Breakfast at Entrée
Breakfast at Entrée was, as usual, sweet and satisfying.
Georgia! I’ve heard about it a lot and always wanted to visit. I knew it was located in Caucasus mountains, it is arguably the place of wine inception, and is famous for its therapeutic mineral water springs. One day a friend, the same girl who I traveled in Indonesia with, called me up saying she wants to visit Georgia and wonders if I would like to join. I didn’t think much and agreed almost immediately. Then we had a month of planning and debating over transportation means. We both like to squeeze in as much as possible into each trip, and it wasn’t a matter of WHAT to see but rather HOW to see it.
The main obstacle was about notorious forum reviews advising not to rent a car since driving in Georgia is hectic and dangerous. After multiple discussions and trying to create an itinerary based on public transportation, we gave up and decided to rent a car and manage potential problems as they arise.
The reality was driving in Georgia is not harder than any other country. Ok, I cannot compare all 195 countries (as of 2019 census), but out of those where I/we have experience in including countries known for its crazy traffic such as Indonesia or Thailand or India, Georgia was normal. Road conditions overall are very manageable and speedy drivers can be found anywhere in the world.
Often times we were picking up hitchhikers to meet and talk to local people. Not so many spoke English or Russian making it even more fun to communicate through translation apps. We only had a positive experience by giving people a ride.
I landed a couple of days before my friend. For a matter of simplicity, I will describe it all as one day. Mostly I spent time working at a coffee shop in Old Tbilisi. Entrée café at Kote Afkhazi St. was my favorite after I checked few coffee shops around. It had very good coffee, amazing croissants, and fresh salads. When I landed I took a taxi arranged by an Airbnb person. My friend took a direct bus from the airport because it was 10 times cheaper. If you land during the day/evening hours and don’t have much luggage, then bus #37 is a convenient and inexpensive option.
On the second day, I went to the Georgian National Museum. I already knew that I should go there before my friend arrives because she is not into museums. Overall, I have to say the museum is very very good. Most of the time I’ve spent in a prehistoric section with sculls and history of the region reading every single poster and description. The region has a fascinating history.
By the time my friend got to our rental apartment, it was already dinner time. After a quick shower, we went out to one of the so many restaurants in the Old Tbilisi town. The area we walked to has one restaurant after another one. The whole Jan Shardeni street was filled with eateries. I wish I remember the name of the restaurant we ate because the food was very good and the portions were big. We’ve ordered a salad, a bottle of wine and a main course for each. We couldn’t finish everything.
Sightseeing Old Tbilisi
Breakfast at Entrée was, as usual, sweet and satisfying.
After breakfast, we hiked up to a Mother Georgia statue. At one place somewhere close to the top is an awesome little square that overlooks the city. Sololaki St. connects the hilltop attractions. By following the street we reached Narikala castle ruins.
One of the options to get to and from Narikala castle is to take a cable car. We decided to skip it, therefore, I cannot say anything about aerial transportation. After walking up and down, it was already lunch time. A quick bite in the old center was re-energizing.
From a lunch spot in the Old town, we walked to Funicular to have famous donuts at a restaurant located at the top (upper end of funicular). For additional entertainment, there is an amusement park right there.
Ride down at Funicular and a long walk to St. Trinity Cathedral through Dry Bridge Market. The place sells paintings, but mostly old things. If you are into Soviet items, I’m sure you can find something interesting. The day was hot even though it was only May. I didn’t take any pictures of the cathedral because I was simply out of energy. Also, I only have images of the Dry Market in my memory.
From St. Trinity Cathedral we walked back to the old town directly to Orbeliani Baths (the Airbnb host highly recommended the place). Actually, I reserved a time slot before my friend arrived. The bathhouse was interesting but not so clean. A bathtub with hot springs had a floating layer of most probably dead human skin. I didn’t like that they were charging for everything. Perhaps towel, slippers, etc. fees were because locals were bringing their own items. The whole area along a river smells sulfuric.
Dinner time. Today we went to the DADI wine bar and shop. Perhaps the place is good because it has a high rating on google maps. We had bad experience though. A server gave us lots of attitude adding at the end a racist, offending comment about Russians. We still ate and drank there knowing we will never come back and spread the word about a hostile environment.
