Gabriella Vagnoli never forgot that trip to Scotland.
She tried not to think about it, to 鈥渞emove that chapter completely.鈥 She鈥檇 known Dan Watling for only a few days. He lived in the U.S. She figured she鈥檇 never see him again.
But as her long-term relationship in Italy started to dwindle, Gabriella鈥檚 mind returned to how it felt walking around Loch Ness with Dan in the spring of 2002. She thought about his eyes, 鈥渧ery blue, beautiful, striking.鈥 She remembered the way they鈥檇 sat together, on the mountainous Old Man of Storr, looking out over the Isle of Skye, sharing stories about their lives.
It was mid-2006 when Gabriella finally typed Dan鈥檚 name into Google. Social media was pretty new at the time. She wasn鈥檛 sure anything would come up. She鈥檇 convinced herself Dan would have long moved on. They weren鈥檛 22 anymore.
鈥淚 was just like, 鈥極h I鈥檓 just going to see 鈥 because by now he鈥檚 probably married 鈥 Americans marry early. Who knows what he鈥檚 doing,鈥 Gabriella recalls to CNN Travel.
To her surprise, Dan popped up right away. Photos of him on a three-month trip around Europe a couple of years earlier.
鈥淗e looked different, more rugged, more experienced,鈥 says Gabriella.
He still had the same kind eyes. To Gabriella, he looked 鈥渕ore handsome.鈥
Gabriella decided to send Dan a message.
鈥淩emember me?鈥 she wrote.
A Scottish adventure
Gabriella and Dan first connected on the banks of Loch Ness, the large body of water in the northerly Scottish Highlands, known as the home of the mythical Loch Ness monster.
At the time, Gabriella was midway through her college degree in Italy, finishing up a year spent studying in the U.K.
鈥淢e and a bunch of friends from Italy, Germany and Portugal decided to do this trip to Scotland together,鈥 recalls Gabriella.
The group headed to Edinburgh to join a tour bus travelling further north. It was a three-day trip, with several stops to take in the Highland highlights.
Dan was on the same tour. Dan says his brother Bill 鈥渒ind of forced鈥 him to join the trip to Scotland. Dan was very committed to his job as a software developer in Chicago. He鈥檇 never travelled much.
鈥淗e bought my ticket and helped me get the passport and everything else. So essentially, I had no choice but to go,鈥 Dan tells CNN Travel today.
Bill did all the planning too. He picked the backpackers tour. He made sure they got on the bus.
The whole thing was a bit outside of 22-year-old Dan鈥檚 comfort zone, but Dan was excited to be there.
There were around 15 people on the tour, including Gabriella and her gang of college friends. When the group boarded the bus, the tour guide suggested the travellers take it in turns to introduce themselves.
Gabriella was one of the first up. She told the group she was from Pisa, in Italy. She talked about her love of music.
鈥淚 remember being 鈥榮truck鈥 when Gabi introduced herself,鈥 Dan recalls. 鈥淚 thought she was very pretty and interesting.鈥
When Dan stood up front and nervously introduced himself, Gabriella was struck by him too.
鈥淚 noticed Dan because of his eyes,鈥 she recalls. He seemed shy, a bit embarrassed to be talking in front of a group of strangers. Gabriella found she couldn鈥檛 stop looking at him.
The first stop on the tour was Loch Ness. The tour guide and most of the group went down to the shore of the Loch, but Gabriella and Dan didn鈥檛 join them right away.
鈥淚nstead, we hung back and started talking,鈥 says Dan.
Their first conversation was a little awkward 鈥 in his nervousness, Dan asked Gabriella what it was like living in Rome. She assumed he hadn鈥檛 been listening when she鈥檇 introduced herself as sharing a home with the famous Leaning Tower.
After that, things warmed up. Gabriella and Dan carried on chatting as they admired the sweeping expanse of Loch Ness, the imposing ruins of Urquhart Castle in the distance.
