It's Always an Adveneture!

 October 4, 2021

A day of firsts!!  The first one being a blue sky over Tbilisi!  That's a welcome sight after several overcast days!  And the second is that Ammar is awake before I'm finished with my yoga and meditation! We head down to the breakfast buffet where the only change is that I succumb to the chocolate croissant, hoping that my virtuous tomatoes and cucumber slices will protect me!!

We spend sometime chatting with our personal tour guide at the front desk (she's just so adorable!) and she gives us a map of the city and calls us a cab.  Well, she calls a cab for us.  I've asked for a place to buy handicrafts.  That never seems to work!  Today was no exception.  She sends us to the Galleria, which is a multi-story mall, just as you'd expect!  It was interesting to see how they are handling the pandemic, though!  But there sure isn't anything here that is coming home with either of us.

We are just a short walk from the Old City, which was our destination.  We pass a charming little playground and park and rest for a spell. Ammar has eaten something that didn't agree with his tummy and the jostling cab ride on the twisty-turny streets didn't help him any! 

There's a little park with lots of flower sellers and I think there might be artisans there.  Alas, that was not correct!

We walk on and come to a park that I read about.  There are many vendors with their goods spread out on either blankets or tables and many, many of them are from the old USSR!  And lots of costume jewelry.  But there are also a few ladies selling marvelous scarves made of wool that look like shimmering gossamer!  Some even have lace incorporated!  There are a few vendors selling drinking horns and shepherds' hats, and some just flat out flea market wares.

Across the street we almost get trapped in a carpet shop.  But I remember how hard it was to get out of those in Turkey and we make a break for it!  We stop into a little shop that sells souvenirs; but I just can't buy "made in China poorly" souvenirs". It's the shop we've seen that identifies itself this way!

It's time to head back to the hotel.  This time we have a card with the hotel's name in both English and Georgian, since my Booking.com page didn't help most of the cabbies with whom we spoke!  Well, the card wasn't much better!  But one driver stops, even though he already has one passenger, and he agrees to take us, too!  I sit up front and Ammar gets in the back with the stranger (not that the driver isn't a stranger, too!)

It isn't long before the driver starts to try to sell us a tour!  At least that's what we think is going on.  But he's only speaking to me and I keep putting him off.  He either doesn't understand or simply doesn't want to.  Finally I grip my stomach and keep saying, "Just hotel"!  Ammar chimes in from the back seat and I think we never really convinced him!  He took us the longest way possible and I thought we'd never get home.  I was fine when we got in;  but his driving and the roads themselves and the stress gave me tummy troubles, too!!

Finally, finally, I recognize our neighborhood!  And, although I suspect we got a tour of Tbilisi anyway, he still asked for the same amount Ammar had agreed to initially.  Hurray!!

I've never seen a housekeeping cart with so much personality!

Up in the room we have some of the Russian potato chips with cheese that Ammar had bought the other say and then Ammar takes a nap and I take the opportunity to clean up my desk top and catch up on email.  I had called reception to get some water sent up since our supply wasn't replenished when they "did" our room and you aren't supposed to brush your teeth with the tap water.  The lady finally comes and also brings us more pods for the espresso machine, so everyone wins!

When Ammar wakes up we discuss the possibilities for dinner and finally decide that a brisk walk (it's turned quite chilly!) to the super market would be a good idea.  We buy apples and peaches, several different yogurts, pomegranate juice, water, bread, crackers, and two kinds of cheese, as well as a lovely set of shot glasses for under twenty dollars! 

our first sunset of the trip!

dragon fruit, apple, and strawberry yogurt!

Love the braided cheeses! 

Our big haul from the market!

It even nippier coming home and it feels so good to be back inside, out of the wind. I fix myself a dinner plate while Ammar just has some of the yogurt, hoping to settle his tummy enough to sleep through the night.  We're supposed to meet our wine tour at the Alvabari metro station tomorrow morning at 8:30 and i'm really hoping that I don't have to go alone! That just doesn't sound like much fun!  I've been getting messages from the company and I hope I get to meet my cool contact, although I suspect she is an office person, not a tour person!

Ammar thinks perhaps the jacuzzi will help his back.  The masseuse yesterday did him in!!  I guess I like it rougher than he does!

It's going to be an early morning so I need to finish this up and try to get to sleep! Tomorrow should be a lot of fun with two wineries, a bakery where we'll learn about Georgian bread and cheese, and a cooking master class as well as sightseeing!