This woman set up a meeting with a person she encountered on an aircraft. To her surprise, she later married someone else.
Cristina found herself engaged in conversation with a stranger on a flight from her hometown of Florence, Italy to London. He was friendly, interesting, and attentive.
"Let's meet up tomorrow for coffee," he propositioned. "Meet me at 11 in Trafalgar Square." After disembarking, they parted ways with a promise to meet the following day. It was August 26th, 1984. They exchanged no contact information or phones back then. They could only hope they'd both keep their end of the deal.
Arriving in Central London, an 18-year-old Cristina felt enthusiastic and excited. She was about to spend three months here studying English, a significant period away from home. London's energy and freedom invigorated her.
The next day, a little before 11am, Cristina ascended the stairs from the Charing Cross subway station and entered Trafalgar Square. The popular destination featured fountains, the United Kingdom's National Gallery, and the imposing memorial of Admiral Nelson, guarded by four bronze lions.
Overrun with tourists, the square bustled with activity that foggy August morning. People lined up to enter the gallery while protestors marched against apartheid outside the South African embassy. It was sunny and warm, with a pleasant breeze, and locals and visitors alike relaxed on the gallery steps and lounged on benches across the square.
Cristina sought out her flight companion, the man from Yesterday, among the throngs of people. Yet there was no sign of him.
Time dragged on. He still hadn't arrived.
"He never showed," Cristina says now.
Disappointed and left without contact details, Cristina spent her interrupted coffee date scanning the other people in the square. One man, in particular, intrigued her.
"I saw this guy sitting between the lions," she recalls. "He seemed good-looking - long hair, kind of a hippie-ish appearance."
Reading a copy of "Romeo and Juliet," he was also listening to his walkman. As Cristina got closer, Matt put down his book and smiled at her.
"Hi," Cristina offered.
"Hi," he returned, welcoming her.
Boldly, Cristina sat down next to the stranger. Caught off guard, he still smiled at her.
"We just started talking," Cristina says today.
Two days in London
The handsome man between the Trafalgar Square lions was Matthew Reinecke, an American college student on vacation with his family, enjoying time from California.
Matt had actually seen Cristina before she spoke to him.
"Why is this pretty girl looking at me?" he wondered.
Then, when Cristina reached out to him, sat beside him, and engaged in conversation, Matt was ecstatic.
"I was traveling, and then this cute girl sits down next to me. That was enough for me," says Matt.
Matt and Cristina introduced themselves, and Cristina inquired about the music coming from Matt's walkman. He said he was a big fan of the Grateful Dead, having attended a few of their tour dates in the states. Then, Cristina discussed her eagerness to spend three months away from home.
Though English accents were foreign to him, Matt immediately connected with Cristina.
"I liked her right away," Cristina recalls.
For the following two hours, Matt and Cristina chatted side by side in Trafalgar Square. Eventually, Matt departed to meet his parents.
"But what are you doing later today?" he asked Cristina. "Want to meet for a drink?"
Matt and Cristina arranged to meet a few hours later. He and his family were staying at the famous, upscale hotel, Claridge's in Mayfair. He told Cristina to wait for him outside Bond Street Station. Distinct from the first set-up, Matt arrived on schedule.
Then, while sitting in a bar together, Matt and Cristina picked up right where they'd left off. They each shared their first kiss.
Cristina left the bar in a daze. She and Matt had made plans to meet again. He had just one more day left in London, but he wanted to spend it with Cristina.
"I couldn't wait," Cristina recalls. "I was really looking forward to seeing him the next day."
The following day, the sun was shining bright. Cristina and Matt went to Hyde Park.
"We kissed and talked all day in the park," Matt recalls.
This time, Cristina took a photo of Matt, on her camera. In the picture, he's smiling, looking away from the camera, wearing his Grateful Dead shirt.
Matt's flight wasn't until the evening, so he put off leaving for as long as possible. When he finally said goodbye, Matt handed Cristina a note.
"Don't open it until you get home," he told her.
Cristina followed his instructions. She was staying with a host family organized by the language school. She waited until she returned to her room and unraveled the paper.
