Things For Me and My Girlfriend To Do

stts

Problem is my girlfriend does nt drink and i am looking for suggestions on some pastimes that we can do together,we dont have much money so travel is out of the question.At the moment we go to the cinema ............and thats about it!! She s not into the pub scene and the weather is nt the best for going on walks etc.
Any ideas?

billy the squid

Dinner? go out for a meal like. or cook something special at home every once in a while then flop down in front of a DVD or something.

pick concerts to go to together,

would a weekend away somewhere in ireland be within your budget?

stts

she wants to go to london so trying to save for that at the moment(probably cheaper than weekend away in Ireland) .We do watch a lot of Dvd s,looking for something where we can get out of the house.

billy the squid

London's good, might even be able to get the eurostar to paris if you want from london, now that would be a surprise for her wouldnt it.

anyway, you might find cheap deals in places like ryanair.com for flights and the like, would make saving less stressful.
http://www.eurostar.com/dynamic/_SvBoExpressBookingTerm?_TMS=1113365659768&_DLG=SvBoExpressBookingTerm&_LANG=UK&_AGENCY=ESTAR
eurostar link if your interested. should ye want to spend the day shopping or overnight or something

OY

This might sound stupid or overly pukey but try playing board games together, or cards.
Yathzee, Trivial Pursuit, Monopoly, etc.

Plus you can play a strip version of all of these, strip yathzee is my favourite!!!

stts

Thanks nevernev but looking to get away from the house.

OY

stts wrote:

Thanks nevernev but looking to get away from the house.

Oh right, sorry about that!

The only thing that comes to mind is cycling. Buy two good bikes and there are all kinds of trails you can go to!

I am out of ideas though!

Cecilia

Why don't you get a group of friends together and all go bowling, that way you get out of the house but no drink is invloved.

nesf

Hmm I'd agree with the above posters and possibly add:

Dancing Classes? Learn to Ballroom dance or Tango etc together.
Martial Arts? Get fit and learn self defense together (effort I know)
Actually, just generally taking a class together can work well, art classes etc.
Eating out is very good fun, but expensive as hell in this country, and not really an option if you are a student or not earning much.
Go Camping some weekend, it's cheap and cheerful (so long as you avoid bad weather somehow in this country, although being rained in can work for some couples )

Hmm, if you gave an age I'd have more of an idea of what to suggest really, I'm guessing early 20's, but I could be way off

c - 13

Myself and the girlfriend go to the gym together a lot. Not only is it out of the house but its good for you too (and relatively cheap)

WhiteWashMan

study so you can get some qualifications so you can get better jobs so you can have more money so you can have more fun......

worked for me!

either that or buy an x-box ith two controllers

Bri

Eat out with something like www.grabit.ie vouchers, or cook in with a theme; Mexian with dips to start and interesting main courses.

Matinees or 2-for-1s in the Cinema. Early bird meals after?

Cheap theatre in places like the International Bar upstairs.

Exhibitions - try www.entertainment.ie

As above, classes would be good. Dancing sounds like great fun if you get your foot in the door.

If your really broke you could go out for coffee in the 'wannabe-continental' cafes that have outdoor seating with heaters etc - should still be ok at nighttime.

Basically the more cultured you are, or want to be, the better in this limited country.

Try supervalugetawaybreaks.com or something like that; they have great mid-week Irish breaks, maybe even the Pringles Holiday offer. Then scour the Bargain Alerts forum and enter all the competitions you can find

ionapaul

Are you in Dublin? We have some great museums in this city, free to enter. The Natural History museum is fairly renowned world-wide for being one of the better examples of the 'old-style' natural history museums.

Bowling is a hell of a lot of fun, IMHO, as are quiz nights. Don't *have* to drink if held in a pub. I know you want to get out of the house, but if you could link up with friends, board games can be a blast.

