Barga Blues Festival and The Devil's Bridge

The pool- there was an amazing view of Barga and the
surrounding mountains.

This past weekend we took a little road trip down to a small town called Barga. It's in Tuscany, in the province of Lucca. It's about 40 km from the sea, so we thought we might spend some time at the beach. When we saw how nice the hotel was, we scrapped that idea and sat by the pool all weekend. It was great!!

Barga in the evening

The great thing about Tuscany is that there seems to be a festival going on every weekend in the summer. This weekend was no exception. There was a bbq and blues festival going on in Barga, and it was really fun! They had bands set up in all of the little squares, tables selling things, the stores were open and the entire city showed up to celebrate the occasion. Surprisingly, there are a lot of young families in Barga- we couldn't walk down a street without getting held up because there were a bunch of strollers blocking traffic. It was a little unusual for me. When we go to these small towns in Italy, the population always seems to be older and we don't see as many young adults. Maybe they are all hiding when we go to the small towns? It was fun to see some people our age!

Some interesting art we found in the city- painted umbrellas

This was the car for Trattoria di Riccardo
LOL

This was a sign we followed to find one of the bands playing
in the city, they also had a pork roast and other yummy foods 

One of the popular places that night- we counted between 5 or 6
strollers that were just hanging out by the this bar. There was a
serious traffic jam!

Another fun part of this weekend was seeing the "Devil's Bridge" (really it's called Maddalena's Bridge) on Saturday. The morning was overcast, so we took advantage and went to see the bridge before lying by the pool in the sunny afternoon. It was only about 15 km away from our hotel near a town called Borgo a Mozzano, so it was a quick and easy car ride. This thing is crazy! You see pictures and think it looks interesting, but when you actually climb the bridge, it's unbelievable how steep it really is. It took me a while to climb it with the preggo belly. I think Ragnar would be interested in seeing this bridge- he's a bridge engineer in Drammen.

The Devil's Bridge

Here is the local legend (found on The Florentine, but most versions I've found have the same story):

"Popular legend that tells the story of a clever and respected master builder who lived in a village on the banks of the River Serchio. The villagers asked him to build a bridge to connect their village with the one across the river. He set to work immediately, but he soon realised that the construction was not progressing as quickly as he had promised. Being a man of honour and wanting to keep his word, he became very unhappy and quite desperate. He continued working very hard, day and night, to finish the task within the time agreed upon in the contract, but the work proceeded very slowly. The days flew by.

The arch on the far left was added on to allow traffic through

One evening, while the master builder was sitting alone on the banks of the Serchio, looking at the work that was still to be done and thinking of the shame he would suffer for not having completed it on time, the devil appeared to him in the form of a respectable businessman. He approached the master builder and said he could finish the bridge in a single night-if the builder would promise him the soul of the first one who crossed the bridge when it was completed. The builder accepted the proposal.

The steep climb up to the top

The following day, the village had its beautiful bridge that can still be seen today near Borgo a Mozzano. The townspeople were astonished and delighted. When they went to congratulate the builder, he ordered them not to cross the bridge before sunset. Then, worried about his deal with the devil, he set off on his horse for Lucca to ask the bishop (who became Saint Frediano), for advice. This saintly man told him not to worry: he should let a pig cross the bridge first. That is just what the builder did. The devil, furious at having been tricked, threw himself into the waters of the Serchio." After the devil returned to the water, it was said that if you stand on the bridge gazing into the water for too long, the devil would rise up and take you, still looking for that one soul that he was promised.

We spent a lot of time admiring the bridge; after all it was completed before or around 1100! Since then, it has had one or two restorations due to damage from flooding, and they added an archway along one side of the bridge for traffic to drive under, but otherwise it's construction is the original. It was a part of the Roman Road from France and people would use this bridge on their pilgrimage. It was fun to think of all of the people from history that could have crossed it. For example, I recently read a book about Eleanor of Aquitaine. She passed through this area a few times, once on the second crusade. She could have crossed this bridge with an army of crusaders.

Our view from the room on Sunday morning, the mountains
reminded us of the Dolomites. They were a lot bigger than
I thought they would be!

After three days of relaxing by the pool and enjoying Barga, we headed home. It was a fun weekend!! I'm looking forward to going back to Barga next year. If we are still living in Italy at that time, we plan to come back for the Blues festival next summer.

