Outside of park benches, socialising often happens over a bottle of local red wine in a romantic bar or in a boliche (nightclub).

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Maybe he should take her back to the carnival, he thinks, where she wins another Kewpie doll (this is at least their second date, maybe their fourth), and this time they go for a romantic nightcap at the bar where they first met.

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For instance, "The Normal Bar" authors found that 48% of men want their female partners to be more romantic -- and that the No. 1 thing they want more of is communication, not sex.

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On a smaller but romantic scale, a young Turkish-Greek couple is having a striking success with the first Turkish-music bar in Athens.

ECONOMIST: Tentatively, two old enemies are beginning to co-operate