Sunday,
Feb 18 - Travel Day
We
woke up, showered, and then Marcus took Rupert to the Braathen's while I got
ready. I was still moving very slow due to being in the hospital for 5 days. We
went to the Fly Dubai Business Lounge after checking in. Marcus had upgraded us
for the way there for me being hurt and for my birthday. We had a glass of
champagne to kick start the trip and I picked up a New York Times crossword
puzzle for the flight.
Terminal
2 at DXB has no jet ways, everyone takes a bus to their plane then goes up
stairs, being Business Class we had a special Business Class only bus that took
us and we boarded last, after everyone else (EXCEPT the stragglers). Had a
juice before take off, nice snack options, a really good gluten free meal
(better than the business class meal on Qatar and British) and Tattinger
champagne that kept being refilled. More snacks before landing. I watched
Moana, I liked it.
We
arrived in Tbilisi. The airport is small and right after the jet bridge is
passport control. We were the first 2 through the non-Georgia citizens passport
control. We got our bags and met the driver. We rode up in a Mercedes Sprinter
van to Gudauri, it was about 2.5 hours. We passed lots of farmland, sheep,
cows, some stray/village dogs. We arrived to the Marco Polo Hotel and got our
room, which was above the 4 lane bowling alley, causing somewhat of a racket.
We had dinner at the hotel, I had chicken tabaka and Marcus had a stew whose
name I didn't get. Everything was good. We explored the hotel and walked down
to a grocery store called Smart that has a chipmunk as it's emblem. They were
COMPLETELY out of all bottled water. Lots of stuff is imported from Russia and
there was all types of booze. We bought 3 bottles of Georgian wine and walked
back to the hotel. The bowling noise was annoying and the bed was not that
comfortable but we eventually fell asleep.
Monday,
Feb 19 - Gudauri
We
woke up and went for breakfast. Lots of Georgian food items. I had a really
thin yogurt that I drank, some Georgian and other cheeses, and good brewed
coffee. Then Marcus went to rent equipment and go ski and I went to the room to
pout about it. I called the spa and made an appointment, and I walked back to
the Smart store, which still had no water, but then stopped in a tiny market on
the way back and got some water there. Then it was back to the room. It was a
lesson in grace. The first part of the trip was supposed to be us snowboarding
and skiing and taking free-ride classes. Instead I was in the room chugging ბორჯომი water, which supposedly has healing powers
whiled Marcus skied. It was hard.
Marcus
came back and reported that it was icy, still not sure if he was trying to make
me feel better or if it actually was. We took a cab up to "New
Gudauri." I isn't that far but it is a windy, pot-hole riddled road that
isn't really safe to walk up unless you know what you are doing. It ends up
being about an 8-10 minute drive with all the pot-hole dodging and sharing of
the road. The taxi driver was happily surprised by my "madloba"
(thank you) when we go there. We had giltwein at a bar with currency from all
over the world.
There
was not any USD, but we don't carry USD most of the time so I didn't have any
to leave, and there were already dirhams. Then we found a restaurant. I had
mchadi (corn bread) and pork mtsvadi (skewer) and Marcus had khachapuri for
Whitney. I also had some wine, they were out of the one I wanted so the guy
gave Marcus twice the amount of another but put it in a coffee cup so no one
could see it. It was a semi-dry sweet, not bad, not great. We went outside and
sat on bean bags.
The
taxi driver on the was down was a young guy and played Georgian music for the
drive. I chugged more healing water and I went to the spa for a chocolate body
wrap and a facial. Then we went to a lounge in the hotel for a small dinner
before Marcus and I played Rummy and drank some Georgian wine.
It was okay, again, not great, but not
bad.
Tuesday,
Feb 20
Morning came,
we woke up, got ready and went to breakfast. Marcus got ready for skiing and
left. I sat around as long as I could, then I said screw it and suited up. I
went to rent a snowboard, they had only ONE, it was like 156cm which is much
longer than mine that I left at home (cause extra bags $$$) and we didn't know
if I would be able to anyway. Next I bought a lift ticket and took the lift up
from the hotel. It is the lift coming up from the hotel on the bottom left.
