A Couple of Hopeless Romantics

Since last week I made a post about Chris not knowing about Russian gentleman traditions, this week I wanted to make a post about all the romantic things that he has done, to redeem his reputation so to speak:). In this first picture, Chris is following the old Slavic tradition of the groom carrying his bride over seven bridges. In my hometown, Voronezh, there is a shortcut though. There is this small old bridge, the Stone Bridge, that's super, super-short, maybe 10 steps maximum, and this is where Voronezh grooms take their brides. :)) And then, after he carries her over the bridge, they drink champagne with their arms linked (a brüderschaft ), kiss in front of everyone and smash their glasses for good luck :)). Ha!

And then Chris for the longest time had the tradition of "proposing" to me on one knee at the most famous locations of wherever we traveled to. Already after we were married. He would just take the ring off my finger, get down on one knee and do it :). He did it in the Red Square, right before this pic was taken - and everyone who happened to be passing by was applauding and cheering on. Ha ha!! He did it at Trafalgar Square, Charles Bridge in Prague, Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, on the beach in St. Maarten, at the Sanctuary of Aphrodite in Cyprus, and then at our house at Christmas when our kids gazed on, dumbfounded. :)

So, you see - Chris Harrison is a hopeless romantic after all!

I have added a lot of pics here from Chris' first visit to Russia in November 2004, when he came to meet my family. There's his first trip on an overnight train which he loved; meeting my Nan and her cat Kuzya; me in my "Carrie Bradshaw" dress that I picked for our Russian wedding instead of the traditional white one (smoking away, too!); and there's the infamous trip to the banya (sauna). I wrote about it all in my second book, A Year in the Sky, but it's still funny how looking back at these pics, all these memories, which are usually stashed in the back of our minds, come to live, as if they never passed. I don't think they passed. I think they still live in us. Don't you?