Our Story
Warsaw
Poland
On August 9, 2017, we met at a hostel. We chatted briefly- Kate was about to study abroad in Spain, so she tried to practice her Spanish. She couldn't understand Javi's Argentinian accent and quickly gave up.
Prague
Czech Republic
We bumped into each other on our way to separate hostels. We chatted and went out with a group of other backpackers. We both happened to be going to Vienna next, but we made no plans to meet up.
Vienna
Austria
Kate was finishing a walking tour when she saw Javi leaving an art museum. We spent the rest of the day together wandering Vienna, searching for falafel and a very specific magnet. We visited the Shmetterlinghaus and had a lot of fun saying the word shmetterling (it means butterfly).
Budapest
Hungary
Budapest was the next stop for both of us. We started seeing each other on purpose! We had our first kiss in a crazy club/hostel- Javi kissed Kate when she got way too excited that "Mr. Brightside" was playing. This was the last place that was in both of our itineraries, so we said our goodbyes.
Ljubljana
Slovenia
Surprise! Kate poured her heart out to Javi via facebook messenger (after missing a bus and being handed a bottle of vodka) and admitted that she had feelings for him. Javi, who was in Salzburg, decided to change his plans. When Kate got off a bus in Ljubljana, Javi was waiting for her by the station. He carried her broken suitcase and gave her a tour of the town. We went to a castle, swam to the island in Lake Bled, put a lock on a bridge, and got matching (very concerning) heartbeat tattoos.
Venice
Italy
Kate decided to change her plans and skip her next flight. Instead, we went to Venice together. Javi had been there before and speaks perfect Italian... Needless to say, Kate was falling hard. For our first day there, we turned off our phones and wandered the city aimlessly. That evening we bought a cheap bottle of wine and sat on the ground by a canal, looking at the stars and talking about the universe. We later visited the Murano glass museum and made up silly functions for the ornate glass items on display.
Rome
Italy
We explored Rome with Javi leading the way, showing off his Italian and knowledge of the city. We played foosball (Kate let Javi win), watched street performers, went to the Vatican, and ate Super Pizza. We talked about having a future together. Javi was considering moving away from Argentina and has U.S. and Spanish citizenship, so moving to the U.S. wouldn't be too unreasonable for him. He began considering moving to Washington, DC where he was born. Too soon, Kate had to fly to Salamanca for the start of her study abroad semester. We wrote each other letters and said our goodbyes, hoping to see each other again.
Salamanca
Spain
Surprise again! Javi spent 24 hours on a train to spend his last few days in Europe with Kate. Javi met Kate's host family and study abroad crew. There was a festival in Salamanca at the time, so we went to concerts, ate lots of tapas from street vendors, and watched fireworks. One of Kate's classmates asked Javi what his favorite word in English was, and he said, "Kate". That's when Kate learned how to apply the Spanish word "Chamuyo". Unfortunately, this fairytale couldn't last forever, and Javi had to go back to Argentina. From another continent, Javi helped Kate with her Spanish homework while he planned his move to the U.S.
Buffalo
New York
For a few months, Javi was living and working in D.C. while Kate studied in Buffalo. We visited each other every few weeks until Kate was able to convince Javi to move in with her. We lived together in the Outdoor Adventure Club house for a few months, while Kate worked as an orientation leader and Javi gave tours of Niagara falls. We slowly started growing up- Javi got a more stable job, we got an apartment for the two of us, and Kate earned her MPH and decided to apply to medical school.
Baltimore
Maryland
Kate got into her dream medical school so we made another move! We are loving our new life in Baltimore. Javi works remotely and gets to spend lots of time with our animals, Chispa and Sandia. Kate is (sort of) surviving medical school and always looks forward to coming home to our little family. We are so grateful for our community of classmates and neighbors! In August, 2023, we took a trip to Asia and Javi proposed to Kate with her grandmother's ring on a beach in Hoi An, Vietnam.