You Never Know What's Coming Next!!

 

October 12, 2021

So last night around 11:30 Ammar went out to get an espresso and I didn't want to get dressed.  He left and I read for a while before closing my eyes.  But, you know how it is when you're expecting someone?  You don't really sleep.  And I starting looking at the time.  And looking at the time.  And looking at the time.  As the hours passed my mind began conjuring all the terrible scenarios of people in foreign countries.  When he walked in at 6:30 in the morning I had so many emotions swirling through my brain that I could barely speak.

As he pieced together the story, this is what emerged.  He was sitting outside in the park by our hotel, sipping his coffee and smoking a cigarette.  There were other people similarly engaged.  One couple was even petting pretty heavily.  Two big men came up to him, asking questions in Georgian.  They had no English and he has no Georgian.  They put his arms behind his back, handcuffed him, and forced him into an unmarked black car.  The took him to what we assume was a police station and took his passport, rifled through the photos on his phone, and searched him completely.  Obviously there was nothing to find.  It took several hours before a superior officer (we assume since he had two stars on his shoulder) showed up and asked in English was was going on. When it became apparent that the plain-clothed officers were in the wrong, the man simply said, "Oh, we're sorry.  You can go. " They didn't even offer to drive him home and instead he had to walk the mile or more back to the hotel. As I write this I can still barely believe that we were involved in what can only be racial profiling, such as we see at home.  This certainly make it all seem very real and personal.

Anyway.  We slept in pretty late and eventually asked reception where the "normal" people shop.  She called us a cab and we went adventuring, finding only provisions for our train trip on Thursday, and a Subway for coffee.  There were four food stands in the food court and two of them were American - Subway and Burger King, and one was Turkish!!

My kind of grocery store - with beer on tap in the entrance!

The little hole in the wall near our hotel

Oh so gooood!

And this, too!

It's a sin to waste this;  but I didn't want to die from a burst tummy!

We find a cab and Ammar tells the driver that we will only pay ten lari, not the twenty-five he was asking, and he's okay with that! We take our provisions upstairs so that the cold things can go in the fridge, and our housekeeper lady is cleaning our room.  She puts Melodie Two on the bed with a giggle and Ammar gives her a lovely tip and she, in turn, gives us four extra water bottles and she gives him a razor!  I wouldn't have even thought to ask for that!

We head right back out for lunch and to get to the dolphin show before four o'clock.  I've been craving an Adjarian Khachapuri and today's the day.  Ammar says they make them in Jordan and he's not a big fan, so he orders a pizza.  The pizza comes out first and I'm starving so I have a slice and oh my goodness is it delicious!  But I didn't realize just how enormous my choice was going to be!  It's delicious!  There's all that fabulous cheese and big lumps of butter and the egg and the cripsy bread!  But I couldn't even begin to finish something that size!  It doesn't look so intimidating until you start eating it!  The regular round ones (Imeretian Khachapri) are nothing like this and I'm so glad I didn't go home without having at least one!  (Yes, Ole, I know your favorite bakery makes them and I'm very happy about that!  Yay Babushka's!)

I figure we just have time to walk the mile or so to the dolphinarium for the show if we move it.  I was right!  We have time to get our tickets and I find our seats while Ammar takes his smoke break.  He settles in with a couple of minutes to spare and the show begins.  The MC first asks everyone to stand for a minute of silence for the people who died in the terrible tragedy a couple of days ago.  We assume he means the building that collapsed.

And on with the show!  I haven't seen a dolphin show for decades and it's just like being at Sea World.  There are four trainers and eight dolphins and they are as graceful and endearing as we all remember.  It appears to me that these people truly love and care for their performance partners and everyone has a wonderful time, clapping to the changing tempos and appreciating the communication between all the performers, both in the water and on the land.

I don't know if this man works for the park or just wanted to play with the vines!

After the show we walk back to our hotel for a little rest (remember there wasn't much sleep last night!) Ammar ducks out for some espresso for him and a latte for me and he brings back a pastry treat, too! After we have a couple of bites we set out again for a different adventure.  He's been scoping out the Princess Casino near our hotel. (We have a casino, too, but no one ever seems to be in it except the staff!) 

For a hundred lari we have several hours of entertainment and score a latte, an espresso, two glasses of pineapple juice, a fruit plate, and a pack of ciggies!  Pretty cheap entertainment!

Back home we finish our goodie from the McCafe and he works on his phone and I work on the blog. Life is good.