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Excerpts from "Yaron and Noah, the early years:" "Like most of our stories together, my engagement to Noah didn't happen quite the way I had planned it," said Yaron. "It all started with Steber and Yael's wedding in Israel in August of 2003. I knew that there was no way I was going to miss it, so I began planning a trip to Israel for the summer time. The logistics of this were not easy to plan, given that I had been to Israel a mere 8 months prior (just before moving to Los Angeles). I also hadn't planned on becoming quite so close to Noah so quickly and leaving for the better part of a month became more and more difficult as the year (and our relationship) progressed." As luck would have it, Noah also had been planning to be in Israel over the summer, plans that she had been considering before even meeting Yaron. "I hadn't been to Israel in too many years. I wanted to see my grandmother, my aunts, and my cousins," said Noah. "When I found out Yaron needed to be in Israel for a wedding as well, I immediately tried to figure out how we could somehow combine the two trips." "By the time Spring rolled around, it was becoming clearer that Noah was not going to be 'just another relationship," said Yaron. "We looked at our upcoming plans for Israel and figured, why not take some time to plan a little diversion to Europe as well? We quickly set about talking about places we had (and had not) been, the feasibility of getting to and from certain cities, and of course the usual difficulties surrounding work and vacation schedules." "I wasn't sure how we were going to make it work at first," Noah wondered, "but somehow we both managed to pull it off in the end. On August 3rd, Yaron and I set out for what was to become the trip of a lifetime to Israel, Switzerland and Italy." "By the time we were about to leave," reminisced Yaron, "it was already clear to me that Noah was going to become my wife. I wasn't sure how to break it to her yet, but a European adventure seemed as good a time as any. I set about trying to devise a way to make the moment one that Noah would remember... We had planned to return via Europe, following our rendezvous with family and friends in Israel. It was clear to me, that while Israel would be a grand time, Noah and I would be running around constantly trying to see and do as much as possible. I figured that Europe would be a more appropriate setting to get engaged. Our European route began in Zurich, Switzerland where we would rent a car and then proceed South through Luzerne, Interlaken, and the Swiss Alps. We planned to continue South into Italy, settling for a few days in the gorgeous 'Northern Lakes' district where Popes and Caesars took their vacations." "At that time, I had never really been to Europe before," said Noah, "so I let Yaron do most of the planning. He seemed to have some experience planning these things, so I sort of let him run with it. Switzerland and Italy were places I always dreamed about, so I figured that everything would work itself out, I figured I'd just let him run with it..." "I had picked out a great spot -- lake Como -- one of the most spectacularly scenic destinations of our route," proclaimed Yaron, "I thought it would be perfect! I had done some research and tried to pick a particularly romantic place to stay. Most tourists know lake Como for the twin towns of Bellagio and Menagio, the former made famous by the Las Vegas hotel that bears its name. The two towns were a little inaccessible and far from many of the places we wished to visit, so I began looking for alternatives. Luckily lake Como has been, for more than a thousand years, a vacation destination for the wealthy and powerful of Italy. Many of their old mansions are now restored hotels where one can stay and bask in the splendor of the sub-Alpine surroundings." "Yes, yes, but when did you find time to pick up a ring?" interrupted Noah. "Well," replied Yaron," I managed to sneak out of work one morning and head off into Los Angeles where I consulted with my mother's long time jeweler, Henry, about what would be a nice engagement ring. Unfortunately, I knew very little about your taste in rings as we had not really discussed the subject before. Presented with literally hundreds of suggestions, I finally decided upon a less traditional style that just seemed to have 'Noah' written all over it. I purchased the ring on the spot and set it aside for safe keeping." "When was this?" asked Noah. "Oh, about a month before the trip," Yaron replied. "You mean you managed to keep it hidden from me all that time?" wondered Noah. "Actually, I managed to keep it hidden longer then that!" smiled Yaron. "Noah and I traveled around Europe and Israel with one thing constant: We always had a camelback on us," said Yaron. "Noah had given one to me for my birthday a number of months before, and it seemed like the perfect thing for the heat of the Middle Eastern summer, and the heat wave that was ravaging Europe at that time. No matter where we went, we always had with us plenty of water, and a small place to store some maps, our camera, and any knick-knacks we might want to pick up along the way. We had many adventures in Israel, in Zurich, and on many of the stops along the trip, but they are not particularly relevant to our story." "Let's just skip ahead to lake Como, honey" Noah interjected. "Alright, then lake Como... The hotel I had reserved in advance, the 'Grand Hotel Imperiale' in Moltrassio was gorgeous," remembered Yaron. It seemed like the perfect spot. I had been carrying my secret, and the ring, with me now for almost 3 weeks and I was starting to get a little concerned that Noah might find out and spoil the