8 weeks to go!!

31 weeks, 4 days in Barga on Friday

Today I am 32 weeks pregnant, and there are only 8 weeks to go! Holy cow. This past weekend we took a little road trip down to Tuscany and spent the weekend in a town called Barga. It's in the province of Lucca, not far from Pisa. During the weekend we spent the days by the pool (I got fried... and look a little bit like a lobster), and then spent the evenings in Barga. They had a really fun blues festival this weekend so the town was packed with people, strollers, and little squares with amazing bands playing. It was really fun! The only downside is that I get tired so early these days that we couldn't stick around to enjoy all of the fun.

The past week has been interesting for me. I had two doctors appointments, one regular checkup to look at blood test results and make sure Bambino and I are healthy. During that appointment they also gave me a nasty shot to protect Bambino- my hip is still sore from that and it was on Tuesday of last week!! The shot was because my blood type has a negative RH factor, and Josh's is a positive RH factor. Since Bambino's blood type could have taken a positive RH factor from Josh, it could create some problems for us this trimester. The shot is some sort of antibody to prevent any complications with our blood types if they are different. They'll also do this again at the delivery to prevent anything from happening. They also took my weight and they were happy to know that I didn't gain too much since my last check up, only 1 kg.

The other appointment last week was my third trimester ultrasound where they printed off more pictures of Bambino. They also took measurements to see how he/she is growing to make sure everything is on track. This was a shocker! Not because they took the measurements, but because of what they found... As it turns out, Bambino is 2.2 kg according to the measurements!! That's about 4.8 pounds... This is a lot bigger than Bambino is supposed to be at this point! Apparently he/she is only supposed to weigh about 3.5 pounds. The doctor asked us how big we were when we were babies, and when we told her I was around 8 lbs and Josh was about 9 lbs, she seemed to understand that it could just be genetics. At the same time, she wants me to go back in three weeks for another ultrasound to be sure Bambino isn't growing too much, and again she emphasized eating a low carb diet with less sugars and lots of protein. Everything is normal otherwise- no gestational diabetes, blood results are normal, and I've been eating healthy and exercising every day. So, I guess it's just my destiny to have a big baby!!


31 weeks, 5 days on the Devil's Bridge-
I'll post more about the bridge on my next
entry. It's pretty amazing!

Something I've been thinking about a lot lately is the actual delivery. It's only a few weeks away and I'm trying to decide what I want to do- all natural, some pain meds, or get the epidural. I've been doing a lot of research and trying to get as much information as possible, and it turns out that I definitely don't want the epidural. Some of you may think I'm crazy, but I just don't think it's for me. I'm trying to do things to prepare for it, so if those moms out there who have done a natural birth (well, without an epidural) have advice, I am all ears!!

On another quick side note... if you are pregnant and have back aches, start swimming on a regular basis! Being in the pool this weekend and swimming was amazing. It took ALL of the pressure off of my back, and I could swim without getting the cramps that I get while walking. My back feels really good right now and it doesn't hurt as bad as it usually does. Not to mention it's a relief for my joints as well. I would highly recommend swimming as a regular form of exercise for the pregnant ladies. It also makes you feel like a normal size person again!  :)

30 years and 30 weeks

So, the past week has brought two big miles stones- turning 30 and hitting the 30 week mark with Bambino! I can't believe how time has flown by so fast... and I can't believe I'm no longer in my 20's! It's a little strange, but at the same time I feel like my 30's have some pretty amazing things in store for me. A few months ago my friend Laura turned 30 (if you remember our celebration in Amsterdam), and she talked about all of the things that she has accomplished in the past decade. That got me thinking about all of the life changing events that have happened over the past ten years...

1. Turning 21 (and partying a lot!)
2. Graduating from Undergrad and entering the "Real World"
3. Starting a full time job (and trying to keep a full time job between layoffs and jobs that weren't a good fit for me)
4. Moving out of my parent’s house and into a small apartment with my friend Holly (oh the memories!)
5. Meeting and marrying the love of my life!!
6. Becoming a home owner
7. Starting, and finishing, my MBA
8. Uprooting my life to move to Italy
9. Being able to travel all around Europe and to Northern Africa
10. Learning a new language
11. Finally... Becoming pregnant!!

