“The date with the weirdest location occurred the first night abroad in Spain. Since I didn’t know anyone, I figured I’d let this man — who spoke no English — take me out on the town so I could meet new people. Since I’m American, it turns out he thought I'd be most comfortable at… McDonald’s. As he drove me through the maze of unfamiliar dark streets of my new city, I was worried — until I saw the golden arches in the distance. I was very surprised and weirded out at first, but when I realized he took me there because he thought I’d feel comfortable there, I thought it was a sweet gesture — he had good intentions. Over two double cheeseburgers and a McFlurry, we exchanged words only spoken in Spanglish, so I’m not really sure what we even talked about. We said ‘Adios’ and parted ways with a heavy heart full of clogged arteries and a full stomach, never to see each other again. I wrote more about it in my blog, Bumbling Around Boston.”

“My date and I went to the Torture Museum in Amsterdam (it was his idea). My reaction was that I was a mix of scared and intrigued. It was fascinating and certainly an icebreaker — so many things to talk about.”

“A former boyfriend took me to a very upscale restaurant on our first date, then drove me across town for a walk in an underprivileged community and we ended the date doing groceries for him after midnight. This was his way of seeing how I fared in different situations and to challenge us to engage in deeper conversations on the first date. (As a matchmaker, I was impressed!) Apparently, I held my own, because the conversation never ended since that night.”

“I write about dating on my blog. As for the weirdest date location, don’t invite a date (you haven’t met) to a costume party. I was talking to a guy on an online dating site for a couple of months and I felt like we were super compatible, but every time we went to make plans, they fell through. One day, I mentioned to him that I was going to a Halloween party with some friends; since he seemed interested, I told him that if wanted to join and bring anyone, he was more than welcome to (not really thinking he would show up). Well… he showed up in a Barnacle Boy costume, by himself, and barely said a word to me all night. He was ‘in character’ all night and ended up hanging out with my friends the entire time. We never spoke after that night. Definitely would not recommend meeting someone for the first time at a costume party!”

“A few years ago, a guy invited me to a Couchsurfing.com meet-up. I almost backed out of the ‘date’ because I was horrified he was inviting me to a meet-up for couch-surfers as a first date... During the course of this odd date, I met a rapper and his friend at the meet-up. The rapper took my info and we ended up going out on a few dates! He didn’t last, but it was one of my most memorable dating stories — picking up a new date while on a date!”

“For the weirdest date location, it was a place that I took a date (for our second date, I believe). The place is a castle this guy built in his front yard. My date was apprehensive at first because the castle is directly in front of a house that is obviously inhabited (people hanging out on the porch, a guy in the driveway working on his pickup, dogs barking, etc.), so it took a minute or two to convince him to climb the spiral staircase with me, but once we got to the top of the castle, he was all smiles. We had a lot of fun, and it was a good gauge to see how adventurous he was/how he responded to an oddball date location. The location is also a geocaching site, so at the top of the castle, there’s a treasure chest. You put a trinket in (trinket is a loose term for things like old D.A.R.E cards, empty air fresheners, and throwaway Happy Meal toys), take something out, and sign a guest log. Plus, the guy who lives in the house (who I believe is the son of the man who built it) is ultra friendly in a kooky, endearing kind of way. If you catch him on a good day, he’ll talk your ear off about the building process and show you hidden rooms.”

“I had the weirdest, but interesting (in a good way), ‘first online date,’ and as a dating coach, I know what I’m talking about. My date and I had a banter going on with whose favorite sushi place was better. He said to trust him… so I went with his recommendation and we went to his favorite sushi place, but it wasn’t the sushi that was unforgettable: He then surprised me with a traditional Shiatsu couples massage after overlooking the city lights of downtown L.A. That was one of the weirdest, and coolest, first dates I’ve been on, and he was right — I never forgot that date.”

“The weirdest location I’ve ever gone on a date was to the county fair to see a boy whose family business was sheep: farming, raising, showing, and selling them. He tried to kiss me while chewing tobacco, and it was the worst and most disgusting kiss I’ve ever experienced... mainly because I did NOT know he had tobacco in his mouth. Gross! I had (and still have) a strict no-smoking, chewing, or drugs policy for all relationships.”

“A guy had been hounding me for a date, but I did’t want a serious relationship, so I blew him off. Plus, I was 23 and he was 19, so I thought he was too young. He was so persistent calling me, that I finally agreed to a date. In an effort to get rid of him, I told him the date had to be Christmas shopping right after Thanksgiving at a very popular mall in L.A. (it was the second-largest mall in America at the time). He agreed! He was super patient the whole time. Two years later, we got married!”

As the women above prove, the weirdest date *could* end up as the greatest love connection… or not. Like Hall says, it’s really about the person you’re with, not necessarily the location, right?