Most people with tons of money, car and free time in this country don't do anything but stay at home and go out to the pub, so fair play to you for thinking about more exciting things to do with your time. Travel abroad is best, though

shane_mcc

just reading this post when i noticed that there literally is nothing to do if you cut out drinking, cos a lot revolves around it, i didn't really take much notice until a read this post. my eyes are open , sorry i couldn't contribute. good luck though.

stts

nesf wrote:

Hmm I'd agree with the above posters and possibly add:

Dancing Classes? Learn to Ballroom dance or Tango etc together.
Martial Arts? Get fit and learn self defense together (effort I know)
Actually, just generally taking a class together can work well, art classes etc.
Eating out is very good fun, but expensive as hell in this country, and not really an option if you are a student or not earning much.
Go Camping some weekend, it's cheap and cheerful (so long as you avoid bad weather somehow in this country, although being rained in can work for some couples )

Hmm, if you gave an age I'd have more of an idea of what to suggest really, I'm guessing early 20's, but I could be way off

She is 25 i am 30.

neuro-praxis

(I am assuming you're in Dublin - if you're not, you can apply this advice similarly to the other cities around Ireland.)

My bf didn't drink for years, but I soon knocked that out of him. In the mean time, you can go to gigs cheaply all over the city if you just keep an eye out. If you go to somewhere like Cafe en Seine on a Sunday or Monday you can have a beer while she has a good coffee and you both get to listen to the free jazz band. Other good cheap/free music bars are Eamonn Doran's, JJ Smyth's, Whelans.

Find the nice markets around - get up on a Saturday morning and go to the farmer's market in Temple Bar, or any of the other great markets around. They have a cool atmosphere and it's a chance to taste new things and meet interesting people.

Try out different movies at the Irish Film Institute. Sometimes they suck but mostly it's a welcome change from Hollywood blockbusters.

Go to the museums - the Chester Beatty is my favourite - but you've got all the modern art places and the natural history museums too.

Take a frisbee and go to the park and throw it around for a few hours when the weather picks up.

Go on day trips to Galway, or (as I like to do, being in Kildare) out to the beaches in Bray and Howth. Get fish and chips and walk on the beach and chat.

You can go the the theatre (smaller-scale productions) for as little as €10. Check out the Temple project theatre - you get everything there, including some great comedy shows.

You can eat out cheaply, too, if you know where to go. Make a bit of an effort to look around. Govinda's, Wagamama, Zaytoon are all cheap and cheerful. Have "special" meals at home and make a real effort.

There is loads to do! It's sad that you're 30 and don't know anything except the pub!

Bri

neuro-praxis wrote:

If you go to somewhere like Cafe en Seine on a Sunday or Monday you can have a beer while she has a good coffee and you both get to listen to the free jazz band.

Is that a regular event in Cafe en Sein? I'd def. recommend trying that out as I was in Ron Black's once when they had this in the back room and it was great - like being in another country! She can sip her pint of water slowly too if money is an issue.

GuanYin

stts wrote:

She is 25 i am 30.

Lots of things to do for non-drinkers, the problem with Ireland is you pretty much become a social leper when you don't drink, so noone knows what they are.

On the cheap?

Well comedy is one thing, there are a few regular comedy spots in Dublin, ok, most of them are in Pubs but you don't have to drink.

Theatre/performance is another, andrew lane, liberty hall, etc etc have performances that change regularly and are quite affordable.

IFC is well worth joining and again, although the cafe bar has alcohol, alot of people don't drink there. Usually comedy or entertainment on at the weekend andits open very late.

Then there are mutual interest groups, many of which are free or cheap to join (some coffee shops run poetry nights, coffee appreciation classes, book clubs etc) or photography groups (might be some good offshoots for your sex life in that )


On an aside, I found this site interesting. Its a guy in Dublin who is off drink for a year and chronicalling it on the interweb.

LegacyUser

How about a nice walk up the mountains, great view of the city

Morf3h

His location says Munster :rolleyes:

stts

thanks for all your suggestions everyone!! If you think of anymore let me know.