I always thought that I wanted to start having children before I turned 30, but now I think this will be the perfect kick off to start my 30's! This will be a new decade focused on new priorities, where my 20's were focused mainly on my education and starting a career. Now, I think the next decade will focus on family and further development of my career.

The past few weeks have been really fun with Bambino. Bambino is supposed to be almost 16 inches long by now, and I can definitely feel it! I feel the feet up by my ribs, and the head close to my hip. It's easy to tell that Bambino is growing! I've felt really great lately, but fatigue is becoming more prevalent. It seems that the growth Bambino is experiencing is draining my energy.

After reviewing the results of that awful glucose tolerance test, the results were normal. So, I don't have gestational diabetes- yay! I was a little worried about that after the test.

My mom and Holly threw a baby shower/bbq for Josh and I when we were in MN a couple of weeks ago, and it was so great seeing all of our friends!! It was fun to catch up with people that we hadn't seen in almost a year (or more). When I get the pictures I'll post them for you all to see. I've been busy trying to put all of those things away and organizing our guest room so I've been a little distracted...

Cravings? Hmm... I'm always craving sweets, but I've cut back quite a bit which has actually helped to curb the cravings. Now I just want yogurt, peanut butter toast, and healthy stuff.

Exercise? I've started doing yoga again after a few weeks off, and it's great. I also try to walk everyday. It's becoming a little difficult because my feet now swell almost every night because of the summer heat and extra weight. I just need to keep exercising to keep the blood flowing.

We've also started putting together the nursery for Bambino, and it's taken over a corner of our guest room. It's starting to come together though! We now have the furniture, but still need a few minor things and it would be nice to put up some cute pictures on the wall to make it complete. It's hard though with concrete walls that you can't paint! We'll figure something out though.

Ok, that's all for now! Hopefully I can post something about my brothers wedding and the baby shower in MN soon. Stay tuned...

Italians love a pregnant woman!

So, I keep meaning to include these stories in one of my updates, but the pregnant brain must be taking over because I keep forgetting :)

People in Italy love a pregnant woman! Especially the older ladies... I have to share these fun stories because I think they're great!! Women in Italy ALWAYS want to tell you what they think you are having (maschio o femmina- male or female). At the grocery store one day I was waiting patiently in line and a woman asked me if I wanted to go ahead of her (this is customary here- pregnant woman get precedence and can butt to the front of any line! I may have to take advantage of this at some point...). I was ok waiting so I politely told her no thank you, go ahead. She then proceeded to tell me that she was so excited, congratulations/best wishes, and she thinks its a boy- "Tanti auguri! È maschio!!" The lady was super nice and I love when people say "Auguri!", but I thought it was really funny that she had to tell me that she thinks its a boy.

Another day I was walking on the curb to the bus stop nearby and a lady in a car on the street rolled down her window to shout "È maschio!" I looked at her and said "Scusa??" She repeated, "È maschio!!" She was an older lady that I have never seen or met before, but she thought it was necessary to tell me she thinks I'm having a boy. I just looked at her and smiled, maybe even gave a little giggle. I laughed most of the day about that one. The fact that the woman took the time to roll down her window and tell me what she thought, it was pretty funny.

Other than that, women in Italy really do understand that pregnant women need a seat on the bus or the metro, and have a hard time standing for long periods of time. They are SO nice!! It's always the women that offer me their seat when riding public transportation (guys aren't very observant, so they usually don't get up). Even this morning, a lady working at the grocery store pulled me to the front of the very long line at check out so I didn't have to wait. I am so grateful to these women!! Right now it's a small kindness that I appreciate but don't necessarily need yet. I have a feeling that in a month or so, I will need that kindness!! So, I am very thankful for Italian women! They are so sweet!!

Norway: The final installment

After our long day on the road in Norway, we decided to sleep in on Sunday morning and enjoy a lazy day at the cabin. The view was incredible! Mountains all around, and we were up in the permafrost area so it was chilly! Luckily the cabin had lots of heat to keep us warm. The cabin is amazing- where it's located they don't have electricity or running water yet, so they bring in all of their water, and use a generator for the TV (when they use it). But they do have the option to take a shower due to the system they have, and they do have running water in the sinks in the summer time.

