Now that our birth announcement has made it's way around the world, it's time to share it with everyone online. 
Meet our little girl, Eva Florence! 

Ahh maternity photos! I spent hours drooling over beach belly photos on Pintrest and wanted to created something special to remember my pregnancy in Spain. So what better location then the beautiful Playa de las Catedrales! My mom, the talented photographer, took the photos while I pranced around the beach during a low tide. We were lucky to arrive just in time as the sun was setting, as well as to a completely empty beach (much less editing in Photoshop!) 
Here are a couple of my favorite shots from our little session. Enjoy! 

An interview with Asturian TV. 
Grateful for the feature, thank you so much! 

 

For the original article click on the photo above. 
For the translated version click here.

While traveling to Spain, I had two options for a night layover destination, Istanbul or Copenhagen. I quickly crossed off the connection in Istanbul, sorry Turkey! I know you are a beautiful country, BUT in all fairness Denmark seemed like a safer choice for a night layover, especially for a pregnant lady traveling alone :)  So on a freezing Chicago night, I boarded a SAS flight to the beautiful, colorful and less freezing Copenhagen!  

The flight was smooth and upon my arrival to the Copenhagen Airport, I took the subway (straight from the airport terminal) to the beautiful area of Nyhavn. This colorful 17th century waterfront has been turned into the entertainment district of Copenhagen. The canal has dozens of beautifully restored 17th and 18th century houses as well as a plethora of bars, restaurants and cafes. Docked on the canal are stunning historical wooden ships as well as newer vessels that provided guided tours. Even on a Sunday afternoon the area was vibrant and buzzing with people of all ages. The outdoor cafes were packed. Yes, outdoors. Even with this cold weather people still enjoyed food and a warm beverage outside. Amazing!

Don't I look lovely.... tired and just getting over a cold but taking in the sights nonetheless! Plus I was quickly over it after I discovered an outdoor Christmas market. Have I mentioned how much I love European Christmas markets?! The little shops, the food stands, the smells and overall atmosphere is simply magical. While walking around admiring the holiday festivities, I just had to stop for some hot chocolate and a fresh waffle. Yum! And yes, I secretly wished my hot chocolate would magically turn into glögg (mulled-wine)! Ha! Maybe next time. 

I even caught a parade of old firetrucks though the Nyhavn.

As well as Santa Clause and Mrs. Clause enjoying some hot chocolate on the canal!

After my afternoon walk, I wandered back to the hotel for a hot bath and a little rest. When I came back out the streets were empty! There were a few people strolling but mostly everything was closed. So I walked around the Indre By area, checked out Christmas window displays and attended a night mass at the Church of the Holy Ghost (Helligåndskirken) by complete accident. I was mainly trying to get out of the cold and figured that walking into a church for a couple of minutes would do the trick. I was pleasantly surprised because it turned out that not only was the church warm and cozy but I was also able to enjoy some unique holiday carols at one of the oldest churches in Copenhagen!

On the walk back to the hotel I decided to end my night with a Copenhagen hot dog! I was told by a couple of people that I had to try this delicious take on a traditional classic. And it was delicious! A hot dog with special sauce (spicy mayo perhaps?) served inside a warm baguette. Yum! Ahh the things we try while traveling abroad.... ;)

So after my quick stay in Copenhagen, I realized two things: 1. Scandinavia is absolutely beautiful!! The people are friendly, the streets are clean and you can just feel a sense of community and old world heritage at every turn. 
And 2. 19 hours is DEFINITELY not enough time to enjoy the beauty of this marvelous city. 
So I will be dragging Dan and our baby girl to Denmark in the near future! Can't wait! 

Keep wandering on...

