Thursday, September 1, 2011

What to do when Italy isn't romantic enough...

The Love Story of Freddo and Hansie Bear
Part 2- The Proposal.

Freddo and I had been dating for about a year when we were invited (along with about 8 other really good friends) to attend a wedding in the English countryside.

Of course we couldn't pass the chance up... So we all agreed that we'd use this little wedding as an excuse to take the trip of a lifetime.

My two roommates at the time, Si- Fri and Elz-a-Bells, and I packed up our backpacks and spent a week in Paris and Florence before heading to Rome to meet up with a few of Freddo's really close guy friends.
some of the crew
Freddo, at the time, had been working on his post-doctorate in another state and told me that he wouldn't be able to get off of work in time for Rome, but that he would meet me in England for the wedding.

So, the girls and I hung out with the guys visiting every major landmark in Rome and eating our way through every gelato shop.
It was lovely...
Me, Si-Fri & Elz-a-Bells at our fav gelato place! Yum!

On our second day in Rome everyone decided that it would be fun to get a bit dressed up and head out to see the Trevi Fountain...
I had been talking non-stop about how beautiful the fountain was and couldn't wait to show everyone...

**The first time I'd every traveled abroad, I had the opportunity to visit Rome and the Trevi Fountain...
From the minute I saw it, I was in love... to me, the Trevi Fountain encapsulated all the romance the Europe had promised... I loved how tradition promised that if you threw two coins over you shoulder, one would ensure that your return to the fountain and the other would ensure that a wish came true. Of course, like and good romantic... I tossed my two coins in hoping for the best...**

It was so wonderful to find myself in front of the Trevi Fountain years later with some of my closest friends... but I was desperately missing Freddo. 
Ugh... to be in such a romantic place withOUT the boy that you loved... lame.

Of course my sweet friends promised lots of gelato and did their best to distract me while we watched other couples "canoodle" in front of the water...
My friend Jason trying to distract me from Freddo behind him!

At one point my friends asked me to read the little blurp that was written about the history of the Trevi from our travel book... I was slightly obsessed with reading from the travel book, so of course I jumped at it... And, while I read from the book my friends began to walk around the edge of the fountain to lead us to a less crowded spot... When, all of a sudden, 4 beautifully perfect red roses were placed on the pages I was reading!
Hooray!
I looked up, and there before me was my Freddo!
Immediately he got down on one knee and proposed... all while my friends stood back ans snapped photos...
Guys- I was freaking out! I have never shaken so much in my life! It was seriously one of the sweetest most precious moments of my life!
So happy!
After the proposal, we all went out to a nice dinner to celebrate!
And after dinner, Freddo and I went off on our own and found ourselves at a quiet little cafe near the Colosseum where we listened to Frank Sinatra and sipped cappuccinos... 
It was magical... and it was perfect.

Sigh.

And that lovelies, is how I got engaged... stay tuned tomorrow for our wedding!

Amore sempre,
Hannah

2 comments:

Elizabeth said...

Oh, this was a good day!

Cousin Tiff said...

I love stories like that! God doesn't just give us with the dream of romance, he blesses us with the dream come true also!