Georgia Last Days

The next morning we are off to visit the market in the nearby town of Telavi. It is a smaller market than I have visited earlier in my travels but this one has more things for sale targeted towards locals – you’d see things like raw meat hanging in the walkways or pickled vegetables in large jars.

We continue more into town which is very quiet today except a main square area where they are setting up for the Independence Day festivities later. We pick up some small flags to participate in the celebration. Our tour guide also helps us purchase some sparklers to use to celebrate later.

Last stop before lunch is the Gremi complex where we see some old frescos and an attached fortress.

It is our second day in the wine country and we are heading to a family’s house for a traditional meal and a lesson on how to make the sweet treat churchkhela.

The food is all amazing and there is plenty of wine and chacha to go around. I have a very persistent cat at my side much of the meal that digs his deep nails into my legs on occasion to let me know he requests some food. He takes breaks from me to scare another person on my tour between the times he is bothering me.

We now learn how to make the sweet treat called churchkhela – typically nuts covered in thickened grape juice. Our sense of humor really comes out during our churchkhela making session. It is then I realize I have found my people. I am sure we have made our hosts and tour guide blush a time or two during this activity.

We finish our day trip with a visit to a local winery where we learn about the qvevri wine making process. Qvevri are large clay pots where everything about the grape is stored: fruit, skin and seeds. They are left to ferment for up to 6 months. After the wine juice is filtered out from the byproducts, the leftovers is used to make cha-cha, the very strong liquor I have had much of during my travels.

We try three wines and three cha-cha during our tasting. Our host is very funny and animated and shares his wines with passion. It is soon time to go so I buy a bottle to later share and we head back to the resort and spa because other ladies have their massage appointments today.

As soon as we get off the bus I head underground to start the wine tour at our winery resort. The guide shows us the wine making process. We head back upstairs and try three generous pours of their wines.

We have another long dinner, a sunset and some fun with sparklers.

After a late start we start our journey back to Tbilisi. We have some free time before dinner and some choose to use that time to enjoy the city but I spend the time packing since I have to leave for my flight at 2:30am in the morning.

We attend a dinner show with more Georgian dance and singing. I am pleased to find out it is different than the one I previously attended. I enjoy the dance, food, wine and good company. In the midst of this there is a feeling that even though some will continue their adventures together after this we are at the end of our journey. We have a fun bus ride back to the hotel that includes singing. Off the bus I give my hugs because I don’t think I have another late night in me. The tour has been such a fun experience. I am glad I have taken a chance on a new group. I hope to run into these lovely ladies in my future travels.

Thank you Georgia and thank you ladies for a great time!

Kakheti wine region

We start out early for our journey out to the Kakheti wine region in Georgia. This area is known as the cradle of wine and I am hoping the next couple days are full of charming towns and tasting of interesting wines. The wine here is made a couple different ways but the traditional style is fermentation in clay pots called qvevri. Earlier excavations had Georgia amoung the oldest wine making countries but it wasn’t until a discovery in 2017 could it claim that it has the oldest evidence of wine making.

Our road had to be leveled to handle the weight of our bus.

Our first stop of the day is in Sighnaghi, the city of love. This charming small town’s claim to fame is that it used to be a place where people could come to get married 24/7…kind of like a Vegas of Georgia. People can still get married here but it doesn’t have the get married at a moment’s notice theme anymore. We buy some souvenirs and climb the cobbled streets for a few hours. If we had more time I could have probably could have had an overnight stay and a nice meal with a view.

After Sighnaghi we are invited to a home cooked meal. Here they show us how khinkali are made (georgian soup dumplings). Some attempt to make their own with varying results. The meal served is spread of many different georgian foods such as khinkali, salad, pickled vegetables, beets, cheese, bread, potatoes, beans, and of course home made wine.