"The note said, 'I can't bear the thought of never seeing you again,'" Cristina recalls. She remembers the tears welling up.
"I knew I was going to see him again," Cristina says today. "I knew I was going to spend time with him somewhere, someway."
Misplaced Letters
Despite that sense of certainty, Cristina still felt heartbroken and alone. She wanted her girlfriends from Italy near so she could talk through her emotions. Instead, she reached for some paper in her bag and wrote a long letter to her best friend back home, telling her about Matt, about their whirlwind romance.
"I was totally infatuated with these two days I spent with him," Cristina says.
The next day, the woman Cristina was staying with noticed her red eyes and asked her what was wrong. In the absence of anyone else to talk to, Cristina shared her story.
"Don't worry," the host said. "You'll see him again. Do you have his address?"
Cristina did have – scrawled on a piece of paper – Matt's college address. He was still traveling around Europe with his parents, and wouldn't be back there for a while. But Cristina wrote him a letter anyways.
However, Matt didn't receive Cristina's first letters.
"I was a university student, so I was changing apartments every year, and they would never forward the mail," Matt explains today.
Cristina's idea of writing to Matt's parents' address was a good one.
"Finally, he got all my letters," says Cristina.
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And even with the correct addresses established, Cristina remained the one advocating their contact. Matt was interested in Cristina, but letter writing didn't come as easily to him as it did to her.
Yet, over the next two years, Cristina and Matt maintained their love via correspondence. There were a couple of times they spoke on the phone, but phone calls were expensive, so they didn't talk very often.
And even while months, then years passed with no physical meetings, Cristina and Matt were convinced they'd reunite someday, just like Matt promised in the note he'd given Cristina when he left London.
"I knew I was going to come back," says Matt.
"I had certainty that I was going to see him again," says Cristina.
As time went on, their letters grew more detailed. Matt would send Cristina his applied sociology college assignments, and at first, Cristina just loved the idea of it—getting to see how Matt's mind worked, getting a glimpse into his political views and his view of the world.
In time, Cristina's letters became more personal, talking about her feelings and dreams.
"My early letters were mainly about my daily life, my friends, my family, my travels," she says.
After time, their letters became more detailed and meaningful as they kept waiting for a future together.
"Our letters held more significance as our bond grew deeper with each passing day," Matt recounts.
During the summer of 1986, Matt confided to Cristina through a written note that he was planning to visit Europe. Intrigued, she mentioned his proposed itinerary included a stop in Florence - the very place where she resided with her parents.
"I felt thrilled, a bit uneasy because I had to introduce him to my family, but overall, I was the happiest girl on Earth," reminisces Cristina.
Curious to know his prospective in-laws, Cristina's parents harbored some skepticism. Upon meeting Matt in the saintly person our romance novel's protagonist became, their subsequent apprehension waned.
As the outsider among Cristina's family, with his 'quirky' attire and long hair, Matt slowly won over his future parents-in-law through his amusing personality and profound desire to learn their native tongue.
Alas, Greece never found its way to Matt's itinerary that year. Instead, he spent a glorious three months with Cristina in Italy. When asked to describe the reunion, Matt nostalgically recalls, "It was a dream, a movie-worthy romance."
Two generations later, Mann returned to the States to finish his course at college, not before laying the foundation for a lifetime commitment to Cristina in Italy. Cristina made the cross-continental journey to join him in his final year of college.
In the following year, upon accomplishing his degree in sociology and economics, Matt returned to Florence, ditching his former career for a teaching role. Typical of every good romance, the couple weathered challenges and question marks shrouding their impending relocation and future together. Not ones to shy away from life's twists and turns, Matt also returned to California.
Evidently, for Cristina and Matt, California turned out to be that beloved destination where they for once made the leap from pen-pals to real-life lovers. Having finally escaped the scrutiny of their parents and relatives, they felt free to plunge into the mystical world of "just Matt and Cristina."
Matt's demanding job at an investment bank, despite being very time-consuming, never stifled their connection. As they celebrated their eighth month together, they found themselves right in the pivotal years of their mid-to-late twenties. Loitering around Union Street, arguably the most elegant neighborhood in San Francisco, they dined, conversed and laughed with an array of good friends over the ensuing months.
