Speed-dating in the world's most romantic city...and breaking records at 35,000ft

It's not often that you get whisked away to Venice on a first date. But when TV production manager Jessica Enderby signed up for the world record attempt for the highest ever speed-dating event, she knew her 'date' would be far from ordinary. 

Joining Expedia and alternative dating website doingsomething.co.uk as they whisked 60 solo travellers to Italy in search of love, 34-year-old Jessica 'dated' 21 bachelors at 35,000 feet during the flight. And then she touched down and had three dates with different candidates who were handpicked for her based on her interests.

City of romance: Jessica and her fellow record breakers flew to Venice for a series of blind dates

Expedia's aim? To prove that travel makes people more interesting and can ignite the spark of romance. After all, its latest research shows that travel is the most common topic of conversation on a first date. So what happened on the UK's first holidate? Jessica reveals all...

'Expedia had chartered a plane to take us to Venice for the day for our three dates - an unusual outing and unlike anything I had even done before. The whole experience actually started the night before our flight, when we arrived at Luton Airport and checked in at the Hampton by Hilton Hotel.

We were staying overnight so we'd be ready for our early departure, and were set to meet the three single guys who had been chosen for us as dates.

Love is up in the air: Jessica (second row, centre) joins 59 other singletons for the World Record attempt for the highest speed date

We went for drinks and the girls were given name tags with three numbers written on the back. They were the numbers of the tables where our dates would be sat.

We were allowed 20 minutes to chat to each one without talking about travel. Then afterwards we met them each again for a further chat when we could talk about our holidays and travel experiences.

My dates were Olly, who worked in PR, Johnny, who was in the tobacco industry and Simon, who worked in the food and beverage industry. 

Dream team: Jessica (second left) meets (from L-R) Johnny, Olly and Simon and their other dates

It wasn't too hard for us to avoid talking about travel at first as we were just finding out the basics about each other, but when we finally could, it was great to share our experiences. For example, I have never skied but would love to go and Olly was telling me about his skiing trips and giving me information on where to go.

The guys were really nice, but we still had a lot ahead of us, it was going to be an early start for our flight to Venice...

Meet and greet: Jessica chats to one of her 21 'speed dates' at 35,000 feet between Luton and Venice

Like a duck to water: Jessica and her dates all joined together for a group activity in the afternoon, dragon boating down the city's beautiful canals

We boarded after breakfast and a nerve-steadying drink and as soon as we reached 35,000 feet, it was date time. The girls stayed in their seats and the guys moved from one to the other for three-and-a-half speed dates.

I had 21 in total - I was quite drained by the end. Some of the men were nice and I would have considered dating them, but sometimes those three-and-a-half minutes dragged!

A break from the norm: Expedia and doingsomething.co.uk are thinking of offering more date breaks

When we arrived, we were whisked to the centre of Venice for a beautiful five-course lunch at the canal-side Splendid Hotel Venice. It was a chance for us all to chat in a really relaxed way, without it being a formal date. 

Being out of our comfort zone made it really fun and it was much easier to talk to different people and because everyone had turned up as individuals I wasn't worried about approaching different people to chat.

After our food it was time to split back off into a our groups - my three dates and the other two girls who, along with me, made up their three dates. Each group had a different activity depending on their interests. Some went kayaking, others tried wine-tasting or mask-making and our group of six opted for dragon boating.

We took to one of the canals, under a sunny blue sky and paddled ourselves around while chatting. We were meant to have set 'dates' with each person - moving around to talk to one person at a time - but by now we had bonded as a group and were all just chatting.

It was much more relaxed than a regular date. Everyone was excited to be there and it was a fun environment. It's easier to get to know someone's personality when it's not so forced. In a bar, it feels very obvious that you are on a date and that you need to try and like each other.

We popped for a quick drink together after our dragon boating and then it was time to head back to the airport and our flight home.

Date night: Jessica first met Johnny the evening before their flight to Venice and caught up with each other again in the Italian city where they got on well