Romantic

If you're looking for romance, Paris is definitely a winner. Just ask the guy from The Bachelor. But what if you're trying to find a romantic spot here in Maryland? Would you go to St. Michaels? Cumberland? We want you to tell us the best place to go for a romantic getaway in Maryland. Please e-mail your responses to travel@baltsun.com.

Romancing the home, or bringing warmth, comfort and intimacy into your environment, does not have to be limited to special times of the year, special events or even to particular rooms. With today's trend toward "cocooning," any time is appropriate for romance.Of course, how you bring this special quality into your home depends on your definition of romance.For some, it may be about chivalrous adventures set in remote times and places, mysterious events, idealized love and the wooing of heroes and heroines.

Two Lovers : *** 1/2 In an age when moving romantic dramas are as few and far between as truly funny romantic comedies, this turbulent triangle starring Joaquin Phoenix, Gwyneth Paltrow and Vinessa Shaw encompasses three varieties of love (and how they all bleed into each other): domestic, romantic, erotic. opening next friday 12 Rounds : (20th Century Fox) A police detective must complete 12 insidious challenges to save his kidnapped girlfriend. With John Cena and Ashley Scott. The Haunting in Connecticut : (Lionsgate)

"Laura Ashley was a romantic, a sentimentalist, a traditionalist. Unashamed of her taste for nostalgia, she brought poetry and fantasy back into ordinary domestic life, liberating design from chrome, plastics and man-made fibers."--Iain Gales and Susan Irvine, "Laura Ashley Style"The Laura Ashley name evokes images of sweet, pastel-floral, miniprinted frocks, and pretty, romantic bedrooms decorated from floor to ceiling with coordinating patterns. And as the firm turns 40 this March, it is warmly embracing that romantic youth, which laid the foundation for its enormous success, while it looks toward the '90s.

Designer Ella Pritsker, 33, loves what she does. "I've always dreamed about it, ever since I was a child," she says. "It's the creative part that appeals to me, being able to express myself -- the way I feel and the way I think -- in clothes." Pritsker came to Maryland 10 years ago from Russia as part of a relief program, traveling through Italy and Australia and soaking up their fabric offerings -- the colors and textures -- as she came. After five years in the United States, she started her own label, Ella Moda, in the basement of her home, fashioning couture-quality suits and separates.

If you're still deciding what to get your Valentine (mine has been asking since Christmas what I'm going to get him), a Washington company has some romantic -- albeit fattening -- ideas.Red roses are lovely to look at, but they don't tantalize the taste buds like chocolate roses. For $39.95 a dozen or $19.95 a half dozen, Essentially Chocolate will send your beloved chocolate rosebuds with silk stems and leaves. For $38, you can get two dozen heart-shaped butter, raspberry and lemon cookies packed in a Shaker-style wooden box accompanied by a second heart-shaped wooden box filled with truffles.

Would Heathcliff have confessed his love to Catherine by e-mail? Would Shakespeare have expressed himself with emoticons? Would Abelard and Heloise have become entangled by laptop? With Valentine's Day a mere hop, skip and box of chocolates away, these questions are not as obscure as they might sound. Four centuries ago, the educated man might have wooed his mate with a love letter. Today, the medium of choice is far more likely to involve a computer. This week, e-mail traffic on America Online is expected to surge as Valentine's Day approaches.

Welcome to class, gentlemen. I'm glad to see you all have reported as Relationship Court has ordered. This is Remedial Romance for Wine Geeks. Ladies, feel free to audit. Now, guys, we have a holiday coming this month that has certain romantic overtones. Do any of you remember what it is? No, Bruno, not Presidents Day. That's right, it's Valentine's Day, Kenneth. Very good. Now class, it is customary at this holiday to sit down with your beloved over a nice dinner and exchange romantic thoughts.

The velvety voice on the other end -- its tone warm and crisp -- is so familiar. It is the voice of Johnny Mathis, a nearly 50-year recording veteran, known as the "world's greatest romantic singer." Calling from his home in Hollywood, the 69-year-old crooner sounds surprisingly youthful. These days, the man still looks good, too: The hair is dark, full and feathered, the skin bronzy and smooth. "It's not easy getting old," Mathis says, chuckling. "I've been exercising a lot for the past 10 years.