Connecting in Skye
Back on the bus, Gabriella and her friends sat with Dan and his brother Bill. The group started playing the card game Uno to pass the time. As the bus headed northwest, the roads got narrower, the scenery glimpsed from the bus window more staggering. Eventually, the bus crossed the bridge to Skye, the famous Scottish island known for its spectacular scenery 鈥 think dramatic mountains, picturesque glens and ancient castles.
Gabriella couldn鈥檛 believe the vastness of the landscape. It felt worlds away from the city living she was used to.
鈥淚t really struck me and it was beautiful,鈥 she says.
But while Dan remembers being immediately enamoured with 鈥渢he rocks, and the hills, the waterfalls, and the clouds and everything,鈥 his main memory of Skye is falling for Gabriella.
鈥淚 just remember being with her most of all,鈥 he says.
Skye was a 鈥渒ey moment,鈥 agrees Gabriella.
Their tour guide took them to the Old Man of Storr, a rock formation offering incredible views of Skye鈥檚 misty hills and crags, the sea stretching out ahead. The group set out to hike to the pinnacle.
Dan鈥檚 brother and Gabriella鈥檚 friends strode ahead. But Gabriella and Dan took it slow, more focused on each other than the views.
鈥淲e were just walking a lot and asking a lot of questions to each other,鈥 says Gabriella.
In the end, Gabriella and Dan stopped before they reached the top of the ridge, sitting on one of the lower crags together, completely caught up in one another.
鈥淕oing up to the Old Man of Storr, that, for me, that鈥檚 when I really felt a connection,鈥 says Dan.
He barely knew Gabriella, but felt like he could be himself with her. He鈥檇 never really experienced anything like it.
Gabriella really liked Dan.
鈥淲e talked a lot,鈥 says Gabriella. 鈥淗e was very sweet.鈥
But for Gabriella, the situation was more complicated. She was dating someone back in Italy. And while Dan was a romantic, Gabriella was more pragmatic. She didn鈥檛 think their connection would outlast their time in Scotland.
鈥淲e had this trip that was very romantic. There was this big connection, but it was a short trip,鈥 says Gabriella. 鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 going to lead anywhere.鈥
Losing touch
When the tour came to an end and the group returned to Edinburgh, Gabriella and Dan said goodbye, not sure exactly where they stood. They swapped email addresses.
鈥淚 remember emailing her almost as soon as I arrived back home,鈥 Dan says.
Dan and Gabriella 鈥渒ept in touch for a little bit,鈥 says Gabriella.
But before long, she cut things off.
鈥淚 shortly after decided it was better not to keep in touch,鈥 she says. 鈥淚 wanted to focus on my life in Italy.
鈥淚 had no desire to move to America. I had a different life and I was like, 鈥榊ou know this is not going anywhere. It鈥檚 better that we don鈥檛 keep this thing going.鈥欌
To Gabriella, her life in Italy felt real, and the time with Dan in Scotland felt like a dream. She tried to draw a line and move on. To make it final, she blocked Dan鈥檚 email address.
When Dan received Gabriella鈥檚 goodbye email, he was 鈥渁 little distraught.鈥
He tried to move on too, but it wasn鈥檛 easy.
鈥淚 was always thinking about her,鈥 he says.
The trip to Scotland had also opened up Dan鈥檚 world and given him a bit of wanderlust. The following year, in 2003, he returned to Europe, backpacking through various European cities for three months.
Dan incorporated Gabriella鈥檚 hometown of Pisa into the itinerary 鈥 partly to see the Leaning Tower, but mostly because he hoped, against the odds, that he might bump into the girl he鈥檇 met the summer before in Scotland.
When his train pulled into Pisa station, Dan couldn鈥檛 help but glance around, hopefully, for Gabriella.
鈥淪he had told me that she had worked at the Pisa train station as a barista,鈥 he says. 鈥淏ut of course, she wasn鈥檛 there.鈥
Back in the U.S., Dan dated a couple of other people, but it never got serious.
鈥淭here wasn鈥檛 that connection. It definitely was not the same. And not what I felt with her.鈥
He created a website, adding the photos from his three-month European trip.
And then, in 2006, Gabriella鈥檚 surprise email landed in his inbox.
