L'Engagment (Part II--Courtney's Perspective)

For me, it started with a hot dog. (Rip's friends spare me your references to Freudian innuendos.) Other than the French baguette or the spicy mustard it comes with, there is nothing special about a Parisian hot dog. But for whatever reason I wanted one, and my sweet, ever-appeasing boyfriend stopped at a small hot dog hut off the Champs-Elysees to get me one. I savored my delicious snack as we continued our walk down the Champs. We came upon a small carnival section with a huge bumpy slide--the kind I used to love to ride as a little girl at the fair. I looked longingly at Rip, and he--much the same way my dad used to do--smiled and reached in his pocket for some Euros. I gave the carnival man my ticket in exchange for a piece of green carpet, and with the giddy alacrity of an 8 year old made my ascent up the ramp to the top of the slide. Oblivious to the preparations being made down below, I situated myself on the carpet and prepared for take off. There are two notable differences about this slide experience and those of my childhood. First of all, I didn't go as fast as I used to; those extra pounds forced me to push myself over the humps. And secondly, before there was never a man at the bottom with a ring and an important question. As I came over the second to last hump I saw Rip and thought "What is he doing? Has he fallen over? Why is that random lady taking a picture of me?" It was not until I came over the last hump that I heard the words "Will you marry me?" and realized that Rip's fingers were sparkling. The details of the following moments are hazy, but I'm sure there was some sort of affirmative response along with cheering from the small crowd that had gathered, pictures, tears, disoriented walking to random gardens off the Champs, hugs and kisses. Eventually our emotions began to settle and we continued our walk--me admiring my new ring and Rip explaining to me its history.

As some of you may have been, I was not fortunate enough to have known Rip's grandmother Mem. I have heard a lot about her though, and have a great appreciation for her and her influence over Rip. A couple of nights ago as Rip and I ate dinner outside the old Opera house I unwittingly yet preciently asked him to tell me more about Mem. From what I gather she was an amazing woman--strong and independent, intensely devoted to her family, and fiercely determined to live a full and happy life. The ring Rip slipped on my finger (there was confusion as to which one) was Mem's original engagement ring. So, Mem, thank you for this special privilege and for your role in making Rip who he is today. I wear it in your memory and in your honor, and I aspire to live as you did and love your grandson the way you loved him.

For me this experience has been grounding. We have walked along the streets of ancient cities and witnessed some of the oldest and most magnificent structures the world has ever known. We have traveled to great heights--St. Peter's, the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame--but the most special moment of the trip happened at the bottom of a slide. In the hundreds of hours Rip and I have spent together in the past few days we have struggled through culture shock, heightened insecurities and having no one besides each other to talk to. It has been hard at times, and we have learned a lot about ourselves and each other. Those of you who know Rip know that he is--probably more than anything--a good friend, a great person to have on your team. And I feel so lucky to call him my very best friend, and now, my fiance.

I suppose it started long before the hot dog craving ever entered my mind. Through whatever series of decisions, mishaps, heartbreaks, cathartic moments, stories, sounds, sights, smells, feelings, dreams, and life experiences Rip and I have come together to embark on a special journey. I don't know that I necessarily belive in the idea of "the one," but I do believe that Rip and I have something immensley special that niether of us has ever shared with any other person. At the beginning of this relationship a lot of you said to both of us "don't screw this up." Well, miraculously we have not managed to yet. Thank you all for the love and support you have shown each of us in your own special ways. We will need it now more than ever.

Happy New Year.

L'engagement

Court and I had a wonderful day in Paris today, despite the unbelievable cold.





We began with a church service at Notre Dame.

Followed by a wonderful brunch at a nearby cafe where we could look at Notre Dame from our seats.

Then we bought our museum passes and looked at some great art (Waterlilies, Monet in this picture).


















More art...

















Then took a walk down the Champs Elysees.
















The Champs is amazing. There are all kinds of amazing sculptures and buildings lining it. The half closest to the Arc de Triomphe is lined with some of the riziest stores in the world. The half closest to the Louvre is basically a permanent carnival. There's a lot to do. Including kissing elephants.












Including this giant slide that Courtney kept wanting to slide down. Take a look at her in the second lane from the right (blue) about one hump up, and take a look in the bottom left hand corner of the photo.












Big finish.












Fun slide, has no idea what I'm doing. She later said, "I was thinking, why is he not taking my picture? That's why I wanted to do this slide."









Still no clue...












Is figuring it out...















Ring on the finger.














She said yes...(shocking I know).













Pray with me that those are tears of joy. Otherwise, we're in for a long rest of the trip.

















Le ring! (I don't think that's the right translation).













This is about 10 minutes later after we both calmed down and were able to stop shaking -- wow, that's a nervous moment -- had no idea.










Then we had the bright idea to get up on this contraption. 9 euros a piece.

But it was worth it for the view.










We're headed out now for some champagne and dinner. Miss everyone and can't wait to see you all soon.

Paris!

Our hotel is old and nice and right in the heart of Paris -- Hotel du Lys. It has no elevator and we have to climb this winding staircase to our room. Breakfast is complimentary each morning and a great way to start the day.









We walked all over the city our first night and now Courtney has a knee injury and I have a back injury so we just have to sit around all day on the Internet (but for parents that might take this too seriously, we are okay).







