For my birthday in 2022 I traveled to Madrid, Spain. It was a new city, and country, for me. It was an amazing trip! Because my birthday continues to be included in my school’s Fall Break holiday, I have made it a personal goal and tradition to travel to a new country/city to celebrate the start of my next year on earth. New country, new city, new age!
For my 50th birthday this past November I traveled to Tbilisi, Georgia. Better yet, three gal pals accompanied me for the fun and exploration. Georgia has intrigued me for some time and for numerous reasons. My brother and his family had visited prior to the pandemic; he declared Tbilisi to be his favorite city on the planet. That in and of itself is enough to call for a visit as he is a well-traveled chap.
But there is more. He, like myself, is an avid red wine drinker. With evidence of a wine culture going back 8,000 years, Georgia is considered to be the birthplace of wine. Turning 50 years old in such a place seemed like a great idea. (Bonus–it’s a country that does not require a visa for Turks.)
Finally, I am fascinated by former Soviet Republics–something that I believe hatched inside me while I lived in Mongolia. While Mongolia was NOT a Soviet Republic, it sure did feel as if it had been. Mongolia was occupied by Russia for about 70 years, however you would never hear a Mongolian use the term “occupied.” Russia is their “big brother” and they revere the massive country (and have a strong dislike for their southern neighbor). All that said, I was most curious to explore the country of Georgia and its capital–Tbilisi. Did you know it was the birth nation of Stalin?
Tbilisi is a beautiful city situated in a valley along the Kura River. It has a population of over one million and was one of the 15 former Soviet Republics. It is a picturesque and walkable city. Georgia is an old country with a long history; I won’t attempt to recount that here, but you can read more on your own if you are curious.
Doreen and I arrived together on Monday, Emily and Yonca arrived two days later. While I had traveled with Yonca the year before, it was the first time for the four of us to travel together. We got along swimmingly! For me, I loved having girlfriends from different countries (American, Turk, Maltese) and ages (one in each decade of age 30-60).
On Tuesday Doreen and I enjoyed a lovely, private guided day trip to the Khaketi Wine Region which began with a roadside breakfast of fresh baked traditional bread with cheese, tomatoes, and pickled peppers. We also had some lovely homemade wine and chacha thanks to our amazing guide, Khato (pictured below).
In addition to the drive through the vineyard covered countryside, we visited the Bodbe Monastery (the final resting place of St. Nino–who went to Georgia from Cappadocia of all places, back in the 4th century) and a nearby village of Sighnaghi which is where I sighted the Stalin painting, as well as where we walked the wall that surrounded the city.
I had selected an AirBNB in Tbilisi that was centrally located and allowed us to walk most everywhere we needed to go. Note for others: to cross streets look for the underground walkways! For those few places that were a bit farther we used the BOLT app (like Uber). It was affordable with most trips only costing us a few dollars and was easy to order and coordinate.
On Wednesday, Emily and Yonca arrived and then we were four gals on the town. My only request for the week was that we enjoyed a dinner out together for my birthday on the night of November 15th. You may have already read my reflections on turning the big 5-0 so I will not share that again here.
We had dinner at Sakhli #11, a restaurant that my friend and former Turkish teacher, Ipek, had strongly recommended. And she was not wrong! We sat outside and enjoyed a couple of bottles of wine in addition to the four different main dishes we had, sharing so that we could all taste each one. Everything was delicious. And our waiter was a fine young chap who, because of my birthday, graced us with a couple free shots of Chacha AND a piece of honey cake (again–delicious).
Another highlight was the Free Walking Tour of Old Tbilisi which I found simply by searching the web. It was one of the best guided tours I’ve ever been on. Our guide, Maggie, was passionate and knowledgeable about her city, and we enjoyed our three hours together walking the streets and alleyways of the old city. She showed us iconic places, explained superstitions and shared the history of the city, as well as making recommendations on food and drink places along the way. We ended in the area of the famous thermal bathhouses–something we did not make time to do on this trip.
We had time to drink a quick beer during a small rest, and at the end of the tour we went to one of the recommended restaurants for traditional Khinkhali (boiled dumplings). We also had an AMAZING Khachapuri (pictured below)! We hunted for this dish in the following days and could not seem to find it. My mouth still salivates when I remember the mixture of bread, cheese, egg, and butter melting together in my mouth. 😋
On Friday we went on a full day trip to the north to see Kazbegi Mountain and other sites along the way. It was a long day and much of it was spent in the vehicle. Our guide was a bit of an odd duck, but he got us safely there and back again.
Since our flight home to Turkey wasn’t until Saturday evening we had some time to explore the Dry Bridge Flea Market on Saturday morning. This was on my TO DO list because I wanted to see if I could acquire a small piece of Soviet paraphenalia/history for myself. It was a beautiful crisp fall morning when we walked to the market. We ate lunch in the city and then caught our transport to the airport. After a final glass of wine, we were on our way home.
We all agreed that this country and its capital were wonderful surprises and that we could all see returning again to see and do more. We only scratched the surface. We found the food delicious, the people kind and helpful, transportation easy to navigate, and most things very affordable. I would like to share a wonderful resource should you wish to visit Georgia yourself–Emily has done an amazing job of building this blog/website that tells you everything you need to know about visiting Georgia and Tbilisi. I used so much of her information to plan our trip and even emailed her with questions which she responded to quickly.
Sorting through my pictures to build this post I am amazed to recall that I was only there for five nights. We covered quite a bit of ground, and yet there was still much more we would have liked to have seen. How is it that I seem to add places to my travel list instead of crossing them off?? First world problem, I know. 😆
I hope you have enjoyed traveling with me and I hope to be back soon with a post about my first travel adventure of 2024. Until then, hope all is well with you.