In the morning we picked up a rental car that we booked through www.myrentacar.com. A rental office was in the old town. It was a smooth transaction and didn’t take long. Prior to picking up the car, we sent through WhatsApp copies of driver licenses. The papers were waiting for us to sign. We got the smallest car (and cheapest).
Today our driving tour begins with the first place to see is Kazbegi Mountain.
On the way to Stepandsmida, we did a quick stop at Ananuri fortress ruins. The best part about the ruins is its location overlooking Zhinvali Reservoir.
It is possible to drive up to the church, however, we decided to walk since we spent a few hours in the car. The hike was not so hard. From the middle of the hill or mountain, a thick fog layer blanketed everything. We were hiking off-trail using google maps to navigate to the church. A homeless dog was following us from the parking lot all the way up. We felt so bad that we had no food to share with the dog. It was hard to decide where the place is nice or not due to limited visibility. Well, it was a check mark on the itinerary.
Before checking in at Kazbegi Cottages, we had dinner at Khareba Kazbegi that also has a wine shop. Food was decent.
The day of driving! Today Alazani valley spots are on the list to see.
The day started bright and sunny, but very quickly clouds covered the sun.
The reason I’m putting a separate post for the road is that it requires its own mentioning.
First, the road was unpaved, very bumpy, slow, nevertheless, incredibly beautiful and scenic. Along the way, we passed by a small village where some kind of celebration was going on, perhaps a religious event. Lots and lots of people had camped, tends, fires set up. Each group of people had at least one sheep. They were killing and cutting those sheep right there and then cooking them. It was so sad to see how many of those animals were resisting. The gathering was massive.
The first destination for today – Alaverdi Monastery. We decided to go there because I’ve read that monks produce wine and it is possible to have a tour. It wasn’t so when we reached the place. Because no tours were available, we didn’t stay long. A gift shop across the street was selling monastery wine, however, the price was rather steep. Skipped.
Continuing the trip. Next is Telavi. The town is fine. We actually only went inside Telavi Fortress and made a short walk on an adjacent street. Due to time restraint, we spent little time at Telavi.
On the way to Nekresi Monastery, we made a short stop at Gremi Citadel. It was well worth the stop. Few older women were selling fruits on a parking lot. Let’s support the local economy – few cups of berries went to our stomachs, plus we were hungry. And then Nekresi.
If I pick the top 3 places in Georgia, Nekresi monastery is one of them. First, the walk up was a bit challenging because of steepness. Second, they make their own wine (relatively inexpensive) and super tasty. The wine was on a sweeter side. Church wine I guess. Third, the valley view from the monastery was awesome.
Next is Sighnaghi. By the time we reached Sighnaghi, it was already dark. Google maps had bad coverage of the area showing only big roads. Our hotel that we got through bookings.com was somewhere where Google couldn’t locate. We parked in the center of a city and started walking around asking people where either the hotel is or a street. Finally, one lady told us to follow her. We couldn’t appreciate the town at night, all we could perceive is that it is located at the top of a mountain.
The dinner place was just down the street where we stayed at Marani restaurant (and hotel). The restaurant has a nice patio. Everything we ordered was tasty. I cannot say either the food was really good or we were just so hungry. After a hot sunny day, the patio dining felt chilly. It could be because of the elevation.
Alazani Valley drive discovery day
The day started with a walk around the old town. My friend got up at sunrise and took some nice pictures while I was sleeping. The town is super pretty. That would be another place in the top 3. After a healthy and very filling breakfast at the B&B, we headed in the car to the town center. We parked in front of Kabadoni hotel where parking spots were clearly defined and walked on a street paralleling an old city wall. One tower allows walk up, a pretty picture spot. Then continuing further is an arch to walk to the other side. And the other side is a forest with walking trails. It was absolutely peaceful. Forest canopy is so dense that grounds are cool and shady. Loved it!
Walking back to the car and continuing walking down the street. A small market inside an older building had a good selection of local spices and other homemade snacks. Supported local economy – purchased few things. Pheasant’s Tears Winery was the next stop. We did a quick tasting that we found on an expensive side. Wines were very so-so. 2 tastings we dumped because wine just tasted too off. A server girl was very surprised we didn’t like their wine much. The premises of the winery are very nice though.
