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| John Cook, Tiffany Nieves |
John and I traveled to Paris last year as we wanted to make our first Valentines Day one to remember. John planned every aspect of our trip, from hotel, sight seeing, to an extremely romantic Valentines Day dinner at Cafe de L'homme which had a stunning view of the Eiffel Tower.
Before we left many of my friends told me they were sure he would propose while we were there, I told them all they were wrong. I mean after all, I am wedding planner, I know that 10% of Americans get engaged on Valentines Day...then in Paris. No way, he would never do what he thought everyone expected, let alone what I might expect. I am not easily surprised, and I knew, when the time came, he would want to knock me off my feet and surprise me.
Our trip was amazing, although daily John felt the need to nap which drove me up a wall, I wondered if his batteries were going to wear out long before mine did when we were older. Really, who stops to take naps while in the most romantic city in the world, and with so much to do and see. I never said a word, but if those little cartoon thought bubbles popped out, over my head, it wouldn't have been pretty.
On our final day, after an amazing V-Day dinner, the Louvre', the Eiffel Tower, amazing food, Versailles, the Arc deTriomphe, and people watching on the Champs Elysees. You guessed it, he suddenly had to take a nap again!!! I was beside myself, it was our last day in Paris and he was going to waste daylight minutes sleeping...GRRRR. I let out a big sigh, smiled at my wonderful yet apparently aging man, and back to the hotel we went. I now know why.
After strongly urging me to take the metro and go shopping, or just go shopping, or just go somewhere, anywhere, so he could nap. As if I was making the noise of high school marching band, while I was laying quietly next to him in bed Facebooking, and growling under my breath so he couldn't hear. I got up to let the old man sleep his Paris time away, and went shopping in Trocadero. As I was gazing at the Eiffel Tower and reflecting on our trip, I had obviously gotten over my dismay towards my own personal sleeping beauty that I left back at the hotel. I decided I would be a good woman and bring him a warm chocolate crepe (he raved about these since our first day in Paris) back to the hotel and wake him in a sweet way. Did I mention that it was FREEZING cold on our trip? Well, I had to keep his chocolate crepe inside my coat to keep it warm for him, then I got that warm and gooshy feeling all over again.
I opened the door to our room, and much to my surprise he was gone, my sleeping beauty must have become the Prince and the Pea who now suffered from insomnia. I left his now very cold crepe along with a note for him to meet me at the Eiffel Tower. Then, I trotted back all excited because he must be out looking for me, so we could spend our last daylight moments in Paris together, awake, so I waited, and waited, and waited, but no cigar. Where could my 6'4" tall dark and handsome sleeping beauty have gone off to? I was sure we must have passed each other without realizing, so I went back to the hotel to wait for him. As I was walking in, he was walking back out to find me. Wow, what a difference a nap makes, my kind of moody, very sleepy man, was now bouncing around like a giddy school boy .
Excited to go back out together, in the daylight, we hadn't gone up the Eiffel tower yet, so off we went. Then just as suddenly, my giddy school boy became fidgety, then kind of moody, and no longer had the patience to wait in line to do something we talked about the whole trip. He now wanted to take a stroll through the Champ de Mar (the park at the base of the Eiffel Tower). Wooohooo, now some ushy gushy romance, this is what I was looking for!!! We walked for a few minutes and I eagerly reached for my handsome man's hand, and I got the ever dreaded "funky fish hand" you know, that i don't really want to hold hands kinda hand. So I reached for his arm, maybe he wanted to be a little closer, nope, I got the "fish arm" too! Ugh...I give up, was my man PMSing, has my Prince Charming turned into a toad?? Just as I was about to give up all hope for a final Parisian day full of romance, he stopped by a bench so we could sit down and just take it all in. Nope wrong again, just as quickly as he sat down, and before I could move in for a kiss, he popped right back up, then said something (can't remember what), probably because it was competing with my cartoon thought bubble hovering above my head, with expletives in caps and bold! Just as I told him, "some of the most stupid things spew from his lips", he dropped to one knee (in the mud I might add) and YES!!!!!
HE ASKED ME TO MARRY HIM, only I couldn't figure out what he was saying, due to the noise my many popping thought bubbles were making. I had no idea why he was on the ground, until I looked down and saw the ring box. I couldn't believe it, my jaw dropped, I started to cry, he did it..he popped the question!!!! I was in such disbelief, I asked him to ask me again, and again, and again. I still couldn't believe it, on one of the last times he asked me, he asked if I was ever going to give him an answer. I was in such disbelief that I forgot to answer him. At this point I had jumped into his arms, he was carrying me through the park and I said YES easily as many times as he asked me!!!
So, why all the naps your asking...well apparently, after months of looking to find the right one, the ring he order prior to our trip so he could propose to me in Paris didn't arrive before we left. He was trying to figure out how to purchase a ring, any ring, even a gum ball ring, to serve as my temporary engagement ring until we got back back home. So he set up the nap scam daily so I wouldn't suspect anything. Yes, as I was finally out shopping, which I didn't do any other day much to his dismay, he finally got rid of me long enough to sprint like a 6'4" track star down the Champs Elysees to find a store to purchase one for me. The thought of him in full sprint amongst the much smaller stature Parisians is as funny as my popping thought bubbles.