I had tried
to text Marcus letting him know I was coming up the mountain but wifi wasn't
always connected. So I called him and snowboarded over to meet him. We went up
for a run together and then I stopped and had some wine while he took up a
different lift and took a run down to meet me. Then we decided to go to the top
because why not. It was beautiful, 10,748 feet up.
Then
we skied down to the Gondola to eat. At that point I am done. I'm hurting and
worn out, but we still have to get down. I lose my wallet but don't find out
until later. We head down. I fall once when I'm trying to ask Marcus something,
like I was just balancing and fell down. Then on the way down I totally and
completely eat it. I plow the snow with my helmet and skid down like 3 feet or
so. In the go pro video I just say "ow." I laid there for about 2
minutes trying to decide how to slip over on to my back without it being super
painful, slowly I flip, then more slowly I sit up and get back up. I ski the
rest of the way down the run to the bottom. I couldn't breathe, I couldn't
move, it was sh***y. I got the board off, returned it, and went back to the
room. Then, I discover my wallet is missing. Marcus cabs to look where we had
had lunch. We can't find any lost and found or anything like that. The place we
ate didn't find it and Marcus looked around and didn't either. I was on my
phone sending a facebook message to the "Gudauri" page when I see
that I have a message request. It was the waitress at the restaurant, the
wallet had been found! Yay. We went back to the restaurant to retrieve it and
had dinner there since lunch had been good and we were thankful. We went back
to the hotel and had more wine.
Wednesday,
Feb 21
I
woke up. I hurt. Marcus was originally going to ski that day but since I wasn't
going to be able to he didn't. We had breakfast and packed and then waited for
our driver to drive us from Gudauri to Tbilisi. It was about a 2.5 hour ride to
the Vinotel. Lots of local vendors selling chacha (kinda like grapa), hats, and
scarves on the way down. More lambs, chickens, and cows, no pigs seen this time
like on the was up. We checked in to the hotel, it was old and cute and had
some many lovely things in it.
We booked a private wine tasting in the
hotels wine cellar and took a rest before it. We had 4 wines.
A
dry white that was okay, a weird gold wine with horrible smell and a strange
taste that was made in the traditional way in a Kvevri.
The sommelier said it was like dried peaches. A delicious exclusive red, of
which we bought a bottle. And then a semi-sweet red, very different, fine but
not amazing. Then our guy must has liked us because he gave us a shot of Chacha,
an alcohol made of grape residue left after wine making. It was 68% ABV and
quite strong. He said everyone in Gerogia makes wine and everyone makes chacha.
Then we had our glass of choice. He was a nice guy, and has a cat and a
pitbull.
After
the wine testing we went back to the room and then ventured out for dinner.
There are almost no crosswalks in Tbilisi, but instead lots of underground
passageways. We found our way to the Old City Wall Restaurant. There were 4
guys at a table with a guitar and they would sing every few minutes. It was
wonderful. Marcus had an Argo beer and chicken cooked in garlic milk and I had
pork and potatoes and a glass of Sapervati. Then we walked back. The lights
were broken in one underground passage and it was SUPER DARK. We used the
flashlights on our phones but it was still creepy. Back at the hotel there were
lots of English channels as opposed to Gudauri that only had BBC World News and
the Fashion Network. We landed on Fine Living, a fancy name for HGTV in the US.
Thursday,
Feb 22
We
woke up, and were both so tired. We got to breakfast at 10:30AM. They had a
piano player, we had heard him the night before but figured he only played at
night, apparently he also does during breakfast. I loved the room. More
beautiful couches and pillows and some flowers in an ice bucket. There was also
a bunch of different china for the buffet which I loved.
The
buffet had ham, cheeses, yogurt, cereals, some Georgian things, crepes, olives,
other things. Also tea and instant coffee. And...champagne. I did not have any
but Marcus had a glass and I took a sip. There was also this awesome giraffe in
the room. It looked like it was made of straw/hay, plant fiber and leather
patches. I loved it.