We went for a walk around the area and it started raining/sleeting! It wasn't raining hard, and the sleet was more like snow- it was June 3rd! We couldn't believe how cold it was, but we still had fun! Josh even played with Mia a bit and raced her back to the cabin. After a fun day relaxing, we went back to Drammen for the night and had some delicious pizza :)

Trollbu is the name of the cabin- there were trolls pictured
inside in some interesting places- the napkin holder, on the wall...
This is how they bought the cabin.

Josh and Mia

On Monday Josh and I headed into Drammen to see the city. It is a cute little town with a small square in the center, a shopping mall and a nice walking path along the river. Ragnar picked us up after lunch and brought us up the "Spiralen" which is an engineering marvel- they carved a tunnel out of the mountain in a spiral shape. Instead of going straight through the mountain, you go up to the top!! It's like the spiral entrance/exit in a car ramp, only you're in what looks like a TNT blasted tunnel. At the top was an amazing view of Drammen and we even took a little walk on the paths up there. It was like being in northern MN, only on top of a mountain.

Looking at the Drammen River

Ragnar pointing out their house on the other side of the valley

Bambino in Norway!

This bridge is famous and has won awards- the Y bridge
It is for foot traffic only and is pretty amazing!

We also met up with Sissel when she was finished with work, had dinner in Drammen (at the restaurant where they met), then Sissel took us on a tour of the Lier Valley. This was really fun for me because my namesake (Maren Granheim, my great grandmother) was from the Lier valley before moving to the north shore with her husband. Sissel even drove us by the farm where her family lived!  The valley was lit up beautifully with the evening sun, and we enjoyed a nice drive through the area. It was so much fun to see where my Norwegian relatives come from!! Being in Norway really felt like home to me and I could easily live there. The country is so beautiful!! But as they say, all good things come to an end. The next morning we had to leave very early for the airport to catch our flight.

Looking across the valley at Maren's farm

Looking towards Drammen from the Lier Valley

Thanks again to Ragnar and Sissel for being such wonderful hosts!! We had an amazing time and can't wait to come back again soon! Also, thanks to "Auntie Sissel" for Bambino's first stuffed animal!

Elgar the moose- I love his Norwegian sweater with matching
socks! He's too cute! Thanks Sissel!!

Welcome to the third trimester!

Wow! Yesterday marked the 28 week mark with Bambino and I am now in the third trimester! There are only 12 weeks to go!

27 weeks, 5 days
(this past Saturday)
I feel like I'm carrying a bowling
ball these days! Especially since
my belly goes straight out.

Things are starting to get more fun with Bambino. I can feel him/her moving regularly and we are finally starting to prepare things for when Bambino moves in. This past week we were in Minnesota visiting family, and friends. My friend Holly and my mom even organized a little baby shower/BBQ for our close friends (and a few family members). In addition to that, my brother had a wedding ceremony for those of us that couldn't make it to the ceremony in Florida. The trip home was amazing and I am so grateful for all of the amazing people in my life, friends and family. It makes coming back to Italy difficult because I can't see them every day.

Back to the pregnancy stuff... The past few weeks have had some ups and some downs, but overall I'm still feeling great. At 26 weeks I had an appointment with my Doctor that was emotionally tough. After they weighed me in and found out that I had gained 11 kg (about 24 pounds) my doctor looked at me and said "you've gained too much weight!" I think it was definitely something that came out wrong with the language barrier, but it was like someone hit me with a ton of bricks! I've been eating healthy (with the exception of the sweets...) and exercising. I couldn't believe she was telling me that I had gained too much weight already! Her main concern was that she doesn't want me to gain too much weight and have complications later on, so she told me to cut back on the sweets and carbs. Ok, I can cut back on sweets, but I honestly didn't think I ate that many carbs... Between that and EVERYONE telling me at this point how BIG I am, it was everything I could do not to burst into tears at the appointment. Josh witnessed the whole thing and makes fun of me for it because he thinks I'm doing just fine.

