travel
-
Batumi Botanical Gardens
You probably will agree with me after you admire the pictures in this post, but I think this is the most beautiful botanical gardens I have ever visited. And we didn’t even get to see everything because it was much larger than we expected and with all of our walking, we decided to stick to some of the highlights. Welcome to Batumi Botanical Gardens! By Georgian standards, the botanical gardens were a little expensive, 20 laris per person (our 6 year old being free). So we paid 100 laris ($36) for our family of 6 which wasn’t too made by American standards. And it the picture above, you see a…
-
Batumi Singing Fountains
On our first walk on the boulevard by the sea (Batumi Boulevard), my hope was to end at the Batumi fountains which I had read about. The fountains move in synchronization with music and with lights in the evening. However, we walked in the wrong direction. The boulevard or promenade is 7 kilometers long and since we had walked probably several kilometers in one direction, we decided to leave the search for the next evening. The second night found us once again stopping for ice cream and this time, we ordered the next size up with was still less than $2! Yum! We walked as it got darker and came…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…