After
breakfast it was time to go out and explore. First we went to the Sioni
Cathedral of the Dormition. I was not sure that I should go in because the
dress code had a no pants sign so Marcus went in alone and I waited. He came
out and said it was amazing and I had to find a way to go in, we saw someone
else, an actual parishioner, go in in jeans, so I covered my hair and went in.
The priest saw me and did not say anything. No pictures were allowed inside but
I assure you it was beautiful, there were icons everywhere, including the one
that I have, Icon of the Holy Trinity, and also lovely frescoes. Here are some
of the outside.
Then
we continued on to the sulfur baths. We chose the Chreli Abano. You get your
own room and you can get it for however many hours you want. We just did one. I
did not like the way it smelled. I opted not to have someone come in and get me
a massage while naked. However, you do see a lot of dead skin so I wish I had
bought a mitt and scrubbed myself. Interestingly, you never get wrinkly fingers
in there.
After
our time at the bath we went wandering some more. We found a waterfall which
was very pretty.
Then
we ate lunch, more Georgian food. Then went to the oldest church in Tbilisi,
the Anchiskhati Basilica. This time I know about the box of scarves and skirts
right inside the church so I took one to wrap around my waist. It was again
very beautiful but allowed no photos inside. It is falling apart. We saw
several priests in that one. Here are some photos from the outside.
Then
we walked over to Freedom Square.
After
that we went to the Georgian National Museum, no photos allowed inside :-(. Saw
a bunch of archaeological stuff, bones, skills of humans and animals, coins,
jewelry, pottery. Also saw religious artifacts. Then we saw modern religious
items such as the books and holy clothing from Catholic, Armenian, Protestant,
Baptist, Muslim, Hare Krishnas, Jewish, Yezidis. The best thing I saw was a
vestment of Pope Francis. I wanted to touch it but knew I was not supposed to.
Then was the Soviet Occupation area. It was depressing, they killed a lot of
people. After the museum we saw the Parliament building and then walked past
the original government building, now the Georgian National Youth Palace. Next we went to
the mall for coffee and wifi, then back to the hotel, we tried to eat dinner
there but they were full so we wandered back out to try to find something and
ended up at the food court of the mall, very exotic. I found a place that had
some very good Georgian food. I had a woman ask me if I liked their food which
I said I did. Walking back through the passageways we saw a stray dog, who went
and laid down on some cardboard, hurt my heart.
Friday,
Feb 23
We
woke up early. At breakfast I was ambushed by 2 waiters who brought over a
teacake/muffin with a candle in it and two glasses of champagne to tell me
Happy Birthday. It was very nice, but since I couldn't eat it I had Marcus eat
half so that it looked appreciated.
After breakfast we went to grab our stuff as we were going on a tour of Kakheti. We met our guide Macha and set off. We drove a lot, including on some windy roads with hairpin turns. Along the way she told us SO MUCH information about the history of Georgia, legends of how the country was formed, how wine is made in Georgia, and the history of it, also the beginning of Georgian Orthodox, just SO MUCH information. I loved it.
Our
first stop was the Dzveli (Old) and Akhali (New) Shuamta Monasteries in
Kakheti. No photos were allowed inside them, but we snapped a few of the
outsides.
The
above photos are of the old monastery.
These
two are of the new monastery. It is an active nunnery and you must wait at the
gate for the sister to come and get you. I wore a velcro skirt at this on as my
tunic was not long enough. We saw a doggie outside of this one that I could
tell was nursing and she was sniffing Marcus over looking for things for her
puppies. Macha explained the different stories and origins of the monasteries
and also explained the icon that is in every Georgian Orthodox church.
After
these places we made an unscheduled stop to the Alaverdi Cathedral. As usual,
no photos in the compound.
It
was established in the 6th century by Assyrian Monk. 4 monks live there now.
They have a vineyard with 300 grade varieties, peach orchards, they keep bees,
there is the ruins of an old church and also a 'new' one. They also have a wine
cellar with some wines from 1011. In the entrance there is also a snake carved
into building with unknown origins. It was awesome.
After
this unscheduled but lovely stop we went to our first winery, the Twins Wine Cellar.