Walking back to the car and continuing walking down the street. A small market inside an older building had a good selection of local spices and other homemade snacks. Supported the local economy – purchased few things. Pheasant’s Tears Winery was the next stop. We did a quick tasting that we found on an expensive side. Wines were very so-so. 2 tastings we dumped because wine just tasted too off. A server girl was very surprised we didn’t like their wine much. The premises of the winery are very nice though. All right, continue walking. We continued up the road and while the destination was St. Nina church, we ended up at St. Nina Spring. A line of people was waiting to get “special” spring water. Each person had a plastic bottle. We didn’t have anything and while my friend drank the water straight from a faucet, I decided to skip. I’ve heard someone saying how safe it is to drink “holy” water. My thoughts were – I wish microbes knew it is “holy” water. We didn’t expect to spend so much time walking, so we got a taxi parked in front of the spring and had a ride back to the car.
The plan was to do a wine tasting while in Kakheti Valley. However, wine tasting is not like in California you drive to a tasting room and do the tasting. In Georgia most of the wineries require reservations. I believe it is because they are not as commercial as wineries in California and lack staff to be open for walk-ins.
Well, nevertheless we did a tasting at a winery along S5 road. By googling we found a winery with reviews. A road leading to the place made us constantly question whether we are moving in the right direction. First, there were no signs at all. Second, Google didn’t say anything about the winery being open. We just drove there because others went there. Parked the car in front of a house that google maps showed as the winery. A man walked toward us, so we asked about the tasting. He went inside the house and his son walked out. They were not prepared for the visitors, but were very accommodating and did a tour and tasting. We ended up buying 4 bottles.
After the winery, we drove to Jvari Monastery of Mtskheta church. The view of two rivers confluence was very nice from the old church. The church itself was just an old church. Ok, next.
Gori is the place to stay overnight. We picked Gori because it was very close to Uplistsikhe. Gori as a birthplace of Joseph Stalin deserves more attention, however, we decided to skip it.
A B&B we picked was providing homemade dinners (at additional cost), so we had a very lovely and tasty dinner with tasting of homemade local vodka that was “on the house” made by the owner. A group of retired German men was staying in other rooms. Maybe there were more tourists, but they were the ones we met in the common area. The guys were bikers. One of them shipped his bike to Georgia, while the other 3 had more time and drove from Germany to Georgia. I was so impressed and blown away by a scope of driving they’ve done. They made a good point though – when one retires, there is no rush anywhere anymore.
More driving. Making our way to the northern part of the country.
A quick check out and we are on the road. We didn’t check open hours assuming Uplistsikhe park opens around 8 AM. At 9 we were at the park entrance only to find out that we need to wait another hour. The advantage of being there the first is that while by 10 AM more cars arrived, we were the first in line to buy tickets, therefore, were the first ones to enter the park. Rushing to the top, up the stairs to have the place to ourselves paid off. In less than 10 minutes other people made their way up. The park is small and in 30 minutes every corner was checked and pictures were taken. Time to continue.
Kutaisi. According to historical records, Kutaisi is an ancient capital and one of the oldest cities in the world. The city itself is not impressive at all. There is no sense of history. Perhaps there were too many perturbations throughout its time, but no visible signs of ancientness were present. Our Airbnb apartment was on a hill allowing awesome snow peaks view in front. The only things that stand out in my memory about Kutaisi are its fruit bazaar and a large fountain in the city center. We had dinner in a restaurant White Stones right by Rioni river. In the evening we got a bottle of local wine and fruits and chilled on a balcony of the apartment.
Checking out natural wonders of Georgia around Kutaisi
Prometheus cave is the first to visit today. When we arrived (right before it opened) it was already crowded with many school groups in a waiting area. Got the tickets. Got into the park. The cave is pretty as well as a park it is located in. During the drive to the cave, we passed through Tskaltubo town, which is apparently famous for hot springs. Maybe they are there, but not in easy public access. At least when we asked our Airbnb host, she didn’t confirm that we can visit it.
The cave is part of a park that has numerous trails and a glass observation deck.
