Around Tbilisi in July

Hello takealookers!

When first I set off to Georgia I didn't really know what to expect, but I did come equipped with the prejudice of it being a run down ex-Soviet republic. To my great joy, what I encountered there, shamed my superior attitude and enchanted me in every sense. 

Georgia is the country of history, amazing nature, beautiful and charming cities and a home of the most amazing food and wine I've tasted in my life. 

My Georgian adventure commenced in Kutaisi, a city in the west and the centre of Georgian legislature. Kutaisi is a quiet town, full of history and charm. From there my journey continued further to Batumi, over on the coast of the Black Sea. In my eyes, Batumi is the Georgian Las Vegas. It's developing very fast which is clearly visible in the number of tourists and the modern architecture replacing the old Soviet buildings at a seemingly fast pace.  However, the real charmer of Georgia is Tbilisi. The tour guide I met on the way described Tbilisi as 'the real Georgia' and added "If you haven't seen Tbilisi, you haven't seen Georgia." I most definitely concur. 

Now, let's get on to the story of Tbilisi. What sold me on Tbilisi the most is the Old Tbilisi or the old town which is located on the bank of the Kura River and below the fortress Narikala. The Old Tbilisi is located on a hill and consists of narrow, intimate, pretty little streets with buildings dating from, as far as, the 5th century. The architecture is very eclectic and colourful. If one thing is true of Tbilisi it's that the devil is in the detail, beautiful slightly run-down facades, vibrant flowers, colourful, handcrafted tapestries hanging from the balconies, cute decorations displayed at every corner and inviting little restaurants and caffes. 

Should you find yourself in Tbilisi, do spare a few hours roaming around the streets of the Old Town, let yourself discover them without much purpose and I promise you the experience will be rewarding. If you're willing to go one step further, do book your stay in one of the amazing Old Town AirBnbs for the unforgettable experience rewarded with the most amazing view. I personally stayed in one of these of which the address is 144 Steps, yeah, you guessed it, it's 144 steps up. Although, very painful, given the amount of luggage I always carry, it was totally worth it. 

Another, must do in Tbilisi is taking the cable car to the peak of the Narikala fortress from where you can admire the panoramic view of Tbilisi and Old Tbilisi and see the city's landmark Kartlis Deda, that is, Mother of Georgia monument. I do recommend you to take a stroll down into the old city from the fortress as there are quite convenient steps that go through the old city, probably around 144 of them.  

Speaking of the devil hiding in the detail, I think the biggest devil in Tbilisi and Georgia in general,  is hiding in the wine and the food. I mean, really, beware, you're definitely going to get super tipsy and put on a few pounds, but hey, it's totally worth it. Now, in all honesty, I haven't had one bad meal while I was in Georgia. I'll use this opportunity to recommend a few amazing restaurants in Tbilisi, Old Vake is an ideal place for lunch or dinner, I had the most amazing pumpkin cream soups there. In Azerpesha you can enjoy lovely food and a mind blowing variety of wine, my personal fave is Kindzmarauli. Another, beautiful, a bit touristy place is In the Shadow of Metekhi which, again has really good food and wine choice, but the view from this place will leave you breathless. And finally if you're in the mood for a more romantic, but modern place I can recommend you 144 Stairs Cafe which has a beautiful view, shisha, hands up for all the shisha lovers out there and again lovely food. I'm convinced at this point that Georgians are unable to serve you bad food. 

Finally, the last recommendation in this post goes out to all you hard workers, fellow digital nomads, freelancer and so on - it's the co-working space. For me this was semi-fun, semi-work trip, so the work portion I spent in Vere Loft, super cool, modern, hipstery (mind, not a derogatory term), quiet space. Ideal for a team meeting, which is what we did, or individual work, it's up to you.

Fellow wanderers and takealookers I am ending this post with several panoramic pics of Tbilisi and a drone shot video of this lovely city. I know I will return to Tbilisi in the future as it stole my heart, but I hope I will inspire you to visit it yourself. This is definitely not the last post on Georgia, my Georgian escapade continues next week, so stay tuned.

Have a good one!

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