Wow, March 2019 is a month I will never forget. Probably it has already become the most special month of the year! Curious as to what happened which made this month so special? Well read on and I’ll tell you more about it.
Paris
The first day of March is already a nice day: For the wedding of friends Lester and Jeremy, we travel to Paris. We have a nice hotel in the 14th arrondissement. After arrival, I have to leave again, because I have Jeremy’s bachelor party this evening. It takes place in the famous Lido, where we get to see a beautiful show. After a few glasses of champagne followed by a cocktail during the afterparty, I board a Uber back to our hotel. When it drives past the illuminated Eiffel Tower, I get goosebumps: Paris always remains an amazing city!
The next day we sleep in and then stroll around through Paris. We have been here so often that we do not necessarily have to go downtown to see tourist highlights. In the evening the wedding of Lester and Jeremy takes place, on a yacht on the Seine. It is a beautiful ceremony followed by a big party! Very special to be a part of this day!
The next day, after a brunch at Lester and Jeremy, we board the Thalys back to Amsterdam. During this ride, I have contact with Thomas and Christine about tomorrow: when we will fly to Lapland together!
Finnish Lapland
After a five-hour flight with a stopover in Helsinki, we land on Monday evening at Ivalo airport in Finland! We are making this trip with our good friends Thomas and Christine, with whom we always have a good time! After arriving at our lodge in Inari, we eat something, play some card games and then at 11 pm, we decide to take a look outside. It has been cloudy all evening, but we still hope to see the northern lights. How wonderful that after standing outside for just some minutes, we see the spectacular green lights dancing above our heads!
The following days we see the northern lights every evening! During the day we do cool activities such as Husky riding (blog will follow), Snowmobile riding and Cross country skiing. After two days in Inari (a village just above Ivalo), we leave for Giellajohka., even more northerly. We sleep here in a beautiful cabin overlooking the frozen river and forests. And then something special happens on day three:
A Proposal
During a morning walk, in a beautiful setting, I am surprised by Ries, who suddenly proposes to me! It is a very special moment, there in the snow with Ries going through his knees and sliding a beautiful engagement ring around my finger! You can read more about this moment in this blog. Super happy and a bit overwhelmed, we call family and friends and toast together with Thomas and Christine on this special moment. In the evening we go out for a delicious meal and for the very last time we see the beautiful northern lights during a snowshoeing trip with Polar Creek.
Time for celebrations!
Back in the Netherlands the rest of the month is all about dinners and drinks to celebrate our engagement! So nice to be surrounded by happiness and love from our families, friends and colleagues. The most frequently asked question is when we are getting married. For now, we don’t have a clue yet and we enjoy this pink cloud we are still on. But in due course, I will keep you updated about all the developments and things that come with planning a wedding (and a honeymoon)!
Blog
This month I wrote the most personal blog ever: “Charlotte, will you marry me“. To be honest, quite exciting. But afterwards I received nice reactions and it felt good!
In addition, I followed an SEO training from Frankwatching last month. SEO stands for ‘search engine optimization’, meaning how well findable your website is on google. An educational day and afterwards I had more than enough adjustments to implement. You may notice some of these, for example, the ‘crumb path’ at the top of every blog (in this case “Home> Diary> Diary looking back on March”). This is the location on the site where you are. If you then click on ‘Diary’, you will see all my Diary posts. This way, I make it easier for search engines as well as for you to find your way on this site.
Top 3 best read blogs this month:
1. Our five favourite hikes in New Zealand
2. My favourite photo’s of the island of Belize
3. Budget tips: How expensive is Finnish Lapland?
Discoveries in March
Film: Bohemian Rhapsody
Wow, what a movie! Bohemian Rhapsody is set in the 80s and 90s and tells the story of the band Queen. The well-known songs from Queen come back throughout the whole movie, while at the same time the moving history of lead singer Freddy Mercury comes forward. Strong acting and definitely worth watching!
Sports: Boxing
After almost a whole year of not attending a boxing class, I took a lesson again this month. It was very – very heavy! After the first fifteen minutes, I could hardly hold my arms up anymore. In addition, I trained with Ries, who has been boxing every week for years, is much taller and much stronger. That poor guy had to restrain himself with me all the time. Will I go again next week? Hmm, I don’t know yet.
My favorite moments in March
- Well, my favourite moment in March was, of course, the moment Ries proposed to me.
- Drinking wine and playing card games while sitting around the fireplace with our friends Thomas and Christine in Lapland. At the end of March, we visited them in Rosmalen to redo one of our evenings in Lapland!
- The very first time we saw the northern lights: Ries and Thomas called us from outside to come and see it. At first, we saw nothing, but then a few minutes later, the polar lights suddenly started danced brightly above us.
- Strolling through Paris, eating a croissant, drinking coffee at a cute French café. Paris is always a nice city to visit for a few days. And those few days away were wonderfully relaxing.
- Every time we received a nice message, card, gift, bottle of wine or bouquet of flowers from both acquaintances and strangers to congratulate us on our engagement! It’s so moving to see how everyone sympathizes! Many thanks for that!
