Valentines Day Contest - Tells us your story!

Do you believe in fate?

I do a bit, but I also believe that we have to be full participants in our journey. I first met my husband ten years ago while I was travelling in Europe. I was backpacking, he was tour cycling. A West coast girl awestruck in the beauty, history and old-world architecture that is Europe. This story begins with my best friend, Linda, suggesting that I go traveling to Europe before I get married and settle down. I took her advice, saved my pennies and jetted off to Europe. That was almost eleven years ago now.with and getting to knowMy younger sister, Teresa, was my travel companion for parts of this trip. We were staying in a Pensione in the heart of Florence, Italy. I love making plans and had booked in advance two rooms, bought and paid for, at the Ostello Villa Camerata.  

Source: Ostello Villa Camerata

At the time the Ostello Villa Camerata was advertised as the most beautiful hostel in all of Western Europe and I was pretty excited to go. Plans nearly changed when my sister decided she was comfortable in Florence and wanted to cancel the trip to Ostello Villa Camerata. Big discussion followed and I am happy to say that my argument was the most persuasive and off we went.

Later that same evening, while eating dinner at the Ostello Villa Camarata, we met a group of great people who we spent time playing cards with and getting to know. Who knew red wine and biscotti would be a delicous combination! This is when I met Laszlo. He was tour cycling with a friend through Italy from his home in the Netherlands.

After the evening of playing cards Lazlo and I exchanged email addresses, both of us careful that we wrote the address correctly. We spent a few hours chatting the  next afternoon on some benches in the beautiful garden you see in the photo above. That was in August of 2002, come September I received my first of many emails from Laszlo; me in Canada, he in the Netherlands.

We were married in the summer of 2004. Do you believe in fate?