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Batumi Boulevard: A fun walk
Our hotel, the Hilton Batumi was in the perfect location to enjoy both the Black Sea and to take leisurely walks along Batumi Boulevard. The boulevard is a multi purpose pathway along the sea and is bordered on the other side by different hotels and restaurants. There are several paths so that bikes, scooters and such can have a pathway separate from walkers. There are also many trees bordering sections of the boulevard. Our hotel was very near the octopus structure where children and adults enjoyed roller skating. It is such a picturesque spot! It also offers a little bit of shade. We stayed 3 nights in Batumi and we…
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Black and Red Outfit: Printed Skirt with Bodysuit
The first morning in Georgia, we took the steep way up and down to the Tbilisi botanical gardens. Since I only brought two pairs of sneakers (a white pair and a black pair) it was very easy to decide on shoes. These little Jellypop tennis shoes didn’t have as good as a grip as my Adidas, but I never did slip on the cobblestones. I chose them the days I knew we could come across more dusty paths. I only wore this skirt once before our trip to make it special and it sure was the thrifted find of the year. The only reason I haven’t worn it since then…
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Tbilisi Wine Museum
While researching some things to do in Tbilisi that we had not done before, I came across this blog Wander Lush written by an Australian journalist who now lives in Kutaisi, Georgia. The website turned out to be a great resource from itineraries, boutique hotel suggestions, places to shop and places to visit. The Tbilisi Wine Museum was only 5 min from our hotel and its location underground perfect for a hot day. The museum is underground this building which holds another museum as well as some fancy shops below. Our guide spoke great English and we learned a lot about the special process of qveri wine: Georgian wine made…
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Adventures in the Kakheti Region
We rented a car for a week in preparation for our trip to Batumi and took advantage of having a car with AC to take a trip a couple hours out of Tbilisi. My husband wanted to visit the monastery of St. Nino and we booked a horseback ride nearby. As usual we used the Maps.Me map, but we still had to ask for directions! On the way, we saw a small fortress near the road and stopped for a bit. We can never pass up a fortress! There are a lot of lookout fortresses and towers throughout the country. Georgia used to be part of the silk route and…
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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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Tbilisi Botanical Gardens
This is our 3rd time going to the botanical gardens in Tbilisi. They are just a short steep walk up behind our hotel, and it was the perfect outing the morning following our arrival. The city had gotten a lot of rain the weeks prior to our trip, so there were a few areas where you couldn’t go because of some landslides, in particular the waterfall where everyone had dipped their toes the last time we were here. However, since we were taking our time, we discovered a few new areas we had never explored. Since it was late May, early June, the roses were in bloom! We enjoyed them…
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Mtskheta: Vibrant Center of Orthodoxy in Georgia
Mtskheta stands at the confluence of two rivers, Mtkvari and Aragvi about 20 miles outside of Tbilisi. It is a UNESCO protected site and “was a site of early Christian activity resulting in the Christianisation of Iberia, where Christianity was proclaimed the state religion in 337. It remains the headquarters of the Georgian Orthodox Church.” (Wikipidia). The Svetitskhoveli Cathedral (meaning the Cathedral of the Living Pillar) is an Orthodox Christian cathedral. It is a treasure of the Early and High Middle Ages, and is the second largest church building in Georgia. Below are two of the tombs you can find in the church. The one on the right is of Erekle II. Ten Georgian kings…
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A Week of Outfit
I thought it would be fun to share a week of outfits: Jodie from Jtouchofstyle share her daily outfits every Saturday and I often get inspiration from her to try new combinations with my clothes. This week of outfits dates back to mid May, but all of these outfits could easily be worn all summer long. I hope it inspires you to shop your closet! Saturday I actually wore 4 outfits that day, but I am not sharing my running clothes nor my yard work clothes. I wore the linen joggers and tank to take my son for a blood test and my dress for church. I hadn’t worn my…
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Summer Alternatives to Shorts with the Ageless Style Link Up
When you thrift and photograph a pretty dress the same day Leslie chooses a theme for the June Ageless Link Up, it is meant to be! I bought this NWT dress (looks like an Asian brand) at Uptown Cheapskate about exactly 2 months before this post. I was drawn to the embroidery and the fun shape of the dress. I tend to wear fitted dresses, but decided to try this and I decided it was too fun and different to pass up. I thought it would be perfect for Pascha (Orthodox Easter) with either white knee length biker shorts or capri leggings. I have a pair of each for these…
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Making Kinkhali: Georgian Dumpling
Our friend Mari, who own the hotel we stayed at (Hotel Gomi 19 in Old Tblisi) hosts master cooking classes for groups. She offered to teach us how to make a Georgian dumpling called kinkhali since she knew our boys had really enjoyed them on our past two visits. The table was arranged and ready in the dining area for us to create them, the dough having already been prepared. The feeling can be potatoes and onions, a mix of ground beef and pork (in our case), mushrooms… they are very similar to pirogis but differ in their shape. The dough is rolled out, cut into circles (you can use…