This weekly wrap-up covers our journey from September 29 to October 5. We spent the entire week in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, with a day trip to wine country (Kakheti). We had planned to travel to Yerevan, Armenia, on Thursday, but the overnight train was sold out, so we left on Saturday evening instead. (The train only runs every other day during low season.) Here are our highlights from the week. (There were many!)
Favorite thing we ate: How can we choose?! Honestly, Georgia has one of the best food cultures we have ever experienced. Everything we’ve eaten has been beyond delicious, but we both agree that the dinner we had at Sakhli #11 was one of the best meals of our lives. We shared pkhali (Georgian vegetable pate), a traditional salad (cucumber and tomato with delicious oils as a dressing), chvishtari (cornbread with cheese, served with mouthwatering mint, pepper and pinenut sauces), and mtsvadi (grilled meat, in this case pork) with plum sauce. Of course, the meal was enjoyed with Georgian qvevri (clay pot) wine, and our server brought complimentary chacha (traditional Georgian brandy) shots halfway through to help us digest our food and finish the meal. 😉
Favorite thing we drank: In addition to its great food, Georgia is known for its wine, but we’ve also noticed the lemonades and iced teas here are phenomenal. Jonathan especially liked his orange lemonade at Fabrika (an old Soviet sewing factory that now acts as a hostel, co-working space, retail space, bar, etc.). Megan had a “Flower Fizz” (lavender gin cocktail) at Fabrika that was also amazing.
Favorite thing we did: Jonathan enjoyed visiting the sulfur baths and getting a traditional “scrubbing massage” for his birthday. The baths are a popular activity in Tbilisi, and visiting a public bath only costs 5 GEL (~$1.69 USD), but as it was a special occasion, we booked a private room with hot and cold baths plus a sauna for two hours [above left], and we each got a scrubbing massage. Megan also enjoyed the baths, but she generally loved exploring Old Tbilisi, especially its charming courtyards [above right], narrow alleyways and many cafes.
Biggest splurge: Jonathan turned 30 this week (woohoo!), so we stayed in a nice hotel (still only $80/night, so can’t complain), visited the sulfur baths as described above ($99), and had dinner at a white-tablecloth restaurant in the evening ($75). All the splurges were worth it, and we still spent less all day than a nice hotel in San Francisco would have cost for one night! 😉
great value for such a lovely hotel! This is one of the back balconies, available to all guests.
Best deal: Last week, I mentioned our Airbnb in Tbilisi only cost $25 USD/night including all fees. The guesthouse we moved to after the hotel was only $16/night (for a private room with ensuite bathroom), so lodging in general is a great deal in Tbilisi. (So is food! And transportation. And pretty much everything.)
Biggest oops: Remember when I said everything we’ve eaten in Georgia has been delicious? Well, that doesn’t include the one time we decided not to eat Georgian food … and then Jonathan got sick … so lesson learned! Don’t even think about eating non-Georgian food when in Georgia. 😉
What we’re reading: Jonathan is continuing Becoming a Supple Leopard by Kelly Starrett on his Kindle and The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander on audiobook. Megan finished Ali and Nino by Kurban Said for her Caucasus-based reading, then read The Lost Man by Jane Harper in less than 24 hours. That woman can spin a great mystery!
What we’re watching: We re-watched About Time in our guesthouse one evening. I’m not usually one for romances, but I just love that movie!
Total walking distance: 37.49 miles (Also, Jonathan just got a Garmin, and his daily mileage is always significantly higher than mine, even when we do all the same walking. So my Fitbit may have been shorting us this whole time! We’ll need to do some experiments to see whose device is more accurate….)
Up next: Exploring more of the Caucasus.
Featured image: View of Tbilisi from the Narikala Fortress
