No, No! The Republic, not the State!

 October 17, 2021 I am still recovering from yesterday's twelve-hour adventure!  Ammar and I go down to breakfast and when we come back up we agree that he will go into town with the Saudi Arabian friend he met a couple of days ago and I'll stay home and blog and catch up!  The guy lives in the same city as Ammar's sister! I'm better at this kind of selfie! We text with WhatsApp and eventually I'm nearly finished and so is he, so he's coming home.  We have dinner reservations at our favorite restaurant for seven o'clock and already know what we want - the Thai chicken and a pizza. (it's not really pizza, it khatchapuri, but the round version with the cheese inside)  I just haven't decided if I'm recovered enough for a glass (or two) of wine!  I'm thinking, "YES!"  Not many more chances! Oh my gosh!  There's a large green area adjacent to our hotel and the huge block of apartment buildings next door. And there's a huge flock

 October 16, 2021 So when the description says "private mountain tour" you need to read the fine print (if you can find it!) I assumed that there would be a bus or van with the advertised wifi, a driver and a guide (English speaking) Georgian wine, a bottle of water, and free pickup at your hotel. That's what it said. And that's what it usually means. What it meant was that Georgi would pick me up in his private car and be my personal driver for the entire day!  No one else was coming and there was no fluent English-speaking guide to accompany us. Georgi is delightful.  He's a superb driver, with years of experience as a tour escort, and in this country that is extremely important.  Watching the road too closely as a passenger will give you a heart attack. And he does have a bit of English. He loves his country and is quite earnest in his efforts to communicate.  That said, it's a good thing I did a bit of reading about the sights we would see today.  He was s