of room for a man to kneel on bended knee, if there was a certain question he had been meaning to ask!

Eos' Valentine's Day flights depart from New York's JFK Airport to London's Stansted Airport at 7:15 p.m. and 8:55 p.m. on February 14th.                

For more information, visit eosairlines.com or call (800) 598-2169.

Discovery Cove (Orlando, Fla.) - "Swim with Dolphins"
(www.discoverycove.com/default2.aspx)
Couples looking for a one-of-a-kind experience to express their love can escape to the tropical hideaway of Discovery Cove in Orlando. From celebrating Valentine's Day in the lap of luxury, swimming with dolphins and snorkeling with rays, to relaxing on pristine beaches and drifting along the crystal clear tropical river, there are an array of romance packages available throughout February.

Valentine's Value Package - $74.95
Package includes a buoy with personalized message delivered by a dolphin, 6x8 photo, souvenir frame and boxed chocolates.

Valentine's Sweetheart Package - $149.95
Package includes a buoy with personalized message delivered by a dolphin, 6x8 photo and souvenir frame, boxed chocolates, champagne and two souvenir toasting flutes.

Valentine's Romance Package - $299.95
Package includes a buoy with personalized message delivered by a dolphin, 6x8 photo, souvenir frame and video, boxed chocolates, a dozen roses, champagne, two souvenir toasting flutes, champagne chiller and private cabana for the day.

The Inn of the Five Graces (Santa Fe, N.M.) - "Leap to Elopement"
(http://www.fivegraces.com/)
This is for couples who want to be married on the spot, with all the spontaneous romance of an elopement. The hotel general manager acquired a certification online as an ordained priest from the Universal Life Church of Love, approved as a legal endorsement by the County Clerk of Santa Fe.

The Five Senses — A ceremony catering to all the senses at the outset of your journey together. Sight: a long lingering eyeful of each other, your first mutual gaze as husband and wife; smell: fragrant local piñon wood incense burners scenting the courtyard; sound: Native American wind chimes lend a  natural accompaniment to the ceremony; taste: a sangria toast for the bride and groom; touch: the soft velvety sensation of the sage bouquets holding each of your rings.

The Dowry — Elements of an ancient wedding ceremony enrich this event, during which 13 gold coins (representing the groom's dowry to his bride) are blessed by the officiator and passed between the hands of the newlyweds several times. A large rosary or lasso is wound around the couple's shoulders in a figure-8 during the wedding ceremony to symbolize their union.

Beginnings: African American Custom — The old slave tradition of jumping over a broomstick together to start a new married life is sometimes traced to a much older African tribal marriage ritual of placing sticks on the ground to represent the couple's new home. Today, the jumping of the sticks is a symbol of sweeping away of the old, and welcoming the new. 

Native American Tradition — The Blanket ritual is a beloved part of Native American culture. The Inn of the Five Graces makes it a memorable part of your Santa Fe elopement: Two blue blankets are wrapped around the shoulders of both bride and groom, symbolizing the separateness of their past lives. 

Candlelight and Butterflies — In this symbolic ceremony, the bride and groom light their own small candles, representing their distinct backgrounds and values.  Then together, the couple lights a large single candle symbolizing the union of their lives. At the ceremony's end, 100 butterflies will be released from the courtyard in a literally uplifting and colorful expression of joy and hope.