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Tourism in Georgia

Let's go to Georgia!



It is now done, Georgia is a DESTINATION! About time!

Back in 2008, I tried to convince my Georgian family to get on the tourism bandwagon. Granted, back then, it was not that attractive. In August 2008, the war between Russia and Georgia was exploding all over the news, and made it so that tourism could not get off the ground.

And how things have changed!
In 10 short years since the war (let us all remember that the Russian troops are STILL in South Ossetia, a Georgian recognized province..), Sakartvelo has been transformed into a traveler's paradise! It is getting almost too touristy for me, but there are ways to avoid the tourist traps still.

Below you will a few tips on better traveling, and on the cheaper side, in Georgia.
I inserted links to pix and other pages in this blog so you can get an idea of what is in store. Feel free to click and enjoy our non-professional photos. We are people just like you, and we take average pics, but it will give you an inside on the life of Georgians and the beautiful things to see and experience. Keep in mind that when we travel in Georgia, one of us is home and can communicate like the native that he is. That does allow us to come "closer", I suppose. However, Georgians are incredibly welcoming, and you will feel right at home almost immediately.

Places to visit
Georgia is not a very big country, but it is full of things to do and see. Although I will outline many places to go to, you will find that limiting yourself to 2 or 3 might be enough.

Batumi,Tbilisi, Bakuriani, Anaklia, Gudauri, Bordjomi, Akhaltsikhe:
These are some of the places you will want to go visit on your trip to Georgia.

Are you a walker? You can trek in the mountains, or walk in Tbilisi also, where a multitude of great walks can be done. (pics of daily street life in Georgia)
You may want to walk Tbilisi at night, it is quite magical.
Tbilisi at night. A delight for the eyes.

Are you a skier? Bakuriani or Gudauri will welcome you with fabulous mountains
Do you like to swim? Beaches in Anaklia or Kobuleti could be your next destination.
Do you want to experience food and culture? I recommend Akhaltsikhe, the Rabati Fortress, Tbilisi, of course, and Bordjomi. Vardzia and Kutaisi for architecture, culture, etc..
and obviously...the must see...
Wine!
The whole country will delight you, but you will want to investigate the Kakheti region in the eastern part of Georgia if you are looking for the wine capital. Please understand that wine making is everywhere in Georgia, but it is particularly set for tourists in Kakheti.

Transportation is available, of course, but Georgia is a place to be savored and not rushed. We do have a way to offer our own "taxi" service at low cost. That is probably the best way to get around, unless you go for the even cheaper option of taking a marshootka, or minibus, that crisscrosses the towns and the country as a whole. Or, you can fly into Tbilisi, and take the overnight train to Bordjomi. To get to the wine country takes a bit more finesse...but we can help you with that.

Lodging: is also available, evidently. You can pay for the big hotels that are popping up, but frankly, meeting people one on one, and making friends might be so much more fun. For that, you can stay in the numerous houses that propose a bed and most of the time, a rather fantastic breakfast..
Here is the way to do things: When you arrive in a town, hit the first little grocery store you see, and ask if someone has a place where they rent rooms. Although I would not advise to do this in Tbilisi, the smaller towns all have large houses that take in people on a moment's notice. Granted, it is not the Hilton, but I guarantee you will make fantastic contacts with the real Georgians. We can also help to find logding with our Taxi point A to B service. :)
How much is a night, would you ask? Where you will pay up to 100$ for a hotel for a night, you might pay 20 $ for a home lodging..and you will get a great breakfast, if you request one.
In this, I should mention that Batumi is a very difficult place to find cheap lodging, since it has become the playground of the rich, but small villages around, such as Kobuleti, a seaside village for the locals, have tons of cheap lodging, and you mostly will not have to reserve in advance.

Churchkhela, and other goodies
When to go: Winters are cold, but there are less tourists. Spring are warmer than Europe or the US, and are a nice time to go. Summers are scorching, that is all I will say. Fall is WONDERFUL, since it is grape-picking time. Festivals everywhere, wine everywhere, etc...tourists everywhere..October usually has Tbilisoba, or Tbilisi day, and that is a fun thing to go to. It celebrates the harvest in a very festive way. Starting in 2018, this year, and ..this weekend, Tbilisoba will always be set on the first weekend of October. I admit it was somewhat confusing in years past.. Yeah for that info! Here is the planning for the 2018 Tbilisoba.
famous Georgian socks.
Can't live without them anymore..
homespun and handmade.