He "gets" me, he knocks me off my feet, and I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with him!
Before we left many of my friends told me they were sure he would propose while we were there, I told them all they were wrong. I mean after all, I am wedding planner, I know that 10% of Americans get engaged on Valentines Day...then in Paris. No way, he would never do what he thought everyone expected, let alone what I might expect. I am not easily surprised, and I knew, when the time came, he would want to knock me off my feet and surprise me.
Our trip was amazing, although daily John felt the need to nap which drove me up a wall, I wondered if his batteries were going to wear out long before mine did when we were older. Really, who stops to take naps while in the most romantic city in the world, and with so much to do and see. I never said a word, but if those little cartoon thought bubbles popped out, over my head, it wouldn't have been pretty.
On our final day, after an amazing V-Day dinner, the Louvre', the Eiffel Tower, amazing food, Versailles, the Arc deTriomphe, and people watching on the Champs Elysees. You guessed it, he suddenly had to take a nap again!!! I was beside myself, it was our last day in Paris and he was going to waste daylight minutes sleeping...GRRRR. I let out a big sigh, smiled at my wonderful yet apparently aging man, and back to the hotel we went. I now know why.
After strongly urging me to take the metro and go shopping, or just go shopping, or just go somewhere, anywhere, so he could nap. As if I was making the noise of high school marching band, while I was laying quietly next to him in bed Facebooking, and growling under my breath so he couldn't hear. I got up to let the old man sleep his Paris time away, and went shopping in Trocadero. As I was gazing at the Eiffel Tower and reflecting on our trip, I had obviously gotten over my dismay towards my own personal sleeping beauty that I left back at the hotel. I decided I would be a good woman and bring him a warm chocolate crepe (he raved about these since our first day in Paris) back to the hotel and wake him in a sweet way. Did I mention that it was FREEZING cold on our trip? Well, I had to keep his chocolate crepe inside my coat to keep it warm for him, then I got that warm and gooshy feeling all over again.
I opened the door to our room, and much to my surprise he was gone, my sleeping beauty must have become the Prince and the Pea who now suffered from insomnia. I left his now very cold crepe along with a note for him to meet me at the Eiffel Tower. Then, I trotted back all excited because he must be out looking for me, so we could spend our last daylight moments in Paris together, awake, so I waited, and waited, and waited, but no cigar. Where could my 6'4" tall dark and handsome sleeping beauty have gone off to? I was sure we must have passed each other without realizing, so I went back to the hotel to wait for him. As I was walking in, he was walking back out to find me. Wow, what a difference a nap makes, my kind of moody, very sleepy man, was now bouncing around like a giddy school boy .
Excited to go back out together, in the daylight, we hadn't gone up the Eiffel tower yet, so off we went. Then just as suddenly, my giddy school boy became fidgety, then kind of moody, and no longer had the patience to wait in line to do something we talked about the whole trip. He now wanted to take a stroll through the Champ de Mar (the park at the base of the Eiffel Tower). Wooohooo, now some ushy gushy romance, this is what I was looking for!!! We walked for a few minutes and I eagerly reached for my handsome man's hand, and I got the ever dreaded "funky fish hand" you know, that i don't really want to hold hands kinda hand. So I reached for his arm, maybe he wanted to be a little closer, nope, I got the "fish arm" too! Ugh...I give up, was my man PMSing, has my Prince Charming turned into a toad?? Just as I was about to give up all hope for a final Parisian day full of romance, he stopped by a bench so we could sit down and just take it all in. Nope wrong again, just as quickly as he sat down, and before I could move in for a kiss, he popped right back up, then said something (can't remember what), probably because it was competing with my cartoon thought bubble hovering above my head, with expletives in caps and bold! Just as I told him, "some of the most stupid things spew from his lips", he dropped to one knee (in the mud I might add) and YES!!!!!
HE ASKED ME TO MARRY HIM, only I couldn't figure out what he was saying, due to the noise my many popping thought bubbles were making. I had no idea why he was on the ground, until I looked down and saw the ring box. I couldn't believe it, my jaw dropped, I started to cry, he did it..he popped the question!!!! I was in such disbelief, I asked him to ask me again, and again, and again. I still couldn't believe it, on one of the last times he asked me, he asked if I was ever going to give him an answer. I was in such disbelief that I forgot to answer him. At this point I had jumped into his arms, he was carrying me through the park and I said YES easily as many times as he asked me!!!
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| Tiffany Nieves, John Cook |
So, why all the naps your asking...well apparently, after months of looking to find the right one, the ring he order prior to our trip so he could propose to me in Paris didn't arrive before we left. He was trying to figure out how to purchase a ring, any ring, even a gum ball ring, to serve as my temporary engagement ring until we got back back home. So he set up the nap scam daily so I wouldn't suspect anything. Yes, as I was finally out shopping, which I didn't do any other day much to his dismay, he finally got rid of me long enough to sprint like a 6'4" track star down the Champs Elysees to find a store to purchase one for me. The thought of him in full sprint amongst the much smaller stature Parisians is as funny as my popping thought bubbles.
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| Tiffany Nieves and John Cook |
He "gets" me, he knocks me off my feet, and I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with him!