Choosing to give their budding relationship a chance, they decided to tie the knot, and launched their journey to the altar in a seeming whim. In retrospect, they celebrated in style at the ancient Sant'Angostino Church in Tuscany.
Awaiting Matt's triumphant return to Italy, Cristina, then 21 and somewhat hesitant, braced herself for her long-anticipated biggest life adventure. In stark contrast to Matt's privileged California upbringing, Cristina stemmed from a more modest Italian family. Nevertheless, their personalities played out beautifully - against all odds.
Post their travels across-the-globe, free from the clutches of their respective families, they felt truly settled as a couple. Picking up where they had left things off years ago, they remark, "Our relationship flourished in San Francisco, a city known for its veritable blossoms."
In 1991, the couple exchanged their romance vows in San Francisco's storied City Hall with only Matt's mother and a few confidantes by their side. More extravagantly, they orchestrated a grand wedding in September of 1991, amidst the vintage splendour of the Sant'Angostino Church in Prato, Tuscany. Despite the foreign language, the joy radiating around them was inconceivably infectious.
And so, the epic tale of a transatlantic meet-cute culminated in a dreamy wedding worthy of page 199 in any fairytale.
For young lovers like Matt and Cristina, life hadn't stopped buzzing with adventure just yet.
Despite settling for a while, "wanderlust" tugged at their hearts in the summer of 1993. They opted to let go of their favoured life and embark on a six-month trek through the exotic landscapes of Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, and Australia.
Capping off their whirlwind odyssey, the duo resolved to establish permanent residence in Florence, Italy. The story adapts, "Two hearts joined, forever searching for new horizons."
"We chose to attempt relocating back to Europe, wondering if Italy would suit us," shares Cristina. "We declared, 'Let's do it,' without thinking too deeply."
In Italy, Matt and Cristina initially settled in Milan, where their son Davide was born in 1997.
Subsequently, Matt's investment banking career took them to Turin, where their daughter Francesca was born in 2003.
During the early 2000s, Matt and Cristina migrated to Tuscany. They desired being nearer to Cristina's parents and relished the contrast from decades inhabiting metropolises. The couple acquired a dilapidated 1600s manor and concentrated on transforming the house into a family dwelling.
They were also occupied with their work. From 2008 to 2019, Matt and Cristina operated an American bakery in Florence, named Mama's Bakery.
"I guess I made around 400,000 to 500,000 bagels," says Matt. "I was Italy's bagel king for a spell."
Managing the business jointly was taxing, but fulfilling.
"We were an excellent pair, complementing one another," says Matt. "It's hard on family life, but we often had a good time at work. I'm satisfied we had the experience, but I'm more content with selling the business."
Present-day Existence
Matt and Cristina relinquished Mama's Bakery in 2019. Now, they're retired, concentrating on venturing, spending time with their offspring, and luxuriating in their house in Tuscany.
"We perform whatever we wish to do," indicates Cristina.
"We're fortunate we can accomplish that," says Matt.
After years of residing in Italy, Matt is fluent in Italian. The children of Matt and Cristina are bilingual.
"Our dialogue at residence varies back and forth between English and Italian during a sentence," indicates Matt.
"Who would've foreseen that I'd spend half my life in Italy? It's perplexing how a short moment can alter things in a wondrous manner."
For Matt and Cristina, it's disconcerting but extraordinary to reminisce about their initial encounter in Trafalgar Square, 40 years ago this year. They've since brought their kids back to London, leading them to the spot by the lions where their conversation commenced.
"I was emotional when we were there as a family," expresses Cristina.
It was a coincidental meeting, incited by another coincidental encounter – who knows what would've occurred if Cristina's original flight date had surfaced that day.
While Cristina and Matt believe chance played a role, they're also proud of their efforts to stay in touch, Cristina's proud of her impulse and tenacity, and Matt's proud of his willingness to embark on risks.
"Life is unreal," exclaims Matt. "It's astounding how ludicrous things can be. Watch out there. You may discover happiness in the most peculiar of locales if you perceive it correctly."
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