By Francesca Street, CNN
(CNN) — The Beefeaters made her do it.
Carrin Schottler was trying to focus on the centuries of British history at the Tower of London. Imposing white stone towers. Impressive armor. Ravens circling turrets.
She was in a tour group with about a dozen people. The tour guide was talking, but Carrin kept losing focus: there was one guy in the group she couldn’t take her eyes off.
“I saw this really, very good-looking man. My heart skipped a beat…” Carrin tells CNN Travel today.
Ever since she’d noticed him, Carrin couldn’t stop stealing glances. She kept smiling at the stranger. She couldn’t help it.
Every time she looked over, she took in something new. She noticed his clothing: white shirt, oversized blazer and dress pants.
“He can’t be American,” thought Carrin, assessing the outfit. Even in Carrin’s native New York, twentysomething guys didn’t really dress like that.
Carrin was over from the US for a semester studying abroad in London. It was September 1994. September, 30, 1994, to be precise.
“That day, I was with a girlfriend, and we were either going to see Harrods for the first time, or we were going to go on a tour at the Tower of London for the first time,” recalls Carrin.
The Tower of London won out. The two friends were intrigued by the history. This stone fortress has been in the same spot on London’s riverbank since 1066 and has seen centuries of tumultuous events play out within its walls.
That day in 1994, Carrin shuffled around the stone buildings and through historic, cobblestone courtyards, hearing about kings and queens, riots and executions, and taking absolutely nothing in. Instead, she just looked for opportunities to meet eyes with the man in the blazer.
Eventually, Carrin found herself standing next to him. She looked up at him, smiling. He smiled back.
“And we then just start talking,” she recalls. “We ask where each other are from, and we just start chatting about our lives.”
Chemistry and connection
The stranger in the blazer introduced himself as Paul Thal, a 23-year-old study abroad student from Sweden. He was enrolled in a college in Manchester, in the north of England, and he’d come down to London for a weekend of sightseeing.
Paul noticed Carrin at the beginning of the Tower of London tour.
“I saw Carrin, scoped her out a little bit,” he tells CNN Travel today. “And then we started talking, and I thought it was just so nice. It just kind of built from there.”
As Carrin and Paul chatted, Carrin’s friend Heather kept meeting Carrin’s eye and suggestively raising an eyebrow. The chemistry and connection were obvious.
Heather also gave Paul an enthusiastic nod of encouragement on a couple of occasions, trying to move things along. Meanwhile, Paul was conscious he wanted to “be close, but not, like, creepy close” and was trying to strike that balance. He didn’t want to misinterpret friendly politeness for interest. Heather realized the would-be couple needed some cheerleading.
“She had no problem turning around and grinning at Paul, and making it obvious,” recalls Carrin, laughing.
And as it turned out, Carrin and Paul’s connection wasn’t just apparent to Heather.
The Tower of London is the base for some 35 serving Yeoman Warders, royal bodyguards known as “Beefeaters,” who act as the landmark’s ceremonial guardians. Besuited in red and blue with traditional hats, they cut a striking figure. The “Beefeater” name comes from the daily meat ration they were traditionally given, back in the day.
For Tower of London tourists, a photo with a grinning Beefeater is a must-have souvenir. And Carrin and Paul were no different. Towards the end of the tour, they both took turns posing between two of Yeoman Warders and g