Friday, April 20, 2012

"It's Not Quite Over Yet"

There is a very exciting piece of news which I haven't written about yet, but I think now is just the perfect time to share the good news! During my trip to Malta, on my birthday Luca got down on one knee and asked me one of the most important questions that can be asked in life " mi vuoi sposare?" translated " Do you want to marry me?" I responded with many "si, si, si!" yes' before he barely even finished his question. 

It had been a beautiful, relaxing day starting out right with pecan pie and coffee, walking around the historical city of Valletta. Luca took me out for a nice dinner and we were absolutely stuffed to the brim. We headed back to our hotel. I was in the bathroom and when I came out I couldn't find Luca. The only logical place left was the terrace. 
I stepped out onto the terrace and sure enough, there he was. The city of Sliema light up the night sky and across the way we could also see the city lights of Valletta. As we looked out into the night sky and over the island, he held me and kissed my forehead and asked if I had had a good birthday. I responded "yes" and around 11:55 pm he says "Well it's not quite over yet and there is still one thing left..." He pulled out a little dark blue, white stitched box and got down his left knee and uttered the words that girls wait and hope to hear at just the right time. And in fact it's not quite over yet at all, it's just the beginning of a very beautiful story. 

We have set the wedding date in July in Italy, and August in Minnesota. 

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Friends in Bo

This past weekend I had a few friends come visit me - a girl I met back at University in one of my Italian classes, and two girls who took me under their wing when I studied abroad in Italy during high school in the small town of Saluzzo in the North West region of Italy, Piemonte.  I hadn't seen this girls in two years or more and it was wonderful catching up with them!

It was a crazy, busy, but very fun weekend even if it rained every day!


(View from the Asinelli Tower, 3 euros to climb the 498 steps to the spectacular view)

Monday, April 9, 2012

Malta

For my birthday, Luca gifted me a trip to Malta. I had actually wanted to go to Malta for a few years now and really wanted to go the last time I was studying abroad in Italy, but never had the chance. So it was quite serendipitous! I had just started teaching in a private language school and didn't have my hours yet. Luca kept telling me to keep Thursday and Friday free and I didn't understand why I would need to keep two whole days free... then he showed me the plane tickets early and I understood :) 

We stayed in Sliema, visited the island of Gozo, the Blue Lagoon and Comino, and the city of Valleta. Malta has quite a lot of character and the most interesting part is the mix of cultures. They speak Maltese which sounds like a mix of Italian and Arabic, they were ruled by the English for up until the 1970's so they all speak a form a of English with heavy southern Italian accents, and their cuisine has a strong English influence. 
We had a great time, and it was absolutely beautiful! 

Followers