She arranged a date with a guy she met on a plane. When he didn’t show, she unexpectedly met her future husband

Francesca Street, CNN

(CNN) — When nan feline she’d met connected nan level asked her out, Cristina Farina said yes without hesitation.

Cristina had spent overmuch of nan formation to London from her Italian hometown Florence heavy successful speech pinch this stranger. He seemed friendly, interesting, interested.

“Why don’t we meet tomorrow, spell person a coffee, walk immoderate clip together?” he suggested. “Let’s meet astatine 11 connected Trafalgar Square.”

Upon landing astatine Heathrow Airport, Cristina and her level crush went their abstracted ways, vowing to meet nan adjacent day. It was August 26, 1984. They didn’t switch addresses aliases interaction numbers. Texting wasn’t an option. They conscionable had to dream they’d some support their committedness and beryllium location nan pursuing day.

Cristina grabbed her container from nan luggage carousel and headed into cardinal London, emotion invigorated and excited. She was 18 years old, group to walk 3 months successful nan UK studying English. It was Cristina’s first important play distant from home. Possibility stretched retired earlier her.

“I loved London,” Cristina tells CNN Travel today. “It gave maine a batch of energy. I felt free to do what I wanted.”

The adjacent day, soon earlier 11 a.m., Cristina climbed nan steps retired of Charing Cross conduit position and arrived successful Trafalgar Square – an open, pedestrianized spot location to fountains, nan UK’s National Gallery and nan imposing Nelson’s Column, guarded by 4 ample bronze lions.

Trafalgar Square’s almost ever busy, and that time successful 1984 was nary different. Crowds of visitors dodged debased flying pigeons arsenic they lined up for introduction to nan gallery. Outside nan South African embassy, protestors were opposing apartheid. It was sunny, pinch a lukewarm breeze, and location were plentifulness of sunbathers sitting connected nan assemblage steps and dotted astir nan square.

Cristina searched for her airplane day among nan throngs of people. There was nary motion of him, but she was a spot early.

Time ticked on. He was still obscurity to beryllium seen.

“The feline ne'er showed up,” says Cristina today.

Getting stood up wasn’t precisely really Cristina had imagined opening her London adventure. She was a spot disheartened. She had nary measurement of contacting her level crush.

But while waiting for him to show, she’d had plentifulness of clip to scan nan different group successful Trafalgar Square that day. And 1 personification successful peculiar had caught her eye.

“I saw this feline sitting successful betwixt nan lions,” Cristina recalls. “He caught my attraction because he was bully looking – agelong hair, benignant of a hippyish look.”

He was leaning connected nan plinth betwixt nan bronze lions, reference a book. As Cristina sewage closer, she saw it was a transcript of William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet.” The feline was besides listening to a walkman. As Cristina approached, he took disconnected his headphones, looked up and smiled.

“Hi,” Cristina said.

“Hi,” he replied.

Feeling bold, Cristina sat down adjacent to nan stranger. He looked a small surprised, but he put down his book and smiled astatine her again.

“Then we conscionable started talking,” says Cristina today.

Two days successful London

The feline leaning connected nan Trafalgar Square lions was 20-year-old Matt Reinecke, an American assemblage student connected picnic pinch his family, visiting from California.

It turned retired Matt had spotted Cristina earlier she approached him.

“Why does this beautiful woman support looking astatine me?” he thought.

Then, erstwhile Cristina said to him, past sat down adjacent to him, Matt was thrilled.

“I was traveling, and I knew that I was leaving successful 2 days. And past a tiny woman sat down adjacent to maine – that was capable for me,” he tells CNN Travel today.

Matt and Cristina introduced themselves, and Cristina gestured to Matt’s walkman, asking what he’d been listening to. Matt explained he was a immense instrumentality of nan Grateful Dead – he’d been to respective of their circuit dates successful nan US. Then, Matt asked Cristina what brought her to London, and she said astir her excitement astir her upcoming 3 months distant from home.

There was a spot of a connection obstruction – Cristina couldn’t ever understand Matt’s Americanisms – she was much utilized to British English. But nan relationship betwixt them was palpable correct away.

“I liked him immediately,” says Cristina.

For nan adjacent 2 hours, Matt and Cristina sat, broadside by side, successful Trafalgar Square, talking. At immoderate point, Matt sewage retired his camera and took a photograph of Cristina, leaning against nan monument, looking astatine him.

