HOTb'lisi, GA

Vee begeen our journee een Tfleez, ze capitol ov Gruzia. According to the clock, Tbilisi is an inexplicable 1 hour behind Armenia's capital, Yerevan, which is actually further west. However, on arriving in Tbilisi, the visitor quickly realizes that Georgia is in fact 49 years, 364 days and 23 hours ahead of Armenia.

Despite the disgusting waters of central Mtkvari River (see above photo) and the constant struggle with traffic, the city has a totally unexpected Byzantine charm. Many of the churches are well-restored and active, and the traditional iconography, bas reliefs and enamel art are still being done. Much like in Armenia, even these sacred sites were littered with bottles, but there are two big differences: 1, in Georgia it's beer, not vodka, bottles, and 2, no one was trying to drag a sheep into the chapel. Which really explains the allure of both places.

IN our usual fashion, Sierra and i got into town with pretty much zero knowledge about the place, carrying literally 200 lbs. of luggage. Fortunately, many of the taxi drivers in town are Armenian, so aside from having to heft two gigantic suitcases onto a small, beat-up jalopy, we were able to get to the metro without much trouble. We made it to the metro stop of our friend's friend, Natalie, who was nice enough to put us up for the night and store our bags. We were a few hours early, so we got to sample some of the Tbilisi boondocks. We had planned to while away our time at a cafe until Natalie could meet us, but after several attempts at asking, "где кафе?" and passing and endless row of pharmacies and slot casinos, we rested our sweaty backs in the yard of an apartment building. However, there were 3 things we learned to appreciate very quickly-- 1, Tblisi has a lot of trees. Precious shade giving trees. 2, Delicious, fatty khachapuri (cheese-filled flatbread) can be bought on the street for 1 lari (about 60 cents). 3, Delectable Georgian sodas and draught beer can be purchased on street corners. That is what i call good urban planning.