Hi PS''ers,
I made a surprise proposal in NY last weekend and here is the recap.
My girlfriend, now fiancee, and I live in SF, but she was staying with her family about an hour north of the City. I flew in Friday night and checked in to the Palace Hotel in Midtown http://www.newyorkpalace.com/index.html. Got a great corner room on the 34th floor with awesome view of St. Patrick''s Cathedral http://www.saintpatrickscathedral.org/ and Rockefeller Center http://www.rockefellercenter.com/home.html (important for later). Room was very large for NY standards with very nice bedding and furnishings so quite romantic.
The next morning I got my workout in their gym http://www.newyorkpalace.com/spa_fitness/index.html, which was needed after the long flight and plans for the day. I then finished all the arrangements for the day including buying a bottle of 2000 Cristal http://www.wine.com/V6/Louis-Roederer-Cristal-Brut-2000/wine/89492/detail.aspx, which happens to be her favorite Champagne. I got it from a local liquor store right across the street from the Palace, Midtown Wine & Liquor Shopý, this in itself was a great NY moment. Owner was a great guy, can’t remember his name, but definitely old school NY and he gave me a great deal, $245, which was $70 off what he normally charged after I told him I was proposing later that day, very cool.
As my plans included multiple stops through the afternoon I thought about renting a town car or something. I asked the bellman at the Palace and then noticed they had this really cool black sedan parked in front. I saw the driving standing nearby and asked him how one would go about using the car. He said it was for VIPs staying at the Palace and he could take me within a 12 block radius as a one-way drop off. I started chatting him up and found out his name was Said and he was from Algeria. We talked about Euro 2008 and bonded over soccer as we both still play. Anyway, this was key as he told me he would be my driver for the day and evening, gave me his cell to call him so he could pick us up as needed.
I had let my fiancee’s Mother know that I was in town on Friday and to make sure she was not doing anything on Saturday. I gave her a call about 1p and told her to be on a train to Grand Central Station by 2:30p. To say the least she was incredibly surprised and very excited. So Said picks me up in front of the Palace about 3:20p and we pick up the fiancee at 3:30p and then head right back to the Palace to drop off her bags. The fiancee is a real horse lover as she grew up owning horses so I thought she would love checking out the Horse Exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/horse/. We spent about 1:30 hours checking it out and both she and I loved it.
Said then picked us up and we headed over to 30 Rockefeller Center. They have re-opened the observation deck at the top http://www.topoftherocknyc.com/, which has awesome views of the entire city. We headed up to the top, enjoyed the views for a few minutes and then I found a quiet corner with no one else around where I popped the question.
You can see the ring and view here https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/advice-on-2-ct-rb.88418/
Said then picked us up and had the Cristal and two glasses all set. At this point I found out a bit more about the car. It is a Maybach 57S that is personally owned by the Sultan of Brunei as he also owns the Palace Hotel.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maybach_57_and_62#Maybach_57_S
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSdJFrH3Q9A&feature=related
I had no idea that we had been driving around is a custom $500k car that had a fridge between the seats along with massaging units in each seat. This only made it only more special as he closed the privacy curtains and we cruised around Midtown. This was just so lucky to have worked out that way, but it was such a blast and my fiancee thought it was so romantic. I had noticed the 600hp acceleration a few times though!
The car dropped us back at the hotel and we enjoyed the rest of the wine in the room with a cheese plate as we watched the sun go down and enjoyed our view of where we had just got engaged at the Top of the Rock. Later that evening we ended the day with a great dinner at Cafe Boulud http://www.danielnyc.com/cafeboulud/
and then a nightcap at Gilt, the bar at the Palace http://www.giltnewyork.com/nyc-bar-lounge.php.
All in all it was a great time and I know my finance had a blast as well.
Cheers,
Skirunman
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