Eventually, Matt had to time off to meet his parents.

“But what are you doing later today?” he asked Cristina. “Want to meet for a drink?”

Matt and Cristina made plans to meet a fewer hours later. Matt’s family was staying astatine Claridge’s, nan historic, swanky 5 prima edifice successful Mayfair. He told Cristina he’d meet her extracurricular Bond Street Station. Unlike Cristina’s would-be airplane date, Matt showed up.

Matt’s parents knew he was going connected a spontaneous date. They were besides having a portion astatine a different spot connected Bond Street, and asked Matt if he’d locomotion by pinch Cristina, truthful they could return a peek and activity hello. Matt and Cristina obliged, giggling arsenic they walked by and saw Matt’s parents’ funny but friends faces.

Then, sitting successful a pub together, Matt and Cristina picked up wherever they’d near off. They shared their first kiss.

Cristina near nan pub successful a daze. She and Matt had made plans to meet again. He only had 1 much time near successful London, but wanted to walk it pinch Cristina.

“I couldn’t wait,” Cristina recalls. “I was really looking guardant to seeing him nan adjacent day.”

The adjacent day, nan sun was besides shining. Cristina and Matt headed to Hyde Park.

“We really conscionable kissed and talked each time successful nan park,” recalls Matt.

This time, Cristina took a photograph of Matt, connected her camera. In nan image he’s smiling, looking distant from nan camera, wearing his Grateful Dead t-shirt.

Matt’s formation wasn’t until nan evening, truthful he put disconnected leaving for arsenic agelong arsenic possible. When he yet said goodbye, Matt passed Cristina a note.

“Don’t unfastened it until you get home,” he told her.

Cristina obliged. She was staying pinch a big family organized by nan connection school. She waited until she sewage backmost to her room and unfurled nan paper.

“The statement said, ‘I can’t carnivore nan thought of ne'er seeing you again,’” recalls Cristina today. She remembers welling up.

“I knew I was going to spot him again. And I knew I was going to walk clip pinch him somewhere, somehow.”

Lost letters

Despite that emotion of certainty, Cristina still felt heartbroken. And she felt lonely. She wished her girlfriends from Italy were adjacent by truthful she could talk done her emotions. Instead, dug retired immoderate insubstantial from her container and wrote a agelong missive to her champion friend backmost home, telling her astir Matt, astir their whirlwind romance.

“I was wholly wrapped up successful these 2 days I spent pinch him,” says Cristina.

The adjacent day, nan female Cristina was staying pinch noticed her bloodshot eyes and asked Cristina what was wrong. In nan absence of anyone other to speak to, Cristina confided successful her.

“Don’t worry, you’ll spot him again,” said Cristina’s host. “Do you person his address?”

Cristina did person – scrawled connected a portion of insubstantial – Matt’s assemblage address. He was still walking astir Europe pinch his parents, and wouldn’t beryllium backmost location for a while. But Cristina wrote him a missive anyway.

And while she didn’t person a reply correct away, Cristina settled into her London life. The emotion of heartbreak faded a little, and she made friends.

“I had a awesome time,” she recalls.

Matt was still successful nan backmost of her mind. Weeks passed, and she didn’t perceive from him. She sent different letter. Still nothing.

Surely he was backmost astatine schoolhouse by now? Maybe she had nan incorrect address?

“So I tried to find retired his parents’ reside instead,” recalls Cristina. “I knew they’d been staying astatine Claridge’s, truthful I contacted Claridge’s, asking for nan address.

Of course, they couldn’t springiness maine nan reside of nan parents. But they told me, ‘Send nan missive to us, and we’ll guardant it to them.’ So that’s what happened.”

It turned retired Matt hadn’t received Cristina’s first letters.

“I was a assemblage student, truthful I was changing apartments each year,” he explains today. “And past they would ne'er guardant nan mail.”

Cristina’s thought of penning to Matt’s parents’ reside was a bully one.

“Finally, he sewage each my letters,” says Cristina.

And eventually, erstwhile Cristina was backmost successful Italy, Matt’s reply arrived: “Four pages folded into 1 mini letter cover that had maine very affectional and excited,” arsenic Cristina recalls.

“I locked myself successful my room and publication it slow complete and complete again.”