How to go: Cheap flights out of France and Germany these days. Consult Wizz Air for prices. Check out the calendar, since prices can be tripled over a single week..but there some good deals to be had. Traveling light is better, since most of these airlines charge heavily for luggage. It is not a problem to be seen wearing the same outfit several days in a row.
Leaving out of France or most places in Europe through Turkey with Pegasus Airlines can be affordable, but again, check the calendar, since they do have times when they offer very competitive rates, and other times, not.. Keep in mind that most flights into Tbilisi will arrive in the middle of the night. There is a good reason for it, but I forgot it..
More details to be added a little later on this month..Keep posted!



Your next stop should be at the Tourism Bureau. Their site is very nice, and outlines many of the places you will want to see.
The national Tourism Bureau

So glad you came to visit.
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Gardening in the Georgian sun..and rain.



Gardening time!

Heat, wind, torrential rains, and poor soil.

Get the shovel!..




The lot in 2008..
Panoramic view of the front of the house
from the gate. Summer 2018

 2019 will be the first "true" growing season that we will spend at the house. The house is not entirely finished, but quite livable. In the spirit of community living, the plan is to share this house with extended family members. We are scaling down in spending, even if we are scaling up in the sheer size of the house and yard. The motto would be "downsize spending, upscale good times". Grow healthy stuff, have chickens...As we say in French: "Je le sens bien!"
Although this property has been cultivated for years by T's grandparents, it remained fallow for a long time, used only to tie animals at night. 
and from the outhouse to the front door.
From the front door to the outhouse,
a much needed path.
In the last couple of years, with the idea of living there permanently, trees have been planted, and tries at basic gardening have been made. Unfortunately, a yearly deep tilling has been done, so my gardener friends will understand my sorrow..Loamy, we are not..
Next spring, however, my master gardener's skills will arrive, and make some sense of this yard of a considerable size of 1000 square meters.


From the front bedroom
windows to the front gate
just to the right of the pic.

Back of the house. Bedroom windows view.
View of the grapes that will eventually
grow on an arbor above a deck
by the kitchen.
An almond tree has been planted there. Fun! This would be a great place to put in a new laundry line, but this area's destiny is to relay the front gate to the back of the house...for the car! Laundry will go somewhere else..and make place for a driveway!



T has already planted some grapes that will grow to shade the eastern part of the house. The property line lays to the left, at the start of the trees, although this is somewhat disputed, but that is another story..More grapevines have been planted around the periphery of the property, inside, of course, to form a continuous arbor. Very Georgian stuff!
A well has been dug and waters the garden, a much needed improvement.

Panoramic from the front door.
Front gate to the left of the pic
 So, with the droughts happening more and more on a global scale, the rain storms dropping buckets of water at times on the land, the snowy winters and the scorching summers at the foot of the Lower Caucasus Mountains, the case for a special garden has been established. 
Xeriscaping gardening, while utilizing available rain water, as well as the pure spring water coming out of the ground, lasagna raised beds for aging gardeners, core gardening, and of course: WORM compost!!!...And a definite need for shade, an even more pressing need for a greenhouse, a fun place to eat out, and a great place to store products from the garden...I do believe we have some planning to do!
The great thing is that young strong hands will be made to dig. Can't wait! Dig here, plant there, etc..
Just for reminders...
Our beautiful garden in 2009 in Corrèze.
Inspiration 101..
Come on, my lovely little workers! 
I do hope they have worms in Georgia..Hahaha...
Follow us as we plan, plod and maybe even get results in the next year. 
And...not to be forgotten..
The word for garden in Georgian is "bari", and the word for "bar" is "bari"..Yeah, I know, different pronunciation...Whatever!
To me, it  means we can garden AND drink, all in one spot! What could be better than that? Non-alcoholic, evidently!!

Summer 2019:
It is clear that Georgians have a different notion of gardening. As it is a communal garden, shared with in-laws, and products going to the WHOLE family, the choices are particular to the cooking of the meals in Georgia. No garden could be without "kitri", or cucumbers, and "rehani", or red basil. They do not grow green basil here, and don't even consider it like a true basil.. Ok...
Zucchini is not a vegetable used in recipes here, so "kabahi" is not to be seeded. Let's note that I have seeded 2 kinds, since my cooking mandates it.
The main question is: Is there water available?
In Koda, our little tiny village, there is a great deal of water, but it is mainly underground. Our first action last year was to dig a well. The water comes in at great speed, it is fresh and so far, abundant. We also have a free source of water at the entrance of our property, although it does not always have water. Sometimes it comes in savagely, other times it is a trickle. Either way, it is constantly attached to a neighbor or another to fill the cisterns used for washing, showering and such.
Yesterday, our neighbor across the way came and commented on our beautiful garden. We do water it with well water and do not have to depend on the fountain out front. I asked her if she grew a garden, and told me no, since she does not have a well and the fountain being so fickle, she could not afford to grow anything, for fear that it would then all die. She does have cows, and chickens, and she makes great "matsoni", or yogurt. I must remember to trade rehani for matsoni later in the season.
Rehani, the red basil, came to us yesterday as a merchant's offering, along with fresh, although somewhat greenish kitri.. He comes to the village, honks his horn and you can pick stuff out of his car such wonders as tomatoes, cukes, and...rehani starts. Since my green basil failed miserably to come up in the ground, and, darn it, I didn't keep any extra seed to start indoors, I grabbed the starts right out of the trunk of the merchant, and put them in the ground in the shade. for fear that I would immediately cook them in the hot sun.

