It started with Van Gogh…

Once upon a time, there was a young girl named Sarah who was obsessed with the lesser known of Van Gogh’s Starry Night trilogy — the Cafe Terrace at Night.

[It’s true. She had a framed poster in her childhood bedroom that traveled with her to her college dorm room, and eventually to her rental in Nashville.]

And while it may sound cheesy, the painting reminded Sarah a lot of Italy (even though it’s about France) and all her favorite romcoms with happily ever afters. From a young age, it sparked this whimsical hope that one day she’d be lucky enough to experience this painting magic in her own life. One day, she vowed, she would sit at a cafe in Italy just like this one — eating pasta and being happy.

It took a long time for her to finally get there. In fact, it took decades and moves to new cities, jobs and other jobs, and then, a divine intervention. Some may say it was fate how it happened, when at the age of 37, she ended up on that side of the world for work with a long weekend break.

In the most adventurous decision of her entire life, Sarah booked a one way ticket to Rome.

When in Rome…

So there she was in Rome at 7:00 AM. Little did she know…yeah, you know where this is going…her life was about to change.

Unfortunately (or fortunately?), the hotel wasn’t ready yet so Sarah decided to explore the city. She wandered through the painful cobblestone in the sweltering heat of Rome tourist season, making her way past Trevi Fountain, then the Pantheon, and then Piazza Navona. It was at that moment standing in the Piazza, she realized she was very hungry. Yes. It was PASTA IN ITALY TIME.

In true Sarah fashion, she already had a list prepared of top-rated restaurants in Rome. After a quick deliberation, she landed on a 5,000+ reviewed restaurant a 10 minute walk away. The map suggested the best way to go, but her eyes caught a small street in the shadows, a welcomed relief from the pounding sun.

Just a few steps into the detour, she stopped.

There, tucked in a little corner of Rome, was her favorite painting come to life — umbrellas and stringed lights, et al — just like she’d dreamed all those years before. She knew it in her bones, this must be the place. (Of course she still double checked that the reviews were good…and they were.)

Turns out destiny was a million steps ahead of her all along. Because as you all know, this was the beginning to the story of how she met Reka.

Like an invisible string, tying them straight to each other.