Even pinch correct addresses established, Cristina remained nan driving unit down their keeping successful touch. It wasn’t that Matt wasn’t willing – he thought astir Cristina often, pensive astir those magical 2 days successful London. But missive penning didn’t travel people to him successful nan aforesaid measurement it did her.

Still, complete nan adjacent 2 years, Cristina and Matt kept up a epistolery correspondence. A mates of times, they said connected nan telephone but “very rarely,” because of nan steep transatlantic telephone costs.

And moreover arsenic months, past years passed without them seeing 1 another, Cristina and Matt believed they would 1 time reunite, conscionable arsenic Matt promised successful nan statement he’d fixed Cristina erstwhile he near London.

“I knew I was going to travel back,” says Matt.

“I had nan certainty that I was going to spot him again,” says Cristina.

As clip went on, their letters became much detailed. Matt would nonstop Cristina his sociology assemblage essays and Cristina loved this, getting to spot really Matt’s encephalon worked, getting a glimpse into his governmental views, his position connected nan world.

And while Cristina’s early letters were “mainly astir my regular life, my friends, my family, my travels,” arsenic clip went on, she “wrote astir my feelings, my dreams.”

“The letters became much important arsenic our narration grew, arsenic we sewage to cognize each different complete time,” says Matt.

Reuniting successful Florence

1986 rolled around. In a letter, Matt told Cristina he was readying to sojourn Europe that summer. His extremity was to get to Greece, but – if it was okay pinch Cristina and her family – he’d scheme a extremity disconnected successful Florence, wherever Cristina lived pinch her parents.

“I was ace excited,” says Cristina. “A spot tense because he had to meet my family, but wide I was nan happiest woman connected Earth.”

Cristina’s parents knew astir her London romance. They saw nan measurement she reacted to nan presence of Matt’s letters. They were still a small skeptical astir nan full thing. And erstwhile Matt arrived astatine their location – successful apparel crumpled from walking and pinch agelong hairsbreadth – they were moreover much skeptical.

“But yet they started to for illustration him,” says Cristina. “He was a bully power successful my family – he was fun, he made group laugh. He didn’t speak a connection of Italian. But he started to speak slowly, by learning slowly, by listening to my parents and my brother, who was a mates years younger than I was.”

In nan end, Matt ne'er made it to Greece. Instead, he spent 3 months pinch Cristina successful Italy.

Matt says their reunion was an exciting, romanticist “blur.”

“It was a dream,” says Cristina. “It was a movie type of thing.”

At nan extremity of nan summer, Matt returned to nan US to decorativeness college. Later that year, Cristina visited him successful California.

In summertime 1987, Matt graduated assemblage and headed consecutive to Italy to spot Cristina. He sewage a occupation arsenic an English coach successful Florence, recovered an flat successful nan metropolis and ended up surviving location for nan adjacent 18 months.

After years of agelong distance, Matt and Cristina were yet successful nan aforesaid country. They weren’t conscionable pen pals, they were yet dating.

“That’s erstwhile we decided, we’re going to unrecorded together forever,” says Matt.

“I was still only 21, I was very young,” says Cristina. “But I was very convinced that he was for me.”

Still, nan early was still a spot uncertain. Matt felt for illustration his school occupation was much of a extremity spread than a imperishable career. And Cristina had loved California erstwhile she’d visited Matt nan twelvemonth before. Living location became a extremity for them both.

So Matt returned to nan US successful early 1989 and went backmost to college, getting different grade successful sociology and economics. And successful 1990, Cristina followed him to California.

A California chapter

Cristina’s parents had grown to emotion Matt, but they were a spot worried astir their girl relocating crossed nan world.

“But they understood that it was clip to effort and spot if things would activity out,” says Cristina.

Meanwhile, Matt’s parents were supportive, but they were from able Californian society, and Matt reckons they’d ever imagined him gathering a woman astatine a San Francisco debutante ball.

“My parents were much wanting maine to beryllium a portion of precocious people San Francisco life, and not moving disconnected to Italy,” says Matt.

“We were from different backgrounds,” says Cristina. “My family was a normal mediate people Italian family.”

Despite their differences, Matt and Cristina’s clip together successful California felt for illustration a turning point. They sewage their ain flat and for nan first time, it felt for illustration they were “free of outside, outer things for illustration parents, family, different things.”

They could beryllium “just Matt and Cristina arsenic a couple,” arsenic Matt puts it.

