So usually I like to journal one day at a time (great, now I’ll have that tune stuck in my head…). But this one deserves its own post. Last post, I left off at asking our fab tour guide, Melanie, for a restaurant suggestion. We wanted something cozy and romantic, as it would be our big “fancy Rome dinner” outing (no, fast food halal fried chicken for lunch was NOT our one big meal for the trip!!). She suggested a place called Café Propaganda that she likes near the Colosseum. We headed out on foot.
I hadn’t gone to the Colosseum at night last year, and wow, but it was spectacular!!
We walked to Café Propaganda, which was right behind the Colosseum. Got a table for two and perused the menu. The prices were actually quite reasonable! And so cute inside- just what we were looking for! And with a French flair, to boot! We had literally gone through probably 3 dozen or more listings on Google and couldn’t find anything we liked, which is why we asked Melanie…
Brian ordered wine, and I, being the bastion of European culture that I am, ordered water. Still, not fizzy. Because I’m couth like that. And wine is icky-poo. Then they surprised us with these free little appetizer things that looked like tomatoes, but weren’t. Just designed to look like them. Of course, Brian had to pause because he doesn’t like tomatoes….Oy. They were really cheese with some kind of red stuff on the outside, and a sprig of basel. OH. MY. GOD. Um, I’ll take 2 dozen to go. Brian, you want any?? Whatever cheese that was, and I have no idea, it was deeeeelicious.
We ordered an appetizer of Eggplant Parmigiana. I had to coax Brian into that one, because he’s convinced he doesn’t like eggplant (just like he was convinced 2.5 years ago that he didn’t like asparagus, now he eats it every time it’s on sale…men….). In the meantime, they brought us 3 types of bread on a little wooden tray. Holy. Freaking. Moly. They were GOOD! Then, our eggplant. Um, I’m not sure I’ve ever had anything that good in my life!!!! It was AMAZING!!! I wanted a whole bucket of it! I wanted to lick the plate (Brian barely talked me out of it). And even Mr. Picky Veggie declared it delicious!!
Now it was time to wait for our entrees. We were sitting there talking, and then things get kind of blurry. I’ll do my best here. So we’re sitting there talking, and he puts his elbows on the table and reaches his hands toward mine. I take his hands. This isn’t anything out of the ordinary. Then he says something like, “If we’re going to do this we need a ring.”, and proceeds to put an AWESOME octopus tentacle ring on my right ring finger. Ok, now I’m confused. Words aren’t matching actions. We did the octopus ring thing (different type of ring) at a castle in France a couple of years ago, and that was just a ring for Christmas, on my right hand. Was this a repeat? What was happening? Everything was foggy. So, typical black and white, get to the point, logical me blurts out, “Are you asking me to marry you?”. That was an affirmative! OMG! And I’m not even #knockedup!!! I told him WRONG FINGER and moved it to my left hand. So hypothetically, I think I’m engaged to myself now… What you have to understand is that this is so us. Dorky. Awkward. Unconventional. Seriously lacking in seriousness. In other words, the perfect proposal! And did I mention it’s on Friday, July 13?? What could POSSIBLY go wrong?! 😛
Brian and I have been talking about getting married for a while now. I remember the first time it even popped in my head was shortly after we got together and I was in France. I was in the Musee de Beaux Arts in Lille, and there was a thing where you could write wishes on a wall. I don’t even know where it came from, but I wrote that I would want to marry Brian. That is TOTALLY not me. And then, when I went to London right after that, and was in the garden of King Henry VIII’s castle, there were these trees that I thought would be perfect to marry Brian under- very Alice in Wonderlandesque. Of course, Henry VIII’s court probably isn’t the best place for wedding planning….but I digress.
Now, for the super weird part. Two nights before this, I had a dream that we were getting married and could not find a place for the ceremony. We were searching all over the world. This is not something I have dreams about. But it was real enough that I mentioned it to Brian the next morning, and even brought it up a few more times over the next couple of days. Was I having a premonition? Was Brian giving off wedding vibes that I was picking up on? Hmmmmmm….🤔
Oh yeah! Food!! The main dishes came. I got Carbonara melted tortello with pecorino cheese and salted zabaglione mousse. That’s how cultured I am. Or….Melanie had mentioned pecorino cheese was a very local thing, I saw it, and ordered it. One of those. Brian got homemade potatoes gnocchi with clams, asparagus (yeah, that veggie he was convinced he hated 2.5 years ago…) and saffron. God damn, but we are FANCY!! And it was GOOD! And honest to god, each of those entrees were like $20 each. Which really is not bad at all.
So, I reckon we’re hitched. And we’re both excited about it! Thank god his pickiness only extends to food and not women! 😜 The only regret I have is that we didn’t tell the waiter what had happened! We might have gotten a free dessert or something!!!! #alwaysacheapass And that, my friends, is the moment that I turned into one of THOSE girls. Holy crap. I have a natural inclination toward planning (which is why I’m such a good traveler!), so wedding planning snapped into place! We decided on a travel themed wedding. That was about it before he had to go back home. Left to myself and my own devices over the past several days, I have managed to figure out rings, the venue (our home after we finish the remodel- no need to search the entire world like in my dream!), looking at dress ideas (the fact that EVERYWHERE I TURN there is a wedding dress doesn’t help, as you will see on upcoming blogs), and music to walk in to and walk out to. One of THOSE girls. #cringe This, from a chick who never gave a ding dong damn about any of that stuff before, shunned the very idea, etc… We’re still 1-2 years out from anything happening. We still have to get the blessing of a tax attorney and accountant. If they say “nope, not financially beneficial”, then we’ll just do a commitment ceremony. We don’t need a piece of paper. And whatever we’ll do, we’ll do on the cheap. And I mean CHEAP. We are not ones to go blowing a bunch of money on such things. Except the honeymoon- because money is for TRAVELING!!!! Oh, who I am fooling. I’ll have us in some $17 a night hostel somewhere eating peanut butter sandwiches. But, since it’s our honeymoon, I’ll let him splurge on honey to put on his. He likes that. That is true love. 💞