Reconnecting
When Dan read Gabriella鈥檚 email, he was in disbelief.
鈥淪he was always in the back of my mind,鈥 he says. 鈥淚 always hoped that we could reconnect somehow. And so of course, when I got the email, I was overjoyed.鈥
He replied right away. Gabriella wrote back. The two started emailing regularly, 鈥渃hatting a lot,鈥 as Gabriella puts it.
鈥淚t鈥檚 just so crazy that he hadn鈥檛 forgotten about me, because as I said, it was a short trip. But he鈥檇 been thinking about me,鈥 she says.
They tried video calling 鈥 a relatively new concept in 2006. It was hard to get much detail from the grainy, webcam images. But hearing each other鈥檚 voices again was special.
鈥淲e literally talked about everything,鈥 says Dan.
By coincidence, when Gabriella re-entered Dan鈥檚 life, he was in the middle of planning a trip to Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany.
鈥淚 had no plans to go to Italy when I started planning it. But then when I got the email from her, I decided, 鈥榃ell, I鈥檓 going to make my way down to Italy, for sure,鈥欌 says Dan.
Dan and Gabriella agreed to meet in the Tuscan hilltop town of Siena, not far from her home city of Pisa, in September 2006.
On the bus to Siena, Gabriella told herself, 鈥淲e鈥檙e just going to meet and I鈥檒l show him around.鈥 While Gabriella had enjoyed speaking with Dan online, she was 鈥渟till very much in denial鈥 about what might happen next.
The moment Gabriella and Dan saw one another again was charged.
鈥淲hen I saw her get off the bus, I cried,鈥 says Dan. 鈥淚 was just incredibly happy to see her again.鈥
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 expect it to be so emotional when I actually saw him and I didn鈥檛 expect to be so struck by him,鈥 says Gabriella. 鈥淚 was struck by his eyes again. It was just romantic. I didn鈥檛 think it would be so striking, but it was. There was just something between us.鈥
鈥淎 connection,鈥 says Dan.
鈥淪omething very, very unique,鈥 agrees Gabriella. 鈥淔rom the moment we saw each other. It鈥檚 hard to explain.鈥
Gabriella and Dan spent the day wandering around Siena together. They couldn鈥檛 stop looking at each other and smiling, almost giddy with excitement.
鈥淚 remember walking around Piazza del Campo and how happy I was to be there with her,鈥 says Dan.
When they said goodbye, things were still 鈥渙pen-ended,鈥 says Dan. But unlike when they parted ways in Scotland, there seemed to be a promise of a future.
鈥淚 believe Siena was the moment that the wheels started turning for the both of us, as far as beginning to actually think about what it would mean to pursue a real relationship with one another,鈥 Dan says.
For Gabriella, the years apart, the unexpected reunion, and the fact the connection was still there gave her the confidence to embrace her feelings for Dan.
鈥淚 do think we both needed those few more years of growth to truly find each other,鈥 she says.
Long distance
A couple of months later, Gabriella planned a trip to the U.S. to visit Dan in Chicago. She intended to stay for almost a month.
鈥淭hree, four weeks, something like that 鈥 which was a pretty crazy thing to do for a guy that I didn鈥檛 know that well,鈥 says Gabriella.
On Gabriella鈥檚 first evening, Dan took her out for dinner with his brother Bill and his wife, and his mother.
鈥淚t was a bit overwhelming to meet his mom the first night I got there,鈥 says Gabriella.
But despite being tired from the flight, Gabriella felt immediately welcomed by Dan鈥檚 family. It was great to see Bill again. It was exciting to be in the U.S. And Dan held her hand all evening.
The only hiccup during the four-week trip was Gabriella discovering Dan鈥檚 cooking ability 鈥 or lack thereof.
鈥淚 always say that I saved him because he was so deprived, he ate so bad,鈥 says Gabriella, laughing. 鈥淗e told me, 鈥業鈥檓 going to take you to have the best breakfast ever.鈥 And he took me to McDonald鈥檚.鈥
As an Italian foodie, Gabriella was slightly horrified. But part of her also found it endearing. And over the course of her trip, she taught Dan to cook pasta.
