Our trip to Georgia – the land of Golden Fleece – Part 1 – Four days in Tbilisi

Did you know that I was born and raised in Tbilisi, the capital city of Republic of Georgia?   I moved to the US in ’94 and have been back to Georgia twice since then – last time with my husband in 2005 – way before my kids were born.   Georgia is a beautiful country and having grown up there I always knew that…Lately it has been popping up on so many travel lists as a new IT/up-and-coming destination so looks people who were NOT born there are taking notice.  My sister and I have been talking about how fun it would be to take our families and kids there and this July we did just that!

Georgia is a pretty unique country – it sits smack in between Europe and Asia; it has snow capped mountains (some of the tallest in Europe) and almost sub-tropical climate on the Black Sea coast, part of the country is very dry and almost desert like, another part of the country is lush and is known for its wine; it has beautifully restored medieval hilltop villages with Christian churches and palaces that look like they belong somewhere in the Middle East.  There is just so much to see there!

We had the most amazing time – the girls loved seeing our old neighborhood and the school I went to, checking out colorful streets of Tbilisi and eating delicious Georgian food, shopping at bazaars and trying the tastiest fruits and vegetables they’ve ever had, swim in Black Sea.  And my sister and I were thrilled to discover places in Georgia where we’ve never been – wine country and cave cities, hilltop towns and churches set among snow capped mountains.

Because we did a LOT (and I took a zillion images) I will break up my Georgia write-up into several parts.  First up is Tbilisi!  Remember to check back soon to read about the rest of our trip.  And scroll below for practical info including where to stay, what (and where!) to eat, what to see, etc.

Tbilisi is a stunning city; surrounded by mountains, it is a great combination of ‘East-meets-West’ – a church close to a masque close to a synagogue, colorful balconies and terra-cotta roofs of the Old Town, cool modern sculptures next to ruins of an old fort, wide boulevard and narrow alleyways  – this city is a melting pot in the best sense of the word. We spent 4 days there and it was not nearly enough!

We walked all over Old Town:

and checked old old bath houses and a very cool neighborhood of Abanotubani:

took a tram up to a top of a mountain and enjoyed bird eye view of the city

and walked along the walls of Narikala fort:

meandered narrow streets old Old Town:

and took a funicular train (that’s over 100 years old) on top of Mt Mtatsmida and checked out a church that’s located midway on the mountain:

browsed (and bought) paintings by local artists displayed at Dry Bridge:

and went to Dezerteer Bazaar and bought a whole lot of fresh fruit, vegetables, traditional sweets, cheese and pickled stuff for a feast back at the house:

 

Practical Info

Getting There and Getting Around

As of July 2018 there were no direct flights between New York and Tbilisi so we flew through Brussels – and from there it was a short 3 hour flight to Tbilisi.  If you are traveling with a US passport you don’t need a visa.
Safety
We were left Georgia in 1994 it was not a very safe place to be so I was very pleasantly surprised at how safe Georgia is now.  I am generally paranoid avoid safety and even I felt perfectly fine going for an early morning runs by myself or walking around close to midnight.

Where to Stay

There are plenty of nice western hotels all around the county but because there were 8 of us and we wanted to stay together we opted for an AirBNB.  I wanted to stay in the old town and the AirBnB we stayed at was right in the heart of it all – 0.5 blocks from one of the main pedestrian streets but that half of block kept the noise down.  The owner of the place was very helpful – she sent a car to pick us up at the airport and was available throughout the whole stay to answer any questions.

Restaurants

I don’t remember all of the places we’ve eaten but here are a few I do remember:

Our favorite by far was Old City Wall – it was so good that we went there twice!  It is located right in old town – the food, service and decor were top notch.  We ordered too much food and drink and all of that (for 8 of us!) came to under $200!!

Paul – a nice french patisserie.  – yummy crepes, pastries and baked goods.

Bread House – this place was recommended to us by a friend.  It was fine but nothing extra ordinary.. One cool thing about it is that they make bread in house there – using old fashioned bread ovens – so you know the bread there is extra fresh – and it smells amazing!

Sakhli 11  – a very cozy place right in Old Town – right off Freedom Square.  We were not very hungry but ended up eating a whole lot because the food was really good!

Funicular Restaurant Complex   – this place is known for their ‘ponchiki’ (fried dough filled with cream) and Lagidze water (flavored mineral water) as well as Ajarian hachapuri (boat shaped dough filled with melted cheese and topped with egg and a slab of butter for good measure).

Sights

There is SO MUCH to see in Tbilisi – we had 4 days/5 nights there and thought that would be enough but it was not – there was a whole lot that we did not get to see.  Here are a few sights that we did visit and enjoyed:

• Old Town – neighbourhoods of Avlabari, Maidan and Abanotubani are definitely on top of my list.  You can get lost there (in a good way) just browsing alleyways and squares, checking out churches and taking pictures – it is a very picturesque town.
• Narikala Fort and Mother Georgia – you can walk up a hill to get up there or take a tram.  We took a tram up and walked down.  The view from the top is pretty cool and seeing a huge statue of Mother Georgia was one of the girls favorite sights.  Narikala fort was pretty interesting as well – so definitely recommend checking it out
• Dry Bridge – we go there every time we are in Tbilisi – it is a great place to buy really cool souveniers (goat horns anyone?) and paintings by local artists.  We bought 3 paintings – now I need to find room in my house to hang them up!
• Rustaveli Boulevard – one of the main avenues in the city – starts at Freedom Square (on the edge of Old Town) – a beautiful tree lined street with interesting and well maintained buildings and churches.
• Mtatsminda – one of the mountains with an amusement park and restaurants on top of it.  You take a funicular train up the mountain (that in itself is worth the trip!).   There is a church with a very famous cemetery at the halfway point

Getting Around

Tbilisi is a walkable town so walking is the way way to get around – at least in Old Town.  Subways work really well and I would recommend taking a subway at least once – our kids were petrified by how deep they were and how fast the escalators were going up and town.  And the stations look a lot better than stations of NYC subway:)

Taxis are easily available and are pretty inexpensive as well.

Food

I am a foodie and have eaten at pretty great restaurants all over the world.  But I have to say that Georgian food is pretty up there – it is so full of flavor!   Roasted meats, eggplants prepared 20 different ways, a whole lot of different cheeses, fresh and pickled vegetables, many varieties of hachapuri (georgian cheese pies), hiknali (georgian meat dumplings) and of course Georgian wine – you will NOT go hungry in Georgia!

Hope this is helpful and check back soon on the next installment of my travel guide to Georgia – next up are few day trips from Tbilisi!