In addition to being told that I've gained too much weight, she also told me that she wanted me to take the glucose tolerance test. So, I had that done the next day. Man, that is one disgusting drink they give you!! I took the 75 mg test where they take your blood three times over two hours (once before drinking the nasty stuff, once after one hour and finally after two hours). That stuff made me feel so icky- nauseous, and light headed, I even started to sweat a little. It certainly did a number on my body- I felt strange for the next day or so. I'm so glad that's over! I have the results, but don't know if they are normal. So, I have to go in to speak with the doctor tomorrow (this is standard procedure in Italy, you have to pick up your results from the hospital, then show them to your doctor). I think everything is good, but we'll see.

Some things that I've been able to learn about Bambino- last Monday we were on the boat at Josh's grandpa's cabin and Bambino loved it! The entire time we were on a boat Bambino thought it was play time. He/she was kicking, and doing summersaults. It was pretty fun. Bambino seems to be on a schedule now of sleep/play time. If babies are anything like they are in the womb, he/she will want to eat, then have play time. I swear, every time I eat Bambino starts moving like crazy! I've come to call this play time :)

Other things that have been happening... My feet swelled again on the flight back to Milan (not really a problem going to MN though). So, right now they look more like paddles than feet. But, thankfully it’s going down slowly. My hips have been sore on some nights, coincidentally it happens when I travel. But the pants I wore on the plane to MN now feel a little tight. I'm pretty sure my hips widened again last week. The nesting urge is starting to become real. After I purchased a bunch of stuff for Bambino last week I felt so much better! We still have a few things to purchase (furniture, a bath tub, and a few misc. things), but I feel like we are on our way to being prepared. It's a great feeling! Now I'm busy with laundry and re-organizing our apartment to make room for Bambino.

I'm so excited about the upcoming months and can't wait to have our apartment ready for bringing the little guy/girl home. And I'm so excited for my cousin Jenna who is due in the next week- I hope things for her go well and she has a safe delivery! Also, congratulations to Sissel and Ragnar who became grandparents this week! Babies are everywhere it seems!

My mom, Sissel (in her traditional Norwegian garb for my
brothers wedding), just two of the amazing women in my life!

Norway Part 2: Saturday



Morning ice cream!

Saturday: a tour of Western Norway! We started the day leaving Sissel and Ragnar's house in Drammen really early that morning and started heading west to Laerdal. We made a few stops on the way for some ice cream and coffee (at 10:30AM... oh it was so good!), and of course we had to stop for pictures. There was also the Stave Church, beautiful scenery, and even snow!! After lunch in Hemsedal and the Stave Church, we arrived in Laerdal for a three hour tour of the Sognefjord and Naeroyfjordden. It was awesome! Every time we turned around we wanted a picture. Unfortunately they just don't do the scenery justice! The ferry was great because we were one of three cars on it- we pretty much had the deck to ourselves :)


An awesome waterfall we saw from the road

It started getting colder the higher we got, and this area was
REALLY cold! This house has grass on the roof- an old tradition
in Norway. I guess it helped with insulation during the winter.

Yes, that is snow! In June!

After getting back to a lower altitude it cleared up and we
were able to enjoy the Borgund Stave Church. They had just
tarred it, so that's why it looks black. It's made entirely of
 wood and it's incredible!



Where we caught the ferry in Laerdal

The ferry opens at the end to let the cars on board... I've
never seen anything like that before!

We started out thinking this was the most amazing view!
Oh, were we in for an awesome trip...

At the one and only stop on our tour, Kaupanger

Me and Sissel

The awesome tour guides!

Just inside the ridge on the far left, there is a portion that looks
like a hand coming down the mountain towards the water...
We decided that's the troll that lives in the mountain. If we
weren't on our best behavior, he was going to get us!!  ;)
And yes, those are glaciers on top.

We were picture taking fools...

In the Naeroyfjorden

A bunch of sea kayakers

After dinner in Flam, we stopped at this brewery/restaurant.
It was viking inspired, and completely awesome!!

There was even a fireplace with benches
that had furs to keep you warm!

After Flam, we headed once again into the tundra...

Again... it was freakin' cold!!

See- the car says 0 degrees celcius!! (32 degrees F)

The last thing I remember before falling asleep in the car

That night we finally arrived at the cabin around 12:30AM. I was exhausted from an awesome day! So I pretty much crashed as soon as we arrived. The rest of the crew stayed up and enjoyed the midnight sun of Norway. What an incredible day with incredible views!

On the final installment, you'll get to see our day at the Cabin, and Monday in Drammen. Stay tuned...