I don't know what I expected from Northern Spain, it's not an area that gets much world recognition or gets put on the "must-see" or "must-travel-to" lists. Everyone that I talked to that has traveled to Spain has instantly fell in love with the culture, food and way of life. But for me, for the first time in our six years abroad, I wanted to keep my guard up and not experience the country through other people's stories. I wanted a completely clean slate - no research - no travel advice - just me, getting on a plane heading to Oviedo.... and seeing what this Spanish lifestyle is all about.  

Oviedo is a charming town, nestled between the Cantabrian Sea and the Cantabrian Mountains. The city is the capital of the Asturias region and has about 200,000 inhabitants. It's covered with colorful houses - purple, olive green, blue, yellow and red - some tiled and some painted. The colorful houses are supposed to bring joy and color to a city in which winter months can be overcast and rainy. 

Oviedo has old world charm with cobblestone streets, fountains, historical buildings and it's famous cathedral. The Gothic cathedral of Oviedo, is a prominent structure in the city skyline. The light yellow cathedral was restored in the 12th century, on the grounds of a pre-romanesque 9th century church. The original parts of church are still visible inside the cathedral's cloister and are even listed on the World Heritage Site list. The Oviedo Cathedral is not only stunning to look at but legend has it that in 718, the King of Spain Alfonso II brought the cloth that was used to cover and clean the face of Jesus after his crucifixion to Oviedo. The religious relic remained hidden for years and finally on March 14th, 1075, the chest containing the cloth was officially opened and has remained inside the cathedral ever since. This religious relic, along with many others is housed inside the Holy Chamber of the cathedral.

Life in Oviedo moves slowly, stores are closed between 2-4, people stroll down the cobblestone streets often holding hands. Coffee is sipped at a leisurely pace, sitting at a cafe or restaurant watching the world go by. No one is in a hurry, even people stuck in traffic seem content. No honking, flashing lights, and remarkably, even letting other cars go in front of them. (Such a foreign concept to me being from Chicago and being used to aggressive driving!)

Pedestrians always have a right of way. 

People work to live, take in every moment and seem content doing the simple things in life.

Food is fresh and wine is cheap. It is totally acceptable to drink wine or the local Asturian speciality of sidra at lunch and then go back to work. Tapas and pinchos are served when one orders drinks (Even at discotecas!).  Food and drink are enjoyed, not swallowed quickly. Dinner can last a couple of hours with no one being in a hurry. Conversation is always plentiful and laughter is abundant. 

People are friendly, open, welcoming and willing to help. It has been remarkably easy for us to make new friends and even snatch a couple of dinner invitations along the way.

Once you leave the city all you will see is rolling hills with grazing life stock; sheep, horses, and cows with big Swiss looking bells. There are deep valleys with jagged rock formations covered by lush forests. 

When driving through the countryside one can notice an abundance of Asturian storage huts attached to houses or converted into garages. These elevated part wood - part stone structures, serve as excess food storage during the winter months and prevent any critters from getting in to the food supply. 

Northern Spain is friendly and full of culture. It's rich in it's traditions of fishing, farming and cheese making. The mountains and coast line make it  a unique natural retreat with hiking paths, outdoor sports and a plethora of beautiful scenery.

During our time in Spain, we have learned to slow down. To eat dinner and lunch for a couple of hours at a time. To take siestas in the middle of the day and stay out till 3 am. We learned that life is not about how much you aquire but it's about the experiences you have along the way. Our Spanish life has reminded us that the best pleasures in life are simple.

If you plan to travel to Asturias, you must try the regional speciality drink called sidra. This tart yet sweet natural hard cider can be found in siderias and other local restaurants all over the region. Sidra is considered to be the regional "wine" of Asturias and has been produced from local apples since ancient times. It has a relatively low alcohol content, somewhere between 4.5-6%, and is best enjoyed on warm days since it's served chilled. 

During our holiday break we were able to travel to the small town of Nava, which is known as the cider making capital of the world, for a private sidra tour at the Sidra Viuda de Corsino! 

The tour was very fascinating, with the owner explaining the sidra making process as well as giving us some interesting facts about the beverage. This llagar, cider-house, was founded in 1875 and has been producing some of the best sidra in Asturias! 