Matt worked agelong hours astatine an finance bank, but moreover though his occupation was full-on, nan mates made nan astir of their clip together. Their flat was ever afloat of friends. They went retired successful San Francisco regularly. They grew person and much judge of their early together.

“The narration had already been building, but really it conscionable blossomed successful San Francisco,” says Matt. “It was a awesome clip of our lives, you’re successful your mid to precocious 20s, we’re surviving connected Union Street, 1 of nan astir beautiful neighborhoods of San Francisco. We had truthful galore friends.”

Matt and Cristina were committed to a early together, but nan determination to get joined came astir alternatively suddenly. In 1991, Cristina received a missive from US migration giving her 2 weeks to time off nan country. And truthful connected April 12, 1991 Matt and Cristina sewage joined successful San Francisco’s City Hall pinch only Matt’s mother and a fewer friends present.

But they planned a large wedding ceremony for later that twelvemonth successful Italy, astatine nan 13th period Sant’Angostino Church successful Prato, Tuscany.

“Our wedding time was a batch of fun,” recalls Cristina.

The work was wholly successful Italian. By then, Matt was beautiful proficient successful nan language, but immoderate of his relatives were a spot confused. Despite nan connection barrier, they couldn’t neglect to construe nan happiness connected Matt and Cristina’s faces, and nan joyousness that emanated done nan day.

“It was a beautiful wedding,” says Matt.

New adventures

In nan summertime of 1993, Matt and Cristina embarked connected a caller escapade together. They discontinue their jobs successful nan US and spent half a twelvemonth walking – visiting Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Australia.

Then, astatine nan extremity of that walking period, nan mates near California down and moved to Italy.

“We decided to effort to move backmost to Europe, to spot if Italy useful for us,” says Cristina. “We said, ‘Okay, let’s do it,’ without reasoning excessively much.”

In Italy, Matt and Cristina settled first successful Milan, wherever they welcomed their first child, Davide, successful 1997.

Later, Matt’s finance banking activity later took them to Turin, wherever their girl Francesca was calved successful 2003.

In nan mid-noughties, Matt and Cristina moved to Tuscany. They liked nan thought of being person to Cristina’s parents. And aft decades spent surviving successful large cities, nan Tuscan countryside was a invited alteration of pace. The mates bought a tally down 1600s farmhouse and focused connected restructuring nan location and making it into a family home.

They were besides kept engaged by work. From 2008 until 2019, Matt and Cristina ran an American bakery successful Florence, called Mama’s Bakery.

“I deliberation I’ve made location betwixt 400,000 to 500,000 bagels,” says Matt. “I was nan bagel king of Italy for a while.”

Running nan business together was difficult work, but rewarding.

“We were a bully team, we complemented each other,” says Matt. “It is really difficult connected family time, but we often had nosy together astatine work. I americium happy we had nan experience, but I americium happier that we sold nan business.”

Life today

Matt and Cristina near Mama’s Bakery down successful 2019. Now, they’re retired, and their attraction is connected traveling, spending clip pinch their kids and enjoying their location successful Tuscany.

“We do precisely what we want to do,” says Cristina.

“We’re fortunate we tin do that,” says Matt.

After years of moving and surviving successful Italy, Matt’s fluent successful Italian. Matt and Cristina’s children are bilingual.

“Our speech successful nan location switches backmost and distant betwixt English and Italian mid-sentence,” says Matt.

“Who would person ever thought that I’d unrecorded half my life successful Italy? It’s weird really conscionable a little 2nd tin alteration things successful a awesome way.”

For Matt and Cristina, it’s surreal but typical to bespeak connected their first gathering successful Trafalgar Square, 40 years agone this year. They’ve since returned to London pinch their kids, taking them to nan spot by nan lions wherever they first started talking.

“I was affectional erstwhile we were location together,” says Cristina.

It was a random meeting, spurred connected by different random gathering – who knows what would person happened if Cristina’s original airplane day had turned up that day.

Although Cristina and Matt deliberation destiny played a role, looking backmost they’re besides proud that they worked to enactment successful touch, Cristina’s proud of her spontaneity and determination, and Matt’s proud of his willingness to return risks.

“Life is amazing,” says Matt. “It is crazy conscionable really absurd things tin be. Be observant retired there. You mightiness find happiness successful nan strangest of places if you look astatine it right.”