The following year, in 2007, Gabriella returned to the U.S., taking some time off work to stay with Dan for three months. While she was there, Gabriella studied for a qualification to teach Italian as a foreign language.
By then, Gabriella and Dan were talking about their future and what being together long-term might look like. They didn鈥檛 want to date across continents for too long. They talked about Dan moving to Italy, or Gabriella moving to the U.S.
鈥淚t was pretty fast, but at the same time, we knew that it was serious,鈥 says Gabriella.
As Dan was more settled in his job, and owned a house, Gabiella moving to the U.S. felt like the obvious choice.
鈥淗e had the more stable life,鈥 says Gabriella.
So she made plans to move, getting a job as an Italian teacher at a language school in the Chicago area. And in November 2007, Dan proposed. The couple were on vacation in the historic town of Galena, Illinois.
鈥淲e had a nice, romantic evening at the house that we鈥檙e staying at,鈥 recalls Dan. 鈥淚 felt that was the time and so I proposed to her in Italian. And she said yes.鈥
Dan and Gabriella had a small wedding ceremony in the U.S. in 2008 and then a big wedding party in 2009 in Italy, at 鈥渁 beautiful Renaissance villa in the countryside with wonderful frescoes,鈥 called Villa di Corliano, in the Tuscan town of San Giuliano.
Gabriella鈥檚 college friends who鈥檇 been there when she first met Dan in Scotland came along to celebrate.
鈥淚t was a fun reunion,鈥 says Gabriella.
Gabriella and Dan鈥檚 wedding celebration was characterized by happy tears.
鈥淲hen I walked in, we were both crying,鈥 says Gabriella. 鈥淒an cried when he saw me. I was crying the moment I walked in anyway. So it was just really sweet.鈥
Dan didn鈥檛 know much Italian 鈥 despite his best efforts to learn. He鈥檇 started calling Gabriella 鈥渕i amore鈥 鈥 which, as Gabriella pointed out to him, is 鈥済rammatically wrong.鈥 But she found it adorable.
鈥淚 had that engraved inside my wedding ring,鈥 she says. 鈥淎nd then I call him 鈥榮weetie.鈥 So he has 鈥榮weetie鈥 inside his ring.鈥
While Dan struggled with Italian, he wanted Gabriella to hear wedding vows in her first language.
So he wrote down what he wanted to say, translated the phrases into Italian and memorized them.
鈥淚t was just very, very sweet,鈥 says Gabriella.
At the wedding, Gabriella and Dan also shared with their guests some additional happy news 鈥 Gabriella was pregnant.
鈥淚t was cute for us to announce it at the wedding,鈥 says Gabriella.
A big step
Newly married, Gabriella and Dan started a new chapter together in the U.S. They were excited to be together, and thrilled about the upcoming birth of their child.
But for Gabriella, moving abroad was tough.
鈥淚 know a lot of people dream of moving to the States, but it wasn鈥檛 one of my dreams,鈥 she says. 鈥淚t was pretty tough because Chicago is a super-duper cold place.鈥
Gabriella was aware, before she moved, that relocating across the world was a big step. She wanted to be with Dan, but she knew she鈥檇 miss Italy and her family and friends.
Before making the decision, Gabriella spoke with her mother, who she figured would be able to empathize with her mixed emotions.
Gabriella鈥檚 mother was from Brazil, and her father is from Italy. In the mid-1970s, Gabriella鈥檚 mother moved across the globe from Brazil to Italy to be with him. The couple met a few years earlier when Gabriella鈥檚 dad was visiting Rio de Janeiro.
鈥淪he showed him around Rio and he said he would come back in two years and marry her,鈥 says Gabriella. 鈥淭wo years later they were in fact married. I of course don鈥檛 know all the details, as a kid I thought it was the most romantic story ever.鈥
Her parents鈥 love story meant Gabriella grew up thinking 鈥渢he idea of someone moving away to be with someone鈥 wasn鈥檛 鈥渃ompletely implausible.鈥 But it also meant Gabriella knew some of the challenges of leaving one鈥檚 own country behind.