April 2020:
but first, let's have
a bit of local fare..
 And so it is that life takes over what you had planned...Surgery, in my case, 2 of them. Ever heard of having your tailbone removed? Well, yeah, mine is gone, broken in two places and very, very sore. The recovery is long, arduous, and no fun whatsoever. Surgery 2 on the liver..benign, but not fun either.
This all took place as summer started in June 2019. I have been out of commission for months, but I do believe I am getting better. Unfortunately, it also  means that I had to give control over to people who, might I be blunt, know zero about gardening. So, I waited until Feb this year and claimed a part of the lot as my "experimentation garden". And then....Mr Covid-19 made his appearance and just like that, all garden centers closed..Good thing I had a few seeds, so we will...maybe...have tomatoes, cilantro, lettuce. We all hope and wait at home, like the rest of the humans, wait for Mr Virus to give us back the life we had..
snow fairy
Starting a compost last May, as we arrived, was a feat. We were told that mice would come, which would attract dogs, and cats, and snakes.
Well, yeah, there is that possibility, but they wouldn't be here if the goodies
were not there. So, after a long, repeated lesson on what to put in or not, our mulch pile/compost grew. I received comments about the utility of it until I moved the pile last month to MY side of the garden, and there, low and behold, the soil was happy to be covered with a marvelous layer of "almost" done compost, and tons and tons of lovely worms. Since I practice a no-dig technique of gardening, it just ended up as a new bed. It would have been better to make raised beds, but since all stores are closed, it is what it is. Our gentle neighbor also contributed a great pile of cow manure, with the warning that mole crickets might be in it. Our roommates are deadly afraid that they will now invade the whole garden, but chances are, with the thorough going-thru done, we will have zero to none..So far, no problem, and happy veggies..
The lot is looking awesome, I must say. Although a rototiller did make its entrance and tilled a large part of it while I prayed for the micro-organisms within, the result is interesting. We will see.
It was interesting to show the mature worm compost at the bottom of the pile to the roommies, however. Whoa...that looks like rich soil, they said. Mmm...yeah!   All mine!!
So, a little snow, a little seed and the results of no garden center open mean that we used what we had, until better days. No dependence on stores can be good, I suppose.
first thinning of
the spinach
the almond tree in bloom
And results we have:
It looks like spinach likes it here, winter spinach that is. 
 I was told it doesn't grow here in the winter. OK..
Spinach in georgian is "ispanikhi". Not too bad. Got it!
Black seeded lettuce is ok too. Thinning and relocating up next.


the grape arbor
is ready!





Carrots are minuscule and full of early weeds. To be  manipulated with caution..Radishes are plentiful already. Cilantro is coming on strong.





the wedding party
The rows are separated this year with wooden boards. Wood shavings would be better, it would have had time to compost for next year, but for now, as aforementioned, no garden store open. The plan is to progressively remove the board, admire the dead weeds turned compost and extend the beds.
We decided to put our tomatoes in the ground. After digging a large hole, filling it with compost, and making a teepee above it, we planted them. Then came a long week of unexpected wind, tons of rain, and a little cold..They are making it, waiting for the sun to come out. For the occasion, I covered them with beautiful sheers. Yes, looks like a wedding party just arrived in the garden! Whatever works!