Then is Okatse canyon. Running ahead, I say – Impressive! By following google maps navigation, we got to a parking lot and had to walk quite a bit to the canyon walkway. A trail is well marked and also pretty since it goes through meadows and forest. I have to say when you go there, try to beat the crowd and arrive first. A walkway is a bit narrow with kids running around and elders slowly making their way, somewhere we had to wait and be patient.
After Okatse canyon we continued on to Mirtvili Canyon. It is possible to rent a boat, however, when we were there water level was high and no boating was possible. A hike along the canyon is very short, however, rugged walls of the canyon are striking.
After the day of walking and spending outside we were tired and headed immediately to the apartment.
Continuing exploring what’s around Kutaisi
Chitaura is an interesting place in Georgia. We drove there because of old Soviet mining cable cars. Apparently, the city is built on such steep hills that cable cars were the main public transportation back in a day. By looking at pictures, we both were very excited. However, when we got there a local told us that all stations are closed for restoration. The plan was to spend most of the day in Chiatura, but we had to head back much earlier than expected. Luckily that gave us an opportunity to visit a town outside of the itinerary: Sairme. If you decide to go to Chiatura, check the status of cable cars. I didn’t take any pictures of the city. The picture for this post is Katskhi Column, which is a famous historical landmark. The top building is a church. It is located on the road leading to Chiatura, so it was a quick walk in and out. There were construction/restoration works happening, the access to the column was blocked.
All right, few words about Sairme. I personally loved the tiny town. It is so small that it is hard to call it a town. There are few hotels (that seemed to be closed when we arrived). The road that goes to Sairme is hilly and windy with cool fresh air. The highlight is free mineral water. The town has few (5) stations where you can drink as much various mineral composition water as you want. You need to have a cup or bottle, something to pour water in. We were very hungry at that point and started asking where to eat. The only restaurant that was supposed to be open had an event. Many kids were dressed in traditional costumes running around. The restaurant was closed hosting the dancing event. The only open place with food was a small bakery, which didn’t have much food. We ordered a traditional cheese bread – Khachapuri and a pastry. Enough food to get through the next few hours. The drive back was relaxing.
Since I’m a big fan of hot springs, I had to dip in Georgia. I can’t remember how, but I found a natural undeveloped hot spring along our route back. Here is coordinates: 42°06’16.3″N 42°35’12.7″E. The sun was setting by the time we reached the place. However, it wasn’t the day for us to fulfill desires. The pool was occupied by a group of Georgian men in their 20s. Due to place isolation and lack of people nearby, we decided not to play with our luck and left.
I don’t remember where we went for dinner that day. After lots of driving and disappointment, we were worn out.
Long drive to Mestia through beautiful mountains and vistas. Unlike all other places, we didn’t have a booking for Mestia. My friend decided to figure out when we get there. That’s the third top 3 places in Georgia.
If I go back to Georgia it is because of the Svaneti region. It is an absolutely mind-blowing place because of its natural beauty. The place is a paradise for nature lovers. We drove through the town checking out hotels. Then we saw a hotel on a hill overlooking the town – Tetnuldi hotel. Headed there. The price was on the expensive side. While we were by reception talking about prices and possible discount, a middle-aged man walked down. The receptionist waved a hand saying he is the owner suggested to ask him for some discount. He agreed. We split the room cost making it not so terrible, plus a decent breakfast was included with arguably the best view patio in Mestia. In the evening we had a drink at a hotel’s restaurant with a real fireplace. With fire, chill music, and only 2 other people in the lounge we had a great time.
I apologize for a smudgy image, but it is either this or nothing. The camera refused to focus with such light
Coffee in the restaurant wasn’t so great, so we ended up finding an amazing coffee shop in the city center. It is run by a Ukrainian family. Their lattes are boutique coffee shop grade. Every single day that was a morning destination. We also wanted to find a car (taxi) or tour to take us to Ushguli. Back that time the mountainous road wasn’t suitable for small cars. However, when we went there a road construction was placing pavement. Maybe today the drive is easy and possible for any type of car. After finding a driver with 4×4 for 80$ we drove to Chalaadi Glacier.
