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Republic of Georgia: Last Thoughts from our Trip
Today is the last post chronicling this summer’s two week vacation to Georgia. We were able to visit two areas during our visit, the capital, Tbilisi, as well as the sea port of Batumi. We ate and walked and spent time with our friends. We shopped and ate some more, and really enjoyed what this beautiful country has to offer. This was our 3rd visit (the first two being 7 and 6 years ago), so we knew what to expect, but still were able to visit new parts of the city and country. One thing we had not done before was go to one of the flea markets. There were…
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Enjoying Food in the Republic of Georgia
First of all, let me preface that one of my favorite things about vacations abroad is the variety and freshness of foods as well as the act of not having to cook any meals! Today’s post is full of colorful pictures of food: one of my favorite things in the republic of Georgia is the food: the recipes are heavy with spices, walnuts and fresh ingredients. “Fast food” items are freshly baked in these little kiosks or small holes in the wall and rich in beans, cheese or sausage. Meals are a love affair and rich in traditions especially dinner: it usually will include wine and toasting. You can also…
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Traveling to the Republic of Georgia: some Insights
I am back! We just returned on Monday from our 2 weeks in the republic of Georgia and I have quite a few blog posts planned to share our trip with you. Today, I thought I would share some insights on why we chose to return to Georgia for the 3rd time and some quirks and tips about traveling there. The pictures I am sharing in this post are of fun cat murals found in Old Tbilisi where we stayed for most of your trip. The first question I am answering is the choice of our destination. Yes, this is the 3rd time we have traveled to the republic of…
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Republic of Georgia, part 4, canyon and caves
After returning to Tbilisi for a few days, we traveled to Kutaisi, a city in West Georgia. We used an app called Map.Me to get there. This app was a life saver since it does not use date but the gps on your cell phone. You can use it in any country! Kutaisi is a great home base to visit wonderful monasteries (Gelati and Motsameta), the Bagrati cathedral, Prometheus Cave and Okatse Canyon. Bagrati Cathedral We visited this cathedral a few times since it was a 5 minutes walk from our hotel. It is an 11th century cathedral that is a UNESCO world heritage site. We attended liturgy there on…
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Republic of Georgia trip, our road trips (part 3)
Welcome back to our little series recapping our trip to the Republic of Georgia. Today I will share our 3 day excursion outside of the capital. We were hosted in a little house on someone’s property in the town of Surami. It is about a 3 hour drive from Tbilisi. Our hosts welcomed us with a meal when we arrived and the rest of our meals were prepared in our little kitchen with the food we brought with us. Electricity was turned off a few hours that evening and we did have access to spotty wifi which we only needed for posting pictures on Facebook and Instagram. We spent one…
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Tbilisi, the food, the market (Republic of Georgia part 2)
Welcome part to my series of post about our trip to the Republic of Georgia. Today I will share about the food (I could fly there right now just for some hachipuri or kinkali!) and my visit of the market. Fresh food One thing you will notice when you visit the Republic of Georgia is the fresh food. Meals are most often served with a tomato and cucumber salad, cheese and fresh bread. Ingredients come fresh from the market if possible and our experience at Hotel Gomi and our stays in the country proved that! The food is delicious! The market After our first visit, I knew that I wanted…
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Republic of Georgia family trip (Part 1)
I wanted to dedicate several post to our trip to Georgia last May because if you are like I was a couple years ago, you may not know where Georgia is on the map and may not know there is a country called Georgia. We actually have a number of Georgian friends and had already been introduced to the culture and food. Georgia borders Russia and Azerbaidjan as well as Armenia and Turkey. It is a beautiful country full of history, Orthodox churches and monasteries, and breathtaking scenery. This past trip was our second trip there. We are grateful to have friends there and each time my father in law…
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Georgia Outfits: Packing in a Carry On
When traveling internationally, I always try to pack in a carry-on: I like to know where my belongings are, so I usually do not check in a suitcase. I planned my outfits knowing that I wanted to have several skirts on hand for the days I knew we would be visiting churches and knowing that the temperature would be in the lower 80s. This is a long post, so grab a coffee and enjoy! Traveling Outfits I planned my outfits for the flights knowing it would be a long travel day. Including the layovers, it was probably about 24 hours going and 20 coming back (the 2rd outfit was for…
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Outfit Inspiration for Fall with White Boots
When I received my white boots (thrifted in Arizona, see blog post here), the first thing I did was browse Pinterest to find some ideas on how to style them. When I pin ideas, I make sure that I am pinning outfits that I can recreate with what is already in my closet and not something that I would have to go out and buy. I pinned several ideas and this was one of my favorites. White boots, brown pattern skirt, white top and oversized denim jacket: you can definitely see the inspiration of the outfit in mine even though the pieces are not identical, but similar. I do not…
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Thrifted White Cowboy Boots: Summer to Fall Look
While I was visiting Jodie in Arizona this past spring I kept my eyes out for a pair of cowboy boots, but we didn’t come across any. So this summer, when she stumbled upon this pair in our size, she asked me if I wanted them. She tried them to make sure they were comfortable and sent me a picture to see if I like them. With the okay from me, she bought them and shipped them to me: I thought that $30 was a good deal as the ones I have seen second hand here have been a lot more so far and not in my size. When I…