Before we check into our wine resort and spa we make a last stop is at a former residence of Prince Alexander Chavchavadze. The Chavchavadze were an influential family during the 19th century and even though the orginal house and contents were destroyed in a fire, the relics inside were actually owned by the family at the time. The relics displayed were stored at their other residences but they are now here for viewing how life was like during those times. Besides having an interesting garden there is also a temporary exhibition of the Georgian National Ballet, a ballet that tours internationally. Before my trip to Georgia I researched performances of the ballet but none are scheduled – I would love to see their unique shows someday. Our visit to Georgia coincides with the graduation time for students so we see students taking photos at the residence to celebrate. Graduation time in this country includes car honking parades, white shirt signatures and pictures in formal wear – basically young people happy to be done with school.

We arrive at the winery resort just in time for my massage appointment. As part of our travel package a massage is included and I selected an early time slot this evening. The traditional massage is wonderful but it causes me to miss out on the last wine tasting of the day. I need to make an effort to attend a tasting tomorrow.

I’ve missed the tasting but it doesn’t stop me from buying my own bottle to enjoy on my beautiful balcony. I watch beautiful sunset views of snow capped mountains in the distance before joining the others for dinner. This portion of the trip is a good time to finally get to know the wonderful group I am traveling with. I’ve enjoyed my time with every person so far and that is a good sign that I’ve chosen well in signing up for this trip.

Tblisi with the tour group

Today is a city tour of Tbilisi with my group. Fortunately most of the stops today are places I never visited previously.

Day starts with an iced latte which I haven’t had much of lately.

We meet our local tour guide Tamara who will be showing us parts of Georgia. We board a tour bus that stops at the church on the hill in the city. Metekhi Church is very crowded inside because there is a service today. I don’t spend too much time indoors but the hill does offer great views of the city.

We walk down the hill and past a piece of the Berlin Wall that has been gifted to the city due to the Georgia’s role at the end of the Cold War.

We wait in a long line for the cable car to take us up the hill to see the Mother of Georgia up close. My friend and I attempted to do this previously but ended up the wrong cable car. I am glad I finally get to make the trip.

We arrive on top and have great views of the city. An accordion player finds out many of us are from the USA and plays an american song for us. After viewing the very large Mother of Georgia we use the path to the stairs down into the old town. The path eventually leads us down to the waterfall in the middle of the city, something I also missed while sightseeing the other day.

We view a waterfall, sulphur baths and then take a break for lunch. We unfortunately pick a tourist trap spot that has a hard time dealing with a larger group. While the food that does arrive is good, some end up leaving hungry because many of our food items are never delivered. We watch large parties arriving after us get plates and plates of food delivered but not us.

We are also introduced to the toastmaster (Tamada). The toastmaster is a statue with a drinking horn that is a reproduction of famous Georgian colchi relic found. In Georgian culture the toastmaster leads a feast and makes toasts for the meal. It sounds like the toastmaster also gets pretty toasted.

We continue our tour to old town and the nearby Sioni cathedral which has a relic of the famous St Nino’s cross that I kept hearing about and also it holds the burial site of the high respected but recently deceased patriarch. The patriarch is of the highest regard in the Orthodox Church, like their version of the Roman Catholic pope.

After our tour ends the bus takes us back to the hotel but we all decide to branch out in smaller groups for other adventures for the day. Not ready to eat I go with a group to do a private wine tasting across town. It takes us longer than normal to get there by the Bolt car service because many streets are closed due to the upcoming independence day festivities. The driver takes us as close as we can; we walk the rest of the way.

The gentlemen giving us the wine tasting is from USA and now lives in Georgia. We, a mix of Americans and Canadians, entertain him with our silliness. He gives a dinner recommendation nearby.

We enjoy the streets empty of cars. Dinner is in a charming underground homestyle restaurant where bills are tallied with an abacus. I wish I had photos of this because it is rare seeing anyone using an abacus these days.

Next stop is at a speakeasy with no menu. At this bar the bartender makes the drinks for you off vibes. You mention flavors and liquors you like and the bartender makes something perfect for you. Even the skeptical are happy with what is made for them.