surprise. I had even printed out a great hiking route back in the States that led up to an historic monastery with a spectacular view of the lake with which to propose. Unfortunately for me, Noah wasn't feeling all that well that day and the hike I took her on only made her feel worse. Not wanting to remember our engagement for a day when we were a little under the weather, I decided it would be better to postpone and 'wing it.'" "I'm glad you did!" said Noah. "It was during breakfast on that same day when we had just missed our ferry to Menaggio, that we decided to alter our planned route a little and head further South to Venice. We had originally scrapped the Venice idea because we were afraid that we would not have the time or patience to do as much driving as a trip any further South would require. We did, after all, still have to return North to Zurich to catch our flight home, and we were running out of days." "So I decided that despite my original planning, I would scrap the lake Como idea, and see what opportunities Venice would afford for a memorable proposal," continued Yaron. After a half day's drive from Lake Como to Venezzia, Yaron and Noah finally arrived at one of the world's truly unique cities on August 22, 2003. "We took the #5 Water-Bus from the parking lot through the lagoon and Grand Canal and to the Piazza San Marco," remembered Noah, "in order to find our hotel. Yaron had been to Venice about 20 years prior as a little boy but I, having never been, was enthralled. What a city! We left most of our remaining bags in the car and took only our camelback as well as a daypack with a change of clothes for the following day. I was amazed by all the beautiful buildings. Look at all the glass-work, look at all the tourists, look at all the pigeons! We soon found our hotel, only 20 meters behind the famed Piazza San Marco: The hotel Cavalleto, one of the oldest continually functioning hotels in Venice. The hotel was on a lovely canal, filled with gondolas! "After a short break," continued Noah, " we set out to explore the fabled city. While strolling through the canals, we came across a small tour office that (among other things) offered a sunset gondola serenade package. We debated for a while whether we wanted to share a gondola ride with others, even under a serenade, or whether we preferred a private ride. After a short discussion, we went for it. It was a decision that I had no idea would lead to one of the most incredible moments of my life. About 10 minutes into our gondola ride, Yaron asked me if I wanted some chocolate. 'What kind of question is that?' I asked. I didn't get chocolate. Instead, I was presented with a beautiful red box, with a stunning diamond and white gold ring inside! Good chocolate indeed." "You should have seen the look on her face, she didn't know what hit her! Noah started shaking so badly, I was afraid we might capsize the gondola. For a long time she seemed as though she just didn't comprehend what was happening" laughed Yaron. "I guess she was surprised." "In true Yaron fashion (ie. not doing anything by the rules), he asked if 'I would keep him.' That had long been sort of an inside joke between us," said Noah, "but it took me a while to figure out what he was asking me. It wasn't a difficult decision for me. I was shaking and felt as though I was floating on a cloud." As everyone took pictures of the newly engaged couple, Noah practically missed taking a picture of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's house, and the crooning pooch that was trying to out do the gondolieri. It truly was an enchanted ride on the Grand Canal, one that neither of them would soon forget. "After the gondola ride," Yaron added, "Noah carried a stupid smile on her face for the rest of the evening. She ran from light to light, testing out what her ring would look like underneath! To commemorate the occasion, we bought a painting from a street artist we took a particular liking to. We were both energized. There we were, Noah in a tank top and I in a silly pair of shorts, prancing about the magical city as if we owned the place!" "I didn't want that day to end," said Noah, "we were famished and looked for an appropriate place to have dinner and celebrate. Underdressed and unsure of where to go, we stumbled upon a particularly enchanting tratorria with live music, on a rather quaint canal. Yaron had a seared, pepper-filet of beef, and i had a wonderful chicken pasta. By the time we had finished it was almost midnight but we just couldn't bring ourselves to let the day end. Tomorrow we would have to leave Venice and start our long trek back to Zurich. Tonight we just wanted to magically extend this day." "Noah seemed anxious to break the news to our parents," said Yaron, "she insisted that I call her mother and tell her first. While walking along the lagoon, we found some pay phones and used a calling card to reach the States. "My mother was almost as excited as I was," remembered Noah, " following a strangely long silence, she screamed 'Mazal Tov' and congratulated both of us. She didn't even bother to hang up before dialing my dad! We then called Yaron's parents and I broke the news to them. We seemed to have made both moms very happy!" "We spent the next hour or so strolling along the grand canal, admiring a particularly bright Mars, and enjoying a rare quiet moment of solitude in Piazza San Marco before finally retiring back to our beautiful room," Yaron continued... "... and that is our engagement story!" added Noah, "I hope in reading about it you could share at least a small piece of the magic we experienced on that day. I hope all of you will be there on May 1st to witness the continuation of our story!" Mazal Tov!