We were in Provence in the South of France….I had just officially graduated from grad school and MrNin had flown over for the ceremony, so we had decided to make the most of being in Europe and had hopped over the channel for a week of fun and relaxation, and to mark the huge celebration of being finally  free from my student days, hurrah! The South of France was an obvious choice for us, as we share a mutual interest in winetasting which is just another of the reasons we love living in NorCal (it was also one of our first dates!) but I digress…

This time last year, we had spent the day driving around the hills of Dentelles de Montmirail near Chateauneuf du Pape, tasting wines in Gigondas and Beaumes-de-Venise. After a nice long, la z  y, late lunch at Gigondas, we decided to drive around to the other side of the hills. These 'hills' were actually more like a spikey, rocky outcrop, with a sightseeing road going all the way around them, but the guidebook assured us that it was supposed to be very, very pretty so like polite tourists, we obliged. Although by now it was getting toward the early evening, and the light was fading, and I really wanted to be back on the big autoroute before it got dark (these roads were windey, and there were no street lights, and I was driving a rental car in a foreign country), MrNin suggested we make a stop at a tiny village with a 12th century chateau which the guidebook raved on about, saying that it had beautiful views. I should probably make a note of its name here lest I should forget it, it was called Le Barroux. 

Anyway, knowing that he REALLY LOVED really old things, especially buildings (it must have been odd for him, majoring in archaeology in a country with relatively no history), I turned the car off the tiny road, onto an even tinier one and we trundled our way toward the walls of  the medieval village. We managed to find parking right by the castle, which was great for me, as by now I wasn't really that interested in walking far, I was about touristed out for the day. Despite the great parking spot however, MrNin insisted on getting his bag out of the car…"to carry his water". Eh? I thought this was a bit strange - a) we were RIGHT by the castle, it's not like he'd die of thirst during the two minute walk to the gate, and b) couldn't he have just carried the bottle?? - but I didn't question it, as I had learnt not to on such occasions. I had learnt a lot throughout the previous four years of dating.

So then we walked up a path (of what seemed to me like never ending steps) to see the ruined chateau and then we stopped so that he could take my picture. *Yawn*. I thought I'd stop right there and sit down on one of the walls, as he usually likes to read every single informational plaquard at places like this (it's the archaeologist in him) and I was all set for it to take a while. But he called for me to follow him through an archway and onto the terrace. He called again, and then again a bit louder at which point I reluctantly went,  whining audibly with each of the twenty steps. But it really did have a pretty view. It was a fair reward for my energies exherted.

As we were looking down at the village below, watching the roofs of the tiny houses turning brilliant shades of orange and terracotta in the setting sun, MrNin came up behind me and placed a gift in my hands. He gave it to me saying "I just wanted to get you a little present for your gradution" and it was all wrapped up in pink paper. When I opened it, I SQUEALED with excitement as I saw an Louis Vuitton box (I completely love the luxury of this brand, but not in a revoltingly-ostentatious-conspicuous-consumption-way, I appreciate it for its structure, its materials, its quality, and its smell, FYI). Inside was a really pretty white 'Multicolore Koala' wallet, one that I had wanted for ages, EEEKS! But then the next thing I knew, he was down on one knee unzipping the coin pocket at the back and getting the ring out. I was shocked, I was stunned, I was completely taken by surprise! Neither of us can remember if I actually said yes, but it was pretty obvious what my answer was. I think my exact words were more along the lines of "Oh my GOODNESS, we're ENGAGED!"

That night we went out to a lovely little restaurant that we'd found near to where we were staying back in Aubais, and I spent the whole night playing with my new ring, and SQUEALING with glee. We drank champagne late into the evening, started making wedding plans and ate chocolate pudding. And then had some strange rum liqueur drink they made from bananas and rosemary, which actually tasted really nice. And the deeper into the night we were drawn, the EVEN MORE I SQUEALED with glee the more it sank in that WE WOULD BE GETTING MARRIED! MrNin WANTED TO MARRY ME!