– Eastern Georgia - Tuesday 12 May

Oh dear, our coach wouldn’t start. That meant a new coach and a new driver. Delayed by just half an hour we headed off through the eastern suburbs of Tbilisi. Once clear of Tbilisi our new driver showed his true colours. Driving very fast and plenty of sharp breaking. For about half an hour he spent his time just 2 metres behind another coach. Probably all a bit ruffling for most of our group. Even I thought he was a bit wild. Then again, it was probably just like being in a car driven by a well-known celebrity – me! Of course, it’s different when you’re a passenger isn’t it!

 

 Tbilisi suburbs - the old and the new

After nearly two hours we arrived at our first destination, and guess what it was? Yes, of course it was a monastery. This one was Bodhe Monastery, perched on a hill with fine views to the east. It was a pleasant place with finely manicured gardens and all that. But the main church was nothing special. Over the last year I have rather fallen in love with English churches. The variety of our churches is phenomenal; something we need to treasure more. However, whilst Georgian churches are beautiful buildings, they all pretty much follow the same design both internally and externally.

 

  

 

We then took the short drive to the hilltop town of Sighnaghi. It came with the billing of “Georgia’s most beautiful town”. It was reasonably nice but clearly didn’t warrant that description. The views to the east were good, and there were some pretty corners but it “were nowt special” as a I believe they say in the northern regions of our country – i.e. beyond Woodstock!

 

 

 

 

Lunch was taken (food is seemingly very important on this trip!) at a private residence, and this was a really beautiful spot with a great patio and lots of lovely wisteria (well I think it was that – sort mauve/purple). Or was it bougainvillea? How would I know! The food was lovely, but as always there was way too much, and the whole affair took far too long. Let’s be honest, all I needed was a nice Coronation Chicken Sandwich from M & S, and I would have been on my way. After all, “Time is Money”; so my Dad regularly reminded me. Bless him, he had some cracking sayings. Best of all was “how many times have I told you, never park over a drain” – that is a story for another day.

 

 

We were shown how to make Churchkela, a Georgian speciality; often eaten as a snack. This is how Wikipedia describes it: - Most commonly, walnuts or hazelnuts are threaded onto a string, dipped in thickened grape must, mulberry juice, or fruit juices and hung upside-down to dry in the shape of a candle. We were offered the chance to have a go doing the dipping and then removing slowly to make the candle-like object. Everyone was too shy to try so it was down to yours truly to give a master class. Frankly, it was easy, but then again, my real surname is Nhorhidhze, ‘onest guv!

 

 

 My produce                                                  and some I'd made before

Fresh from my success of being the King of Churchkela I swaggered down the street to our next appointment – wine tasting. Not a speciality area for me due to having a very unsophisticated palate*. Additionally, I’m not helped by the fact that I barely touch wine these days. 

*I am particularly weak at tasting any difference in coffees. I couldn’t taste the difference between Nescafé, Mellow Birds or some poncey Italian stuff. Let’s be clear though, coffee remains the non-league area of beverages, whilst Brooke Bond PG Tips is, of course, the Champions League.

The wine tasting was more than a little disappointing. We had 3 whites and a red. Only the red tasted half decent. Last year, at a vineyard near the Azerbaijan border we had some lovely whites. I guess they must have decanted some Blue Nun or Black Tower! That was it for our day’s entertainment.

 

 

absolute classic's!

 

the half decent red

The journey back to Tbilisi was surprisingly good, with none of the rush hour shenanigans we experienced yesterday. The Georgians are working very hard to get rid of all the old Soviet tenement blocks, but that’s a massive task. There were certainly plenty of these grim old places on the eastern side of Tbilisi.

 

 

Back in Tbilisi it was overcast but nice and warm, so I headed straight out again. I wanted to get a particular photo of the cathedral with the Kura River in front. By the time I got to Saarbrücken Bridge the sun had come out but most of the flea market stalls there had closed. The few that hadn’t shut were mainly selling the usual bric-a-brac, plus lots of old Soviet tat. Today was St. Andrew’s Day, which meant a Bank Holiday. Again, the vibe was just lovely – young and old out enjoying the balmy temperature, and the many open spaces in the city. Dedaerna park was really vibrant with 100’s of youths hanging out, playing basketball and skateboarding. No yobbery, just relaxed.

 

 

 

Across the road from Dedaerna park I could see a large statue that lured me towards it. This was Giorgi Leonidze a famous Georgian poet. Behind his stature was a lovely park named after him. It was a lovely spot and contained two more fine monuments.

 

 

Walking back to the hotel there was a lovely flower market on Orbeliani Square. The green wrought iron buildings gave it a very Parisian feel. Wonderful.

 

 

 

Back at the hotel I had a long chat with Cate, during which there was the most incredible thunderstorm. The lightning happened so often it gave out the effect of strobe lightning. And did it teem down? Within minutes the road next to the hotel turned into a full on torrential stream. The only downside was that I couldn’t get any photos of it. Within 20 minutes it finished, but I went to bed dreaming of the silky tones of Randy Crawford singing, well of course, A Rainy Night in Georgia.

Tomorrow, we head to Armenia. That I am really looking forward to.