The wooden barrels you see above have been used in the sidra fermenting process for dozes of years. Every couple of months the inside has to be cleaned out, so a worker has to crawl inside that tiny opening and hose down the barrels. Yikes! The opening was only big enough to fit a medium sized dog. How anyone could squeeze in there was beyond me?! But hey, people fit and sometimes get drunk off the remaining fumes of the cidra. Not a bad day at work! Ha!  

Modern apple press as well as stainless steel fermentation barrels. 

Lovely tour and best of all, a little tasting of sidra directly from the barrel! 
In typical Asturias fashion, our group shared only one glass between us all. 
We each had our own tasting of sidra but from the same glass. 
Sidra: The Asturias peace pipe! 

Sidra is unlike any other alcoholic beverage we have ever tried, not only taste-wise but there is a certain presentation and etiquette involved during it's consumption.  

Okay, totally kidding! Barnacles are not our favorite but at least we can add them to our list of "food we never thought we would try." These dinosaur- like claws are very expensive (50 Euros a kilo!) and most Spaniards only eat them once a year on Christmas. To us, they don't taste like much. I would definitely opt out and recommend trying a delicious Asturias cheese and cured ham plate to go along with your sidra! Enjoy and happy drinking! 

Woohoo, to my first ever pregnancy post! When I first became pregnant I had all of these grand ideas about blogging about a health pregnancy, giving food advice, and sharing pre-natal yoga poses. I wanted to document my journey into motherhood and thought a blog would be a great idea. Well, my grand plan quickly got thrown out the window because those first three months of pregnancy were miserable! I was beyond tired, going to bed at 7 pm. I was constantly nauseated and had awful food aversions. Nothing looked good enough to eat and all my healthy eating habits quickly got replaced by eating only bread with butter. My regular favorite foods, including most veggies, made me gag, and the smell of other food made me dash to the bathroom right away! I was loosing weight, feeling tired and praying that the next 7 months would be smoother. 

I had a very hard time connecting to our baby girl. The only time I would feel great about pregnancy, would be after leaving the doctor's office, where I was able to see her move and hear her heart beat. I had a little baby growing inside me and all I wanted to do was hide underneath the covers and sleep all day. Needless to say, I felt beyond guilty. So, not the greatest beginning to my pregnancy journey...

On January 6th (Three Kings Day), I finally started to get back into my yoga routine. I put on a pregnancy yoga dvd and slowly started to dive into poses, which was refreshing to finally be able to move with my breath and not worry that inverting my head would make me nauseous. During the final pose, shavasana, the best thing ever happened! While laying on the floor completely relaxed, I felt our baby move for the first time! At first I thought it was just a muscle spasm but then it happened again and again all over my stomach. Our little girl was stretching and kicking! The feeling so was magical. I laid on the floor, with my hands on my stomach, crying. I couldn't stop! The tears just kept flowing out. I hated being pregnant those first three to four months, I hated the nausea, the food aversions, constantly feeling tired and not being able to connect to our baby. I felt guilty for not embracing my pregnancy. But those little January movements changed everything...it made everything worth it! I finally felt connected and didn't even care if I spent the next couple of months praying to the porcelain gods! For the first time my pregnancy felt real. Nothing has ever felt more right than just laying on the floor in our Spanish apartment, crying, smiling, laughing and feeling her kick!!!

Since January 6th, she has been moving and kicking like crazy. I swear, we will have one active child on our hands! On certain days anytime I sit down, she gives me playful kick to remind me she is in there. I absolutely love putting my hands on my belly to  feel her move and kick. I am so in love with those little kicks! Dan loves them as well and constantly puts his hands on my belly and talks to her. She responds by stretching out and doing what feels like pirouettes in my stomach. It's such a magical time and we are truly thankful to be taking it all in, one moment at a time!