so how did you propose, anyway? part 3.
now, at this point it is crucial to explain the actual plan i had devised for this proposal. i had spent several days prior to leaving Austin creating a book of memories. i scanned a whole bunch of photos from our roughly 8 years of dating, and sorted them chronologically by season. there were cute comments, and the thing was designed rather nicely. a deep red cover and thick wood back cover, in which sat a special cut out for the pillow and the ring. i was going to propose down by the seine after a romantic dinner on ile st. louis on the 2nd or 3rd day in paris. you know, have some time to settle in, relax, get used to everything. of course that's not what actually happened...
so when i left you last, dear reader, cindy and i were ready to embark on an evening of exploration and discovery - no this isn't a coming of age film about adolescent lovers, so shut up. we didn't know where anything was, we just decided to walk until we found a cute place that we wanted to eat at. it turned out the we walked just about all the way to the Pompidou Center, but that would really only be of interest to my architecture friends anyway (the pompidou looks way cooler in person than it does in pictures). we found a great little bistro and had our first glass of kir there. kir, my friends is the most wonderful trick ever devised. it's kind of like an alcoholic fruit drink. a little bit of a concentrated alcoholic raspberry syrup plus some chardonney and voila! it's a beautiful cranberry color, and deliciously sweet and refreshing. we had a few. we ate, we drank, we successfully discovered that we were only the second tourist couple in the place, which was reassuring. god forbid we actually look like tourists (and there's really no helping that).
i think we managed to stop by another bar on the way home, where we had some local brew, and gaped in astonishment at the 7 euro price on Budweiser, The Piss of Beers. it was the most expensive one in the place. i know that anything imported goes up in price, but to the point that it was the most expensive!? in the words of my favorite Sicilian, "INCONCEIVABLE!"
but finally, we started making our way back to the hotel. we decided to have one last drink at the bar/cafe across the street - Cafe Marco Polo. we weren't drunk by any means, just enjoying the night. that kir was so good that we wanted one more before bed. so we go in, sit, order, and talk. paris is so great! i related that i didn't expect to like it nearly as much as i already did. i loved that everything was so walkable. yada yada. we move on to the topic of gifts. what gifts are we going to get for our parents? for my sister? for our friends?
"cindy, we're in paris - i need to get you a special gift, too! what should i get for you?"
and in the most off-handed way, she replied "you don't need to get me anything. the best gift you could ever give me would be a ring on my finger."
HOLD THE PHONE! she did not just say that! holy crap! she doesn't realize what she just did! i've got the damn ring in my pocket! this is such a good set up! but, no - it's a bar! it's not romantic! it's the first night! i was going to wait a few more days! i have it all planned! it'll be romantic, and timed! but it'll also be obvious, and this is spontaneous! she'll never expect it now! but what kind of a proposal story would this make?! he proposed in a bar?! that can't be right! but then again, he totally knocked me off my feet, i had no idea it was going to happen! and he had it all planned out for another night, this way was totally spontaneous! SHIT!
i look down at my feet. i look back into her eyes. my heart is pounding. i stand up, turn away a little and dig into the secret pouch. my knees are wobbly. i fumble the ring out of its special pouch, turn around, and say, "Cindy, will you be my wife?"
i don't think we saw each others faces for a solid 10 seconds, b/c between the shock of the question, the answer (which of course was yes - otherwise why would you be here at this site), amd placing the ring on her finger, there was no time left to look at each other and smile. it was the most dumbfounding thing. but when i did see her eyes again, they were crying happily, and we kissed and hugged. i turned around, paid the tab, and we ran across the street to the hotel.
so when i left you last, dear reader, cindy and i were ready to embark on an evening of exploration and discovery - no this isn't a coming of age film about adolescent lovers, so shut up. we didn't know where anything was, we just decided to walk until we found a cute place that we wanted to eat at. it turned out the we walked just about all the way to the Pompidou Center, but that would really only be of interest to my architecture friends anyway (the pompidou looks way cooler in person than it does in pictures). we found a great little bistro and had our first glass of kir there. kir, my friends is the most wonderful trick ever devised. it's kind of like an alcoholic fruit drink. a little bit of a concentrated alcoholic raspberry syrup plus some chardonney and voila! it's a beautiful cranberry color, and deliciously sweet and refreshing. we had a few. we ate, we drank, we successfully discovered that we were only the second tourist couple in the place, which was reassuring. god forbid we actually look like tourists (and there's really no helping that).
i think we managed to stop by another bar on the way home, where we had some local brew, and gaped in astonishment at the 7 euro price on Budweiser, The Piss of Beers. it was the most expensive one in the place. i know that anything imported goes up in price, but to the point that it was the most expensive!? in the words of my favorite Sicilian, "INCONCEIVABLE!"
but finally, we started making our way back to the hotel. we decided to have one last drink at the bar/cafe across the street - Cafe Marco Polo. we weren't drunk by any means, just enjoying the night. that kir was so good that we wanted one more before bed. so we go in, sit, order, and talk. paris is so great! i related that i didn't expect to like it nearly as much as i already did. i loved that everything was so walkable. yada yada. we move on to the topic of gifts. what gifts are we going to get for our parents? for my sister? for our friends?
"cindy, we're in paris - i need to get you a special gift, too! what should i get for you?"
and in the most off-handed way, she replied "you don't need to get me anything. the best gift you could ever give me would be a ring on my finger."
HOLD THE PHONE! she did not just say that! holy crap! she doesn't realize what she just did! i've got the damn ring in my pocket! this is such a good set up! but, no - it's a bar! it's not romantic! it's the first night! i was going to wait a few more days! i have it all planned! it'll be romantic, and timed! but it'll also be obvious, and this is spontaneous! she'll never expect it now! but what kind of a proposal story would this make?! he proposed in a bar?! that can't be right! but then again, he totally knocked me off my feet, i had no idea it was going to happen! and he had it all planned out for another night, this way was totally spontaneous! SHIT!
i look down at my feet. i look back into her eyes. my heart is pounding. i stand up, turn away a little and dig into the secret pouch. my knees are wobbly. i fumble the ring out of its special pouch, turn around, and say, "Cindy, will you be my wife?"
i don't think we saw each others faces for a solid 10 seconds, b/c between the shock of the question, the answer (which of course was yes - otherwise why would you be here at this site), amd placing the ring on her finger, there was no time left to look at each other and smile. it was the most dumbfounding thing. but when i did see her eyes again, they were crying happily, and we kissed and hugged. i turned around, paid the tab, and we ran across the street to the hotel.
posted by The Texan Transplant at 9:09 PM
5 Comments:
time for a new post. i know you're busy with unpacking, and unpacking, and uhh, whatever else you do.
Well, not all of us have the luxury of being at some Yankee slacker school where you have all the time in the world to write blog entries ;)
obviously sahil just wants details on the after-party in the hotel. sinful.
yup, although my yankee school = best in the world
now it's really time for some new posts
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