Valentines

We were in England for 2 weeks in October 2000 visiting my grand parents. Adam did a bit of research before we left and found out that his favourite band, The Smashing Pumpkins, were playing a concert in Paris around the same time we were to be in Europe. We managed to buy train tickets and a hotel room for 2 nights in Paris in order to see the concert. We left London and took the train through the Chunnel and wound up in Paris 2 hours later! We found our way to our hotel and checked in and got ready for the concert. At the concert, we were in complete awe. We had been to many concerts in Canada, but the experience of being in a country where English was most certainly NOT the primary language and attending a concert where everyone was singing in English to all the same songs we were....totally surreal!! The next day, we got up early and toured all around Paris. We got on one of those city tour bus things where you can get on or off all day, stopping and walking around certain parts of the city that are of interest to you. We walked and walked and walked. Adam kept mentioning that he wanted to take a picture of the Eiffel Tower from the ground, over by some grassy area...he'd heard that was the best place to get a picture of the whole tower. I kept making jokes about getting engaged in Paris and having a good story to tell our children and grand-children. He kept telling me it wasn't going to happen and not to even think about it, because I was setting myself up for disappointment.


Finally we ended up at the Eiffel Tower. We went all the way up and admired the beautiful view of Paris. I remember being shocked at how big the Tower really is! I'd never thought it to be such a large monument and was in awe when we walked underneath it! It was incredible. At the bottom, Adam was still adamant about getting his stupid picture. My feet were absolutely killing me by this time and I was NOT into walking another step more than I really needed to. We walked along the grass for a bit until I'd had enough. I walked to the middle of one path and said "Why can't you just take a picture from here?" I reached into my backpack for my camera and proved to Adam that you could capture the entire tower in the view finder from right there. I REFUSED to walk another step and told him politely that I would wait while he went to the end to take his picture if he REALLY had to have it. While I was being bitchy and ranting about how much pain I was in....I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around and Adam was standing there. "I actually brought you here for a different reason..." I knew right then what this was about. I think I was crying before I even saw the ring box. He went into his beautiful engagement speech and waited for my reply. I was blubbering and crying and couldn't believe that he was actually proposing marriage to me at the Eiffel Tower in PARIS, FRANCE!!! He ended up wiping away my tears and asking for my answer. I obviously said "Yes." I think I cried for another hour or two afterwards. I was just in complete disbelief that he had come up with this grand plan all by himself. It was the best day in my life. I'll never forget it, not only because of the whole grandness of it, but because right after he asked me and we stood there together, the lights of the Tower came on...then the little twinkle lights turned on as well!! It was like he had planned the whole thing. It was perfectly timed!! It was beautiful.