A hike to the glacier was moderate with a slight uphill. Without knowing that’s a glacier, it can be confused as old snow stuck in-between mountains. Many people hiked to the very top. Somewhere in a middle, something was constantly rolling down – soil, pieces of ice, stones. Plus, when I was in Iceland, I had a tour at one of their glaciers where a guide said to be extremely careful walking on a glacier. There are cracks covered by thin layer of snow and we had to follow a beaten, established path. Of course, I had to share such glacier knowledge. Turned around.
In the afternoon we went to a museum. I enjoyed the museum so much! As I’ve mentioned before my friend is not into museums. She was waiting for me at the roof of the museum. Stairs can be found in the back of the building. If your hotel doesn’t provide a good view, then head to the museum.
From the museum, we walked up to the road and got tickets+ride on a cable car to the top of a mountain.
At the very top, a café is located with 360-degree views – all sides are windows, plus a patio. We had an early light dinner there. Then walked around a bit. Gorgeous views!
Day trip further into mountains
I’ve read that Mestia is not as popular as Ushguli being just a transfer point for hikers and outdoorsy people. However, when we got to Ushguli, while super pretty, it was undeveloped and little infrastructure, just a tiny village with domestic animals roaming around and lots of stray dogs. Sadly too many stray dogs. A driver gave us 3 hours to walk around. We finished in less than 2.
It was already lunchtime and we headed to a café next to a pickup place. Apparently, we were very hungry and over ordered. Unfinished food we gave away to dogs that swallowed pieces without chewing. They looked very hungry. I have a hard time seeing suffering animals. But what can we do?
After a rough drive back, we went to a fancy restaurant at another hotel on the same hill. The restaurant was on the top floor with glass walls and awesome, awesome views.
Today is a hiking day!
In the morning we headed to the top of a mountain across from us. The hike was steep. We got lost and deviated from a trail. But somehow managed to find the trail later on just by climbing up and up. It is possible to drive, but the road is so scary – rough, windy, and very narrow without any security barriers. That’s the road we ended up taking on the way back.
Upon descending from the mountain we got into the car and drove to a nearby village Mazeri, which has a somewhat famous waterfall (at least famous among tourists).
Before leaving, we asked the hotel staff about the road condition to Mazeri and they advised us not to drive in our car. Well…. another burst myth. The road was fine. It was a dirt road with potholes, nevertheless, very manageable. Unofficial parking was at the very end of the road. Parked and walked. The whole walk didn’t take more than 3 hours, roundtrip. Most of the trail was relatively flat with only a few climbing sections.
After the hike, we headed back and had a bottle of wine with fruits at a balcony saying goodbye to Mestia.
Today we are driving to Batumi.
Arrival time for Batumi check-in fell for 4 PM because we had some issues with an Airbnb host meeting us and taking to the apartment. The apartment was inside an old building with lots of local life right by the main street. Immediately after a shower and a short break, we went out for a walk and look for dinner. In Mestia we met a girl from Batumi, and she highly recommended the restaurant Heart of Batumi where we were dining two days in a row, that much we liked it. The next day we did a long walk on the seafront promenade. Then decided to take a drive to a famous beach nearby – Ureki – for its black and supposedly healing sand. The day wasn’t sunny and with so many tourists, the idea to swim was discarded. Drove back and took a cable car to the top of the mountain.
The ride fell on pre-sunset time and views+colors were amazing. In the evening we visited a local craft beer bar owned and run by a person from Moscow (that’s what we were told). The other bar we visited right next door, Chacha Time, was lots of fun. Bartenders were cool funny guys. After a couple of cocktails around midnight, my friend decided to have ice cream. To our surprise we found a creamery open till 2 AM. Luca Polare was only 3 blocks away from Chacha Time. Late-night ice cream treat was delicious.
Perhaps Batumi offers a lot more things to see and visit, but we didn’t put much effort into exploring it. Walking around, having coffee with deserts here and there, and just relaxing felt great.
Another driving day. The destination is Borjomi.
I don’t know how far Borjomi fame spread beyond former soviet republics, therefore, I am biased to call it very famous. Borjomi is known for its healing mineral sparkling water. Currently, there is one developed and publicly accessible well where water is unlimited. The only thing is that there is an entrance fee to a park where the well is located. We stayed for a few days at Borjomi Palace Hotel because it provided buffet breakfast, lunch, and dinners.