We make one last stop on the way back to the hotel at the wine window. Only one glass of wine before we notice drips of rain. We make it back to the hotel just before the sky erupts again. We were lucky today with the lack of rain after I’ve had so many days of it.

Time for bed as we are off tomorrow to the Kehketi wine region for more adventures.

Back to Tbilisi and new adventures

We made it back to Tbilisi. I have one day with my friend and then she flies back home.

We check into the hotel quickly and then walk to Fabrika again since the new hotel is closer. We stop at a fancy wine store on the way and grab a bottle just before it starts pouring rain again. This is will be the last bottle of Georgian wine we enjoy together before my friend takes off soon. But tonight we have reservations for a dinner show. The show we are attending is a traditional Georgian show with music, dance and food. We’ve been wanting to see one of these shows but they no longer have any like these in Kutaisi so this is our last chance before my friend leaves.

Tonight’s dinner show is at the Georgian House. They serve traditional Georgian food but we try something new -pickled cabbage similar to kimchi. There is a large traditional band that plays folk songs and periodically dancers come out to entertain us with the unique dancing style of Georgia.

The night is great but after lots of wine and it being a travel day I decide to sleep in a bit the next morning. We try a sulphur bathhouse close to our hotel, a great low key idea. This bath is recommended by another passenger on our bus ride back from Kutaisi yesterday. The spa is close, less crowded, and much cheaper than the ones in the main part of town. I am not much of a sauna person but I do alternate between the hot sulphur water and the cold bucket plunge. I may have even acted out a scene in the movie flashdance.

After the spa we visit more markets, view artwork, and of course there are more cats to admire.

There is once more another visit to the wine window and more town to explore. Having our fill of Georgian food we try italian food, some ice cream and dodge more rain again.

I cut the fun short because need to return back to the hotel to meet with my tour group for the next part of my adventures. The second half of my visit to Georgia is with a tour group from Girls Love Travel. I have been wanting to check out one of their tours forever.

I am introduced to everyone in our upcoming travel group and we talk logistics. After the meeting we head to a nearby bar with a DJ to celebrate a birthday of a new person I have just met on the tour. Only one other girl and I has never been on a tour with this company. It seems like a tight knit group but everyone seems open and nice. Looking forward to the next few days.

My travel companion leaves early in the morning while I am still sleeping. I am sad to see her go but I know she needs to get home. I am thankful I have some more people to spend time with. I love solo travel but there are moments I get lonely so this is nice for a change.

Free day in Tblisi

Last night ended up being a bit of a late night so we are grateful we have no early morning is planned today. We finally take advantage of the breakfast offered by the hotel.

It is a rainy day, one of many of our time in Georgia, but we plan to visit markets today and some are luckily indoors. I am not usually a big shopper but during the last couple of trips I seem to buy more souvenirs than usual. Today it is earings – I buy an unspecified number of unique pairs today. I also discover some artwork I may want to purchase on my return trip to Tbilisi. We visit the Median Bazar, a smaller underground store where all the different local tourist items can be purchased.

We finally try the wine ice cream. It is quite lovely.

The rain has halted and we walk down to dry bridge market to see what is being sold there. Dry Bridge Market is an expansive market of local art, antiques, and jewelry.

We shop until we literally drop into a cafe where we order a khachapuri and a bottle of wine that gives us a free local cheese board. We use this time to plan our evening. We attempt to see the special seven o’clock show at the clock tower but our walk takes longer than we anticipated. We catch the shortened bell at another hour instead.

We stop at the famous Caravanserai Bakery for bread for an early morning breakfast tomorrow; we have a long day scheduled in Armenia tomorrow and no time for breakfast.

Dinner is at a casual restaurant where we have to choose our seat based on where the resident dog is not sleeping. In between his naps he wakes up periodically to guard the place. Dog would occasionally run off barking at random people or cars. During outr meal a guy walks on the terrace wearing a knockoff Louis Vuitton jumpsuit asking each table for money. The dog senses bad energy and chases the man off barking. My meal is lackluster and unfortunately I think is the cause for my gastrointestinal distress for the next few days.