June 1st, 2020:
Today, I joyfully planted our passionflower, bought yesterday in town. I have wanted one for a long, long time..
I also thinned our carrots and beets, and yes, we do have a few roots in there! We ate a medley of new mini new potatoes, fresh pea pods, baby carrots and a few chopped beets, topped with the fresh onions greens. It feels good to come out of the garden with a great big head of lettuce, and all those sacrificed babies.
So, yeah, the morning was pleasant. And then the hale came, the size of ping pong balls, the winds, and the torrential rains. We have yet to see our poor tomatoes, cukes and other goodies. I don't dare..Frankly, it really makes me want to build a greenhouse, and to just garden indoors. It always ends that way here. Decapitated tomatoes, zucchini leaves that look like Swiss cheese, and in a month, it will be roasting temperatures, wild rain storms.. The land of extremes. My poor passionflower is under a massive rain shower as I write this. The plants here have to be tough! We will see who made it tomorrow in the sunlight.
Did I mention tomorrow, I wanted to buy strawberries to make jam? The village down the road has some great fields. Last year, we had the exact same scenario. We said: "Tomorrow, strawberry shopping!" and it haled all night. Not a single jar of jam made. Yikes! It will have to be apricots, if they managed to escape this storm.
So, the greenhouse is one of our main projects. Due in December. We have been saving Naberlavi bottles for months! What for, say you? Well, it is another post, another day.
January 2021
We escaped 2020! The virus chased us all the way to the US.  The garden season is in the planning mode. By April, I  will be ready with a ton of seeds. It is supposed to be a surgery-free year. Ah, yes...

Our grapes were magnificent!

Our marani, or wine cellar is under construction..more soon on that topic.

So glad you came to visit.
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Vagzlis bazari, my favoritest marketplace in Georgia and on earth..


Vagzlis bazari!


That means the Train Station's market, for those of us for whom the Georgian language is still a mystery. Actually, it does come from Russian, I have been told..I will be forever corrected in my use of the beautiful Georgian language.. Argh!

From the top of the stairs where the above picture is taken, turn around, and face the other way. First, you will find stores that sell textbooks, coffee, all kind of permanent little stores. Keep going straight..Now, there you are!
It would be untrue to say that I only go there to shop. As it is, it is a long way from where our house is. But when in Georgia, and particularly in Tbilisi, I have to go plunge into this great market.
Why? 
Well, many reasons. Most of all, one of my very favorite person works very close to there. She works in the amazing okros bazari, or the Gold Market. I go visit and sit with her and watch with incredulous eyes. You do not take pictures there, it is strictly forbidden, but let me say that it is absolutely beyond belief. You have heard of the Golden Fleece? Well... there it is, in small chunks, of course! The Gold Market is at the front of the train station, first floor. You can't miss it. Just find the escalator and the security guards. 

The market is just a fun place to go mix with the natives. A few tourists, maybe, but mainly natives for whom this market is where they buy their fresh produce every day. It really gives you a sense of what is eaten and used for everyday living. 

The Train Station's market is a huge complex with several levels that houses not only the Gold market, but other large stores. It is also, of course...a train station!
Technology, clothing, everything you can think of, it is there. Needless to say, there is food too. After all, it is Georgia.. You can grab things on the go, such as khatchapuris, but you can also sit and ponder your next purchase. Luka and I ate at the very top of the train station a couple of years ago, and that was most fun. 
The pics below are from veggie vendors outside the main building, to the left when the station is in front of you. The market goes on for a long, long way, and ends with people who do not have the protection of a roof in time of heat or rain. I suppose that place must be cheaper, but you do have to walk past all of this to see them. By that time, you probably already filled your basket..




marigolds make a famous spice,
called "yellow flower".

 This is just the vegetable and fruit portion of the market, with a few dry products also. If you go to the right, with the train station to your back, you will find that it goes on there too. Since the stores there are more permanent in nature, you will find little grocery stores, many, many stores with Chinese products of all kind, and places to eat. At Easter, you will find people selling red madder root to color eggs and all necessary to celebrate.






 Berries of all kinds will end up in jams and syrups. Many are also used for medicinal properties. The sea buckthorn, for example, becomes a great syrup used to boost your immunity before the cold season.



Alright, pomegranates are awesome here!
It is such a good thing  that many of these products are locally grown!
Supporting the local mini-farm owners is so important!








No wonder their dishes are great, look at all the great stuff they cook!

Did you forget to bring back
that most important Georgian coffee maker?
Here it is!

 The plaza is also where you find the majority of the minibuses going in all directions. Vagzlis Bazari is the end, or the start, of most bus lines. It is also where the last stop of that metro line arrives. It is a happening place!
The first or the last thing
you should do.
Try tarkhuna lemonade;
Tarragon Lemonade!
Oh, wait, of course...a Georgian carpet!
Well, those are...Turkish, but still nice. 


 Happy 

shopping!

















So glad you came to visit.
 Contact Giga on his Facebook page
for a fun travel time in Georgia.
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