A romantic duo clocked up an impressive 2,300 miles to meet for their whimsical first date in Venice after a month-long digital courtship on TikTok. Nafis Delowar, 26, and D'arcy Flanagan, 24, struck up a connection online that was so strong that distance didn't deter them not even the hefty 480-mile stretch between Nafis' London abode and D'arcy's home turf in Dundee, Scotland . The idea of a first rendezvous took flight when D'arcy, plotting her return from a solo Venetian trip, casually floated the idea of dropping by London but Nafis, a bar manager with a flair for grand gestures, proposed they meet in Italy instead.
Have you ever travelled somewhere to meet someone you have never met before? Email us at webtravel@reachplc.com Their Venetian encounter stretched over three enchanting days, during which Nafis admitted: "It was a bit strange meeting her in person for the first time because I felt like I knew her so well already. It felt natural pretty quickly and we really enjoyed the city.
"We spent most of our days walking through the streets, looking at the architecture and sitting down to eat whenever we felt like it. We probably went on 20 first dates on the three day trip." Their pre-holiday interactions had been filled with endless phone conversations and daily messages.
Even with Nafis working nights and D'arcy's daytime hospital role, they made it work, chatting incessantly which built the trust essential for their adventurous leap into an in-person meet in a differ.