A day in Tbilisi

I got into Tblisi around 3am last night. My passport was stamped without and questions, and there was 0 customs control after picking up my bags. John saw me to my room at the VIP Hotel- the very important people that stay here must not have super fancy tastes! The alarm woke me from the light sleep and strange dreams that followed after my sleep had been broken for the first time by the cries of children outside the hotel window. I want to adjust to the time change quickly, so I was determined not to sleep all day. I got dressed and wandered out into the cobbled streets of the old section of the city. Every second doorway seemed to have an elderly woman with piles of produce: cherries, tomatillos, potatoes, eggplant and more. I withdrew some Lari (GEL) from an ATM (1 USD buys 1.64 GEL) and somehow I was able to convince a hairdresser to give me a haircut, even though she spoke absolutely no English, and my Georgian doesn’t extend much beyond yes (deeak), no (ara), and sorry (bodishit)!

I wandered through the streets lined with old buildings of chipped stucco and crumbling brick. But the moldings on windows and doors give everything a kind of grand feeling. I passed many chapels and saw women young and old crossing themselves as they went by. A modern bridge spans the muddy river that flows through the capital. I climbed up onto a rise where a giant metal woman looks over the city. She has a bowl of wine in one hand to great friends, and sword in the other to meet enemies. All along the walk young couples looked out across the houses in each other’s arms. A couple geocaches gave direction to my wandering. It was exciting to cross busy, well-paved streets, and then the next minute, find myself in tiny alleys that looked like they belonged to a tiny village.

I wanted to get a converter for my computer plug. I found an electronics store. A couple of old men were tinkering around with circuit boards surrounded by old dusty TV’s. None of them spoke English. I showed one of them the plug and we went through a number of possibilities in mime. Finally he found a converter in a pile of components after I had declined his gestured offer to cut the cord and replace the end with the Georgian 220V ending!

I had a crepe with caviar and a cup of gazpacho at a nearby restaurant, and after and evening stroll by the river I found it was already getting late- the Monastery tour begins tomorrow, so I should probably get some sleep.