June 21, 2002 - The Night We Got Engaged in Athens
Okay, so I'm kicking myself for not taking pictures on this day, as it's the day that I asked Nina to marry me (she said yes, by the way). I do have some good excuses though. My flight didn't get into Athens until midnight and I got to the hotel at about 1 in the morning. The most crooked cabbie ever tried to rip me off so I took him into the hotel where Kostas (the guy working that night) told him to get lost. There were no rooms available as I got there a day early so I slept in a chair in the breakfast room. I finally got into my room at 10 AM and had to quickly shower and get to the airport to meet Nina. I was going on about 3 hours of sleep and was planning on proposing to her later in the evening. Can I be blamed if I forgot to bring my camera? However...We recently decided to scan in some pictures that Nina took with her film camera. Enjoy!!
The happy couple just hours before getting engaged in Greece.
After casually strolling the lovely streets of Athens, we finally settled on a charming restaurant with courtyard seating for our first meal in Athens. Nina could happily live off of spanikopita!
Courtyard dinning was all the rage in Athens!
Each restaurant had its own small, section of tables lining the streets or surrounding courtyards, for romantic outdoor dining. Simply charming...
Chris was planning on proposing here, in the courtyard of the cafe, but a loud, obnoxious couple sat down right next to us and began smoking and ruined the mood.
When it comes to shopping in Athens, it's all about leather goods! Leather sandals, handbags, jackets, belts...
"Ouzo" is the official alcoholic beverage of choice in Greece. It tastes like licorice and be both agreed it's disgusting! We stuck with good, red, wine.
This quant corner bar appeared to serve nothing but Ouzo!
We spent several nights while in Athens wandering Mnisikleous Street. The narrow street is lined with restaurants and rooftop bars with incredible views of the Acropolis and downtown Athens lit up at night.
We spent a truly romantic evening watching the sunset over the Acropolis from a rooftop bar at Sissifos Restaurant. The views were amazing, the live music was wonderful, the wine was flowing and the atmosphere was almost perfect, but the bar was crowded and noisy, so again, no proposal.
The perfect setting for a romantic proposal, but no... Chris, who was sleep deprived and nervous (and really starting to get on my nerves), kept waiting for the perfect setting, but alas his plans were continually foiled. So, as we were walking back to the hotel at the end of the evening, Chris couldn't take anymore waiting and asked me to close my eyes and reach out my hand. I thought he was going to play a joke on me and put something embarrassing in my hand (seeing as how we were standing in the middle of the red light district). So, I said "No." At this point, the heat, lack of sleep and nerves got to Chris and he wedged open my palm and slapped a ring down on it. I thought it was a fake purchased from a local street vendor! Finally, it dawned on me that this was serious and Chris was a wreck. So, Chris officially made his proposal and I accepted in a back alley, in the red light district, of Athens!