The Other Side of the World Part 1: Tbilisi, Georgia

"So where are you guys going on this big trip?"

"Well first we're headed to Georgia..."

~Slightly disappointed look~

"Oh nice!  I have a [relative, friend] who lives there.  Peaches!"

"Right!  But we're going to the country, not the state"

~Confused look~

"Ohhhh... the country.  Where is that again?  And um... why on earth are you going there?"

We had this exact exchange with friends and family dozens of times before we started off on our Grand Adventure to the Other Side of the World.  It's a very understandable reaction, despite how wonderful a place it really is.  

First of all, here's Georgia:

And why, of all the places in the world we could go, did we choose to go there?  Enter: Anthon and Melissa! 

The Dream Team in Vegas, circa 2011

 These awesome cousins of ours are stationed with the State Department at the US Embassy in Baku, Azerbaijan.  Last year we made a pact that we would visit them and to everyone's surprise, we followed through.  The plan: meet in Tbilisi, Georgia, and travel our way over to Baku.

It was tough to say goodbye to Eli and Porter for 10 whole days, but we knew that they were in the best of hands. I am positive that they had way more fun hanging out with grandparents and cousins than they would have had traveling with us.  

There's no sugarcoating it- hauling across 12 time zones is brutal, but after a few stressful flight cancellations and lots and lots of airplane/port time we arrived at the Tbilisi airport where Zach got his very first stamp in his very first passport.  Anthon was there to pick up his somewhat disoriented and exhausted travel buddies and took us back to our super nice Airbnb downtown.

Hi Mom!  We made it!

As part of the old Soviet Block, Georgia is an interesting mix of ancient buildings, utilitarian Soviet structures, and "New Georgia" construction where they are attempting to reestablish their identity as an independent country.  Our apartment building was from the Soviet era, complete with a sketchy elevator that was not afraid to close on you.  The outside may look hodgepodge, but the host did a great job on the interior.  It was comfortable, clean, and had an awesome view.

DAY ONE
We did a lot of walking in Tbilisi, especially the first day in an attempt to kick the jet lag.  Here are some of the sights we hit on foot:

Bridge of Peace

A downtown area cafe

Tbilisi is full of churches and cathedrals, but the one that makes it into all the skylines and painting is the Holy Trinity Cathedral (Sameba).  It is so hard to communicate just how MASSIVE this building was!  Not as ornate as the Vatican, but still very beautiful inside and out.

Standing over Tbilisi is the Mother of Georgia, who welcomes friends with a bowl of wine in one hand and wards off enemies with a sword in the other.  An inspiring mom-multitasker for sure.  We took a cable car to the hill to see her up close and in person.

I would have taken taken a picture up close, but you are SO close that the view was, shall we say, slightly inappropriate.

We walked along the old Karikala Fortress and ducked into an ancient cathedral or two on the way.  Fun fact: to be respectful, women are required to cover their heads and wear a "skirt" provided at the door.  Occasionally even the guys had to don them, as shorts were often not allowed.

View towards the Kura river

View towards the downtown

Zach loved Tbilisi because there were snacks EVERYWHERE.  Vendors sold cups and buckets of sliced fruit everywhere you looked.

One unique food that we got to try was Churchkhela, which is basically a string of nuts dipped in thickened grape juice.  It's a little waxy, but not bad!

Another favorite was Turkish ice cream, which was also everywhere.  It tastes like a slightly gummier version of gelato.  Delicious.

One of the best things about traveling with Anthon and Melissa is they share our love of food.  Because the food is so cheap in Georgia (think:one third the price) we tried EVERYTHING.  This lunch at Josper Grill competes for the top three meals of the trip for us.

Mint "Lemonade"

Salad course

Give me all the grilled meats!

Despite being extra full we still got bubble waffles for dessert, because why not?

In the evening we took the funicular up to a sort of fair ground, complete with bumper cars, bull-riding, and Zach's first ferris wheel ride.

FUNicular

I'm amazed we didn't collapse with exhaustion on that first day, but thanks to a lot of coca-cola and the hype of traveling with friends we made it through.  I think all of us were amazed at how much we could do without kids!

DAY TWO

We started the day off with Khachapuri, traditional Georgian bread, usually filled with cheese, meat, beans, or vegetables and occasionally topped with an egg.  So good!

We took a taxi over to Drybridge Market, and before I go on, I must say that taxis were even cheaper than the food.  We spent more on one 3 km taxi ride in London than our entire time in Tbilisi.  Uber is the BOMB.

Drybridge Market had everything you could think- used electronics, old Soviet war medals, glassware, jewelry, handi-craft, you name it.  My personal favorite was the entire park filled with paintings- Zach and I splurged and bought our favorites.

In the afternoon we traveled to Gori Fortress.  You'd think that a building that dates back to sometime in the 13th century would be heavily protected and preserved, but you'd be wrong.  There was an identifying sign, but other than that you could go anywhere and climb on anything.  Price: free.

From Gori we drove to Uplishtsikhe, which was THE COOLEST.  This was a town carved right into the rock dating back to the Iron Age and has been added to over the centuries.  I've never seen anything like it in my life.  Price: practically free.

Escape tunnel!

On the way back to Tbilisi we stopped by the Jvari Monastery.  The building was beautiful and the view was even better.  Obviously we weren't the only ones who thought so- we saw at least three wedding parties in less than an hour.

Dinner that night was one for the books.  We ate at the Schuchmann Wine Bar in the cellar of a museum and it was so, so delicious!  And beautiful!

Can I remember what everything was called?  No.  

Can I tell you my stomach was soooo happy?  Yes.

To top off the evening we participated in a Georgian tradition: the bathhouse.

View from the outside (the domes in the back)

Our suite.  The water on the right is painfully hot sulfur springs direct from the source.  On the left, really cold water

I must admit that the temperatures were a little too extreme for me to be relaxing, but the salt scrub wasn't too bad.

Zach decided not to opt for the "full body treatment" and kept his suit on.

Tbilisi is so beautiful at night!

DAY 3

We spent the third day driving from Tbilisi to Baku, stopping at all the notable places along the way.  A word on driving: CRAZY.  We took the country route with narrow roads, no predictable speed limit, occasional cattle herds, and a driver who has "gone native".  Anthon both terrified and impressed us with his aggressive driving.

Random statues and towers were all over in the middle of nowhere along these roads!

Behind us here is Signagi, last stop in Georgia.  It's on a steep hill with a stunning view.

We stopped for breakfast at a hotel.  We admired the view very much until a waiter informed us that they actually didn't serve breakfast.  Lame.

To sum up, we loved Tbilisi.  We loved Georgia.  We would recommend it to anyone and would definitely go back.

Next up: Azerbaijan!