First we went through their museum and Macha explained the wine making
processes. We tasted three wines and a chacha.
One
red was too dry for me and one was too sweet, so I mixed them together much to
the professionals' dismay. I took a shot of chacha with a wine chaser. Also
tried the homemade cheese. After chatting with the girl and Macha we left there
to go to lunch.
We
had lunch at Restaurant by Plant Tree. Had the delicious chvishtari which I had
been eating everywhere I could find it. After we ate we went outside and Macha
told us that if you have a wish you walk around the 900+ year old tree and
pantomime your wish, so I did.
Next
stop was the Shumi winery.
Their
mascot is a Griffin. They had a small museum of artifacts so we first
looked through that. Then we had a wine tasting. They make some wine with
European technology and the rest with kvervi. Some were okay, some were too
sweet. We incidentally had purchased a bottle from this winery at the Smart
market up in Gudauri. After trying all the wines here we rushed over to the Tsinandali
Chavchavadze house museum as they closed at 6 and it was already
after 5. I wish we had arrived earlier so that we did not need to rush. Luckily
we still got a tour from a very good English speaking guide. No photos were
allowed inside, story of the trip. Originally the house had 22 rooms but only 7
remain.
We
saw so much beautiful china and old photos, also the first piano from Germany
in Georgia. There was also a wishing cellar and wishing tree and we saw some
dogs roaming about. By the time the tour was over it was 6 so it was took late
for the wine tasting there, oh well. Then we started the drive back. We stopped
to take photos of some crazy clouds.
When
we got back to the hotel we took a super cheap cab ride to the Steakhouse #1,
where we "had to have reservations," there was only one other table
in there...the mashed potatoes were very weird, and the Georgian steak was
chewy. We went home watched more Fine Living and went to sleep. After taking a
picture of me thinking 30 wasn't awful.
Saturday, Feb 24
We
woke up late, had breakfast, as set off to the Holy Trinity Cathedral. We took
a few photos inside as only flash was not allowed. I looked at everything. We
walked around the grounds as well.
After
that we tried to find the Puppet Museum but were unable to and what we thought
was it said open but the door was locked, so we walked all the way to the
Funicular. We rode it up and had lunch. There are rides and stuff up there but
since I could not ride them anyway we went back down. We stopped in the 9th
April Park and took photos of all the statues. Most were not labeled so I
didn't know what they were. Then we walked to the dry bridge which is where
everyone sets up to sell stuff, like a huge outdoor flea market/garage sale.
Saw all sorts of things, old Soviet propaganda, books in Georgian and Russian
(mainly), brass, silver, light fixtures, batteries, old cameras and their
parts, felt scarves, purses, and slippers, tea sets, paintings, wood workings,
terracotta, knickknacks. We bought a small terracotta kvervi for our shelf. We
walked back to the hotel and had dinner in the lounge. Dinner was nice but
again we "had to have a reservation" even though only one other table
was in there.
Sunday,
Feb 25
We
woke up and went for breakfast, all the employees were missing. We went back to
the room and had them get the bags and checked out. We had booked a shuttle to
the airport for 2PM, and went out about 10:30AM. We walked over to the gondola
and took it to to the Mother of Georgians statue and the Narikala Fortress.
There
is no way to get a front photo of the statue unless you are just down in the
city. We were going to go to the botanical garden but it cost to get in and we
looked down and it did not appear much was blooming so we decided not to. We
walked around the fortress, there is a restored church in the lower court, St.
Nicholas, but we did not go in. Then we walked down to a part of Tbilisi
where we had been before to look for souvenirs. We walked back past the Armenian
church and there was a literal sheep in the courtyard.
Then
we had lunch. Lots of stray dogs were out because the sun was out. We walked
back to the hotel and went to the airport.
----
It
was a cool trip, different culture, we were disappointed in the wine but glad
that we tried it. It was a nice getaway for turning 30. It would have been nice
to be able to snowboard the 3 days like we had planned, but the muscle thing
screwed that up. Oh well, such is life. If you'd like to see all of our photos, please check facebook, or ask me for a link to our facebook albums.
Love,
Megan
(and some editing by Marcus)
