Riga, Latvia: A sweet helping of Art Nouveau

It was too dark to really see what we had in store for us the night we drove into Riga. Still, we knew we were in for something special. We splurged on a fancy hotel, thanks to Hotels.com for a free night, and the moment we walked in we were treated like royalty. We didn’t want to waste any of the time we had in this city. So, we headed out immediately to try one of the city’s most innovative restaurants, 3 Pavāru. Riga is actually well known for its upcoming food scene, and this restaurant did not disappoint that expectation! The unique menu made us feel like we were fancy food critics with items like ostrich tartar and veal cheeks. And the staff was phenomenal! We always worry a little about how the staff will react to us bringing a toddler into a fancy place, but our waitress was a pro. She made a special menu for E and even brought him a surprise dessert! The next morning, we finally saw what my heart had been longing for, more of the beautiful Baltic architecture. Riga’s most famous style of architecture is the 20th century Art Nouveau. Riga is the Art Nouveau Capital of the World after all. Many of the buildings in the old town are now recognized as World Heritage sites. Also from the 20th century and a UNESCO World Heritage Site is the Riga Central Market, Europe’s largest market housed inside multiple old German hangars. I can’t resist a good food market. So, we headed there for lunch and wandered from hanger to hanger taking in the local culture. As usual, we spent countless hours just wandering the streets, and as usual, I continuously got left behind with my eyes behind my camera lens snapping away. So this time, I made a change! I hired a local photographer to take our very first professional family photos prior to our new addition coming. We hired Dmitry from Localgraphers.com, highly recommended! We ended our wonderful Baltic adventure meeting up with some Houston friends who now call Riga their home. As we listened to their tales of adjusting to a completely new culture, we quickly became envious. One day maybe we will pick up our family and move somewhere new and fresh. But today we sit in our beautiful Houston home looking at these photos and loving our life that is based on a strong foundation and yet gypsy at heart. Until next time,