Apparently our camera has some shutter speed deal that malfunctioned, but Courtney says this is art. Right before we took this picture, we saw a guy get hit on a motorcycle, which was scary, but he was okay.









Dinner the first night. You don't want to know how much this glass of pink champagne cost -- we didn't know until the bill came. This was a very nice restaurant where Victor Hugo (of Les Mis, Hunchback of Notre Dame fame) used to eat. It was SO formal that we were nervous the whole time that we were messing something up and whispered the entire meal for fear we'd be kicked out.



We finally fulfilled my hope of going out on the town. This is me at one of Paris's top clubs/bars: Kong. It was nice but had nothing on Bellbottoms.








Courtney: smaller than that lady.












Efficiency: see two monuments at once.

Paris has all these chocalatiers on the street that put all these amazing little snacks (one step up from M&M peanuts) in their windows. We finally got drawn into the Godiva one and this is us eating our truffles.

Opera Garnier during intermission at the ballet we went to last night. Very opulent and proper. We bought some scalped tickets and were nervous they were fakes, but it worked out.

So....this is us at dinner after the ballet as we were realizing we messed up. The prince killed the bad guy, saved the princess and everything seemed great. The curtains came down, the crowd cheered, and the lights went on. So we got our stuff and left. As we sat at the restaurant waiting to eat, we noticed no one else left until like an hour later. Apparently there was a THIRD act? oops.

Roma II (aka Christmas with the Pope)

We're back after some delay in posting but we have fun pictures to add. We had mass with the Pope -- well, we sat outside in St. Peter's square while the Pope talked for a long time in another language that made us -- and thousands like us -- fall asleep.


We had quite a scary time trying to catch our train to Paris. Apparently, the Italian FedEx people aren't quite as dedicated as those in America (our tickets never arrived). But thankfully, the train attendants are equally undedicated -- we basically just got on the train and sat there until we were in Paris...sans tickets. A very strange, either very drunk or slightly drunk and slightly mentally ill Italian man fell in love with Courtney on the train. It was discovered during this process that he also had no ticket and he was kicked off the train -- poor man. We escaped, however, after another close call.

Anyway, the trip is going great. We just got to Paris, had some le petite de' jeneur and are about to go check in our hotel. We will update with pics from Paris soon -- there is an Internet cafe right around the corner from our Hotel (they were all far away in Rome).

Merry Christmas everyone. We will post some more before the New Year.

Here are the latest pics...



There have, of course, been some language barriers. For example, what does this picture mean? Throw away your trash? Throw away your nazis?

The camera I bought Courtney for Christmas has a unique feature where this little man pops out, runs down the street in front of you and takes your picture. Crazy, only works in Italy.













The Pantheon (I made us see all the sights).












Courtney trying to prove to me that she loves the Pantheon.

Good eats in Italy. That is COURTNEY's wine glass. I don't drink.

Courtney cheats on me with centuries old bull.

Everytime I would try to enjoy a simple Cappicino, strange Italians would always sit down with me -- its the hat.

This is the picture where Courtney risked arrest by the swiss guards and potential eternal damnation by slyly sneaking a (very good) pic of the last judgment (strictly forbidden). Also, I lost my hat in the Sistine Chapel (hard to keep your hat on your head when you keep having to look up), so you won't see it in anymore pictures.

Our last night in Rome, in front of the Trevi Fountain, our favorite spot in the eternal city.

Rip gets artistic.

This really did happen spontaneously, but then i had to hold it there for 10 minutes while Court found the camera and got the perfect picture.

St. Peter's decorated for Christmas.







Our initial excitement about midnight mass with the Pope.

Then the Pope begins his homily (in Italian I guess? maybe Latin?). That's him on the huge TV, we weren't actually in the church, although it looked pretty easy to sneak in, just had to wait in line.

About 5 minutes into the homily, which I'm sure was very good and inspiring if translated.

ROMA

hey yall. we are having an amazing time in this beautiful city. we are staying in a lovely little apartment right outside the piazza of santa maria. our days are filled with strolls along the cobblestone streets through the various piazzas and ancient churches, tours of the roman forum and the colesseum, pizza, cappacino, wine, wine and wine. quite often we find ourselves hopelessly lost on some random roman street only to turn the corner and happen to come upon something as grand as the circus maximus. yesterday was sort of a surreal experience standing in st. peters square-which is round incidently-then climbing the everlasting winding-and nauseating-staircase to the tip top of the dome and looking out over this ancient city. the roman skyline is brilliant-filled with domes and steeples set against a gorgeous blue sky. the weather has been perfect for us, chilly in the mornings and evenings and quite warm in the sun. our evenings have been special, eating gelatto in front of the trevi fountain and enjoying dinner at quaint italian restaurants. our attempts at italian have been hilarious, but we are making it. people take pity on us quite often and offer to help us find our way. here are some photos for your viewing pleasure. ciao!

this is a nice picture from the caffe right by our apartment where we have cappacinos every morning. very fun place. can save good euros by eating at the bar.

this is us inside the church above the spanish steps.

us at the circus maximus. courtney wanted to run a lap, but im too old.

courtney inside the ruins of casa di augustus. for those of you that dont speak italian, that means courtney inside the ruins of the HOUSE of agustus.

rip at the colloseum.

courtney eating nutella in st. peters square.

view from the top of st. peters basillica. climb up the stairs is nearly physically impossible, and we took the first half by elevator, but the reward is pretty amazing. best view ever.