1 post tagged “proposal”
While on holiday in Italy in July 2006 (to celebrate my 30th birthday) we stayed in Venice for one day and night. It was hellishly hot, especially during the day, but we managed to get the most romantic hotel room ever - with air conditioning! From the get-go the whole 24 hours we spent in the city seemed somehow... perfect. I did think it would be such a perfect place (and date!) to get engaged, but S seemed oblivious to my thoughts...
I was so happy to be with him in Venice because I'd always wanted him to see this magical place, it was gorgeous finally being able to watch how the city charmed him. During the day we went for a lazy ride on the Vaporetto, just taking in the scenery and letting the breeze of sea air cool us off a bit. We went for strolls and took a lot of pictures, and returned to our hotel just behind Piazza San Marco for cold showers and a blast of air con when ever the heat got the best of us.
When the night fell and majority of the tourists abandoned the city we went for a long walk, getting blisfully lost on the narrow alleyways, discovering lovely little cafes and restaurants around the unlikeliest of corners, feeling like we were lost in an old romantic movie or on the pages of a novel.
Eventually we found our way back to Piazza San Marco, which looked truly magical with all the lights glistening and the candles on the tables of cafes flickering. We decided to go for a drink in one of the cafes, knowing full well the prices were astronomical, thinking it would be worth it. And it certainly was... even if we had to pay a premium for the musicians at the cafe and even though we could have gotten at least three times the amount of drinks somewhere else for what we paid there. It was totally worth it. For a brief moment I truly felt like a film star, or one of those heroins in books. The atmosphere was something else!
To be honest, that seemed like the perfect ending to a perfect day and at that point I'd kind of given up hope on any sort of proposal - but it was ok. It was then that S got a bit peculiar and wanted to go somewhere to eat. I didn't feel like eating at all because it was so hot, but I went along with it. We had a nice little meal on a campo close to the hotel. Afterwards S insisted that we go for a little walk along Canal Grande. I thought he was acting a bit funny at that point. :P We walked in silence for a while and then I stopped underneath the column of San Marco to admire the beauty of the Dodge's Palace at night when S came up behind me and whispered in my ear 'Will you marry me?'! I was completely thrown off and managed a meek 'OK' as a reply (I did say 'Yes' properly later). :D When a few minutes later it chimed 11pm from the bell tower, I realised he'd waited until my favourite time of day (22:55) to do it. Gobsmacked I tell you! No matter how much I wished for it, I certainly never saw it coming.
So... that was the story of the proposal. It was certainly the most romantic, perfect day of my life thus far. <3
The next day, on the train away from Venice, I felt so blisfully content. I'd had the most perfect day and night, was newly engaged, had cold water and a good book. It was one of those rare 'I'm in this moment and I appreciate how perfect it is' realisations that give life a meaning.
- Marianne