Exploring Borjomi
6 AM rise and go to the mineral spring well. To our pleasant surprise, the fee collection was starting around 8 or 9. Prior to that hour, the entrance is free. The reason we decided to come so early in the morning is that when we walked in the evening to the park, it was overly crowded and the line to enter was so long that we decided to skip it. Today we got our water and free entrance. Way to go! After a very pleasant walk in the park, we returned to the hotel for breakfast. Grabbed swimming suits and headed back to the park.
There are natural hot springs at the very end of the park. One of the options was to either walk through a park or take a cable car to the top of a mountain and from there walk down to the hot springs. I am very happy we chose the second option. The cable car ride was short yet scenic. The most beautiful part was at the top of the mountain: old-growth forest with pine trees and incredibly fresh air. An old church, I believe a famous one, is located at the top as well. The whole ride and walk didn’t take over an hour. Hot springs had a shower, bathroom facilities as well as a snack bar. It was crowded already.
The rest of the day we spent just walking around, visiting the local fruit market, and sitting at a coffee shop.
A very interesting day!
We spent the whole day visiting Vardzia. There is not much to say. It is an awesome, historic town. We’ve been told the city was much bigger before, but a landslide cut off lots of the tunnels. Based on the visual appearance, I couldn’t tell that’s true.
Returning to Tbilisi. Today we took it easy and decided to visit wineries along the road. That happened to be two.
The first winery was Chateau Mukhrani. Out of my limited wine tasting experience in Georgia, Chateau Mukhrani seemed to be the most advanced in every way. The building is beautiful. Wines (at least the ones we tasted) were made by using European methods in stainless steel and wood barres. To an American, European wine drinker palate, their wines were great. After a few hours at the winery, we headed to the next one – Iago’s Winery.
That was a complete opposite. At first, the owner didn’t even want to seat us because it is “by reservation only”. However, they had a group of European tourists already doing the tasting. So we were seated and helped. The wines of Iago (the owner and winemaker I believe) were made entirely in Georgian traditional style. Heavy wines. In the end, we were given a shot of homemade grape vodka. Every tasting we did in Georgia wasn’t free. If I remember correctly a range of prices is between $7 and $15.
Today we returned the car and relaxed.
A lazy day because of heat and humidity. Our Airbnb was almost bordering Narikala fortress providing awesome views over Old Tbilisi
When Natasha left, another friend came over on a short trip. We also rented a car and did pretty much only Svaneti and Batumi. There was no time for other spots. However, there is one place we visited on the way to Mestia and stayed for a couple of nights. That place is Shovi. And that’s the place I want to mention.
Google maps showed a road that goes through Tskhinvali. Right before the city military personnel blocked the road saying we cannot continue. We were very surprised and tried to ask a guard why the road is closed. The area looked like some kind of war camp area. Later we found out that Tskhinvali is actually South Ossetia. And there is war-like tensions between Georgia and South Ossetia over there. What’s next? The military guy told us to go through Kutaisi to Shovi. Instead of a 4-hour ride, it took almost 8 with gas stops and a lunch break. We arrived in the evening. Shovi as a village doesn’t really exist. It looks abandoned and houses visible here and there. We didn’t find a single restaurant. The only hotel we found that was bookable – Sunset Shovi. The room price included breakfast and dinner. By the time we arrived, it was already evening. We walked around a bit, ate, and went to bed. Our hotel was somewhat full of Georgian people. Maybe it is their escape from “it all” place.
Immediately after breakfast the next day, we hiked to Buba Glacier. With Wikiloc help, a trailhead was located. A full day of an amazing hike. It wasn’t extremely challenging, even though the hike had a good elevation gain. The trail originates among ruins of some kind of camp or I cannot even say what else it can be. The area had a pretty large kitchen building and other structures around. Perhaps soviet legacy remainder. The ruins were great for photography. After exploring and discussing what could it be, we finally headed up. Needless the say the views along the hike were stunning. At the very top, a UN tent was set up with two local young guys sitting by it. They looked very much like mountain boys or shepherds.
Next day we drove to Mestia. However, unlike what Google maps suggested we took a mountain road and required 4WD in many places. The places we were passing, the mountains, the rivers, tiny villages, meadows were so worth the extra driving time.
