Engaged in Italy!

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Cinque Terre - Corniglia 21st-25th May, 2009

So, the story goes...

Rupesh and I went to Italy for the long weekend at the end of May with Bern and Elizabeth to meet up with Erin and Mark who got married in Melbourne at the end of April. Erin and Mark were on an 8 week honeymoon around Asia and Europe. We flew from London to Turin and stayed the night before catching a train to La Spezia and meeting Erin and Mark there.

We stayed in the village of Corniglia - one of the 5 villages making up the Cinque Terre on the Mediterranean. It was a difficult weekend of pizza and gelati eating (Italy's daily visa requirements). It was one big beach crawl. On Saturday night we all went out for dinner and bought gelati on the way back to our B & B. When we got back to the B & B Rupesh said he had lost his wallet and thought he had left it either at the restaurant or at the lookout we had been to earlier in the evening. Rupesh wanted me to come with him to look. I was busy eating gelati but he grabbed my hand and off we went to the lookout.

When we got to the lookout he sat me up on the wall and took my gelati out of my hand (lucky the gelati was in a cup and not a cone so it could sit on the wall!). The next thing I know he had gotten out his head torch and some tissues from his pocket. Then he gets down on one knee and turns on the head torch to illuminate a small box with a very beautiful ring inside. With a bit of shakiness in his voice he told me how much he loved me and wanted to marry me and that he'd known for a long time that he wanted to be with me forever. The tissues were out by this time! As you can imagine it was very romantic - overlooking the Mediterranean, the sound of the waves under a clear star filled sky and lots of fireflies.

We returned to our rooftop terrace at the B & B where Bern, Elizabeth, Erin and Mark were all eagerly waiting. Bern and Elizabeth had burger rings on their fingers so they didn't feel left out! The magnum of champagne we bought at the airport to celebrate Erin and Mark's marriage was apparently bought for Rupesh and I. I popped the cork over the balcony and the rest is history. Rupesh had been ring shopping before our trip with 3 girls - Bernadette, Elizabeth and a work colleague. It was a lovely surprise. At security before our flight out of London Rupesh's bag was searched as they thought he had something sharp inside. Rupesh had told me to keep going through security, worried that I would see the box - security were very kind to him when he told them he had a diamond ring and was planning to propose on the weekend.

I gave Lancer (my 94 year old grandmother) a call the following evening before bed. I told Lancer I was in Italy and that Rupesh had asked me to marry him. There was a pause and then Lancer said, "did you say marry?"
I said, "yes" and then we continued to talk about everyday things after she said how nice she thought Rupesh was. At the end of the conversation Lancer said, "give your husband a kiss goodnight." I then had to backtrack to explain that we weren't married yet! I'm sure her heart skipped a beat earlier in the conversation!

I think I missed the part where I said, "Yes!" And all the warm, fuzzy feelings that I still have inside!

Over the next week I rang friends in Australia to spread my exciting news. I'm sure the story was a little different each time I told it and how long I could drag out the story about Rupesh and his bloody lost wallet that was never lost!!!

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Photos

Elizabeth & Bern in San Carlo Square
Turin, Italy