The vacation was two weeks long, leaving Nick a limited amount of time to ask the big question. The Antoniou and Nicholas families, with Nick traveled from Paris to St. Leu la Foret to Mont St. Michele to the cousin's village in Le Blanc. Unbeknown to Andriana, it was in Le Blanc that Nick spoke to Antonis, Andriana's Dad, and requested her hand in marriage. From Le Blanc, Andriana and Nick split from the rest of the family and travelled to La Rochelle alone.
By July 10th, Andriana had become disheartened, as no proposal had been made and their time together in France was coming to a close. Though she wasn't certain that this was the time that Nick would propose, Andriana hoped it would be and had expected it to occur while it was just the two of them.
On their way back to Paris Andriana and Nick decided to reunite with the rest of the family at the Palace of Versailles just outside of the capital. At this point Antonis had already left for the US.
In Versailles Andriana and Nick returned their rental car and walked to the Palace, stopping for pain au chocolat and enjoying the city. Alexi met them outside the gates and went through the Palace with them, while Marie and Anona, Andriana's mother and twin sister, waited in the gardens.
It was a beautiful day that varied from being sunny and bright, to having clouds that eclipsed the sun and threatened rain. As Andriana and Nick wandered through the Palace, Nick was nervously looking outside and pointing out the gardens, while at the same time holding Andriana's hand and being overly attentive. Nick was nervous and while Andriana found this behavior somewhat strange and clingy, she didn't say anything. When they finally made it outside, Nick and Andriana entered the garden and saw the beautiful fountains and manicured topiarys that punctuated the landscape. Nick immediately guided Andriana away from the crowds and her family to a smaller, quiet side garden.
As Andriana and Nick sat on the marble wall and looked out upon the splendor of the garden, Nick went into his pocket and pulled out a small bag. Speechless, Andriana watched as Nick pulled out a beautiful ring and held it up for her to see. It was then that Nick offered Andriana a proposal of marriage. Tears of joy streamed down Andriana's face as she happily accepted. Months of planning on Nick's part had paid off.
After the proposal Andriana and Nick rushed to share the news with Marie, Anona and Alexi who were waiting for them, but didn't yet know about Nick's question. When Andriana held up the ring, Marie cried ; Alexi and Anona congratulated the excited couple. Phone calls to Koula and James, Nick's parents, Anna, Andriana's youngest sister, immediately ensued.
News of the engagement spread like wildfire around the world from France to California, Cyprus, Greece and Australia (thanks largely to Facebook and the telephone telegraph telegreek phenomenon). Friends and family cheered, high-fived and let out a collective sigh of relief when they heard the good news.