Gabriella鈥檚 mother cautioned Gabriella to consider the decision carefully.
鈥淪he did say that I had to think about it, because it was a big choice to move.鈥
But Gabriella鈥檚 mother also told her daughter to follow her heart. Her dad agreed.
鈥淭hey both saw that Dan was special and very committed 鈥 the love was showing,鈥 says Gabriella. 鈥淭hey liked him right away.鈥
As Gabriella and Dan established their family in the U.S. 鈥 welcoming their first child in 2009 and their second a few years later 鈥 they made regular trips back to Italy to visit whenever they could. Gabriella taught her children Italian and educated them on their Brazilian heritage.
And while adjusting to cold Chicago was tough, Gabriella credits moving to the U.S. with discovering an unexpected new career.
She鈥檇 always loved drawing and doodling, but until she lived in the U.S., she never considered turning that hobby into a job. Living in Italy, she associated art with 鈥淢ichelangelo.鈥
鈥淔or good or bad, there鈥檚 the weight of Italian history and all the art that came before,鈥 says Gabriella.
Calling herself an artist in Italy felt wrong. But in the U.S., she found a 鈥渄ifferent mentality.鈥 To Gabriella, American art and design felt 鈥渁 lot more innovative.鈥
So when her kids were little, Gabriella went back to school to study children鈥檚 book illustration. Now she draws for a living.
Life today
Today, Gabriella and Dan live in Seattle with their two teenage kids. They moved to Seattle a couple of years ago, and realized the landscape reminded them a bit of Scotland, the place where they鈥檇 first met and fell in love.
鈥淲e were both so drawn to it, because there鈥檚 a similarity 鈥 not only the weather, it鈥檚 kind of rainy, gray 鈥 but also the ocean, the rocks, the wilderness,鈥 says Gabriella.
While Gabriella and Dan haven鈥檛 returned to Scotland together, they would love to. They want to go to Skye and make it to the top of the Old Man of Storr this time round.
In the meantime, they鈥檝e been focusing on exploring new places together.
鈥淲e have that in common that we like to travel a lot, explore new things, new places,鈥 says Gabriella.
While a love of adventure unites them, Gabriella and Dan insist they鈥檙e quite different in many other ways. He鈥檚 a self-described computer programming 鈥渘erd.鈥 She鈥檚 passionate about art and music. He鈥檚 a romantic. She鈥檚 more pragmatic.
But there鈥檚 鈥渟omething deeper that we have in common,鈥 as Gabriella puts it.
鈥淢aybe just our perspective on what is important in life,鈥 says Gabriella. 鈥淲e both think that our family is the first thing 鈥 our kids are the first thing 鈥 and not work.鈥
They support each other through the tough times too, such as when Gabriella鈥檚 mother passed away in 2022.
Today, after 15 years of marriage, Gabriella likes to say her relationship with Dan is a 鈥渧acation fling gone wrong.鈥
鈥淏ecause a vacation fling, it鈥檚 supposed to end on vacation,鈥 she says, laughing. 鈥淗ow crazy that is that he鈥檚 the guy that I met in Scotland on that trip and we鈥檙e married and have kids and we鈥檙e happy.鈥
Dan says if you told 22-year-old him, sitting on the Old Man of Storr next to Gabriella, that he鈥檇 end up married to this Italian stranger, he鈥檇 have absolutely believed you. He never got over that first meeting.
鈥淚 immediately felt that connection,鈥 he says, adding that reuniting with Gabriella and building a life with her feels like 鈥渨inning the lottery.鈥
鈥淚 feel incredibly lucky to have met Gabi back in 2002 and incredibly lucky that we reconnected again years later,鈥 says Dan. 鈥淚 would not be who I am today without having had her by my side.鈥
鈥淚 also feel like we were incredibly lucky,鈥 says Gabriella. 鈥淚 look at my kids and think about all the incredible coincidences that had to happen just for them to be here now and it blows my mind.
鈥淚 can鈥檛 believe how lucky we have been, but also I think that when you know you know. I鈥檓 glad I followed my heart.鈥
