It all Works Out

What a lovely day the Lord gave me on this Holy Sunday.

The weather was absolutely divine. I started the day off leaving my first accommodation. The Russian man staying in the room next to me shared his favorite instant coffee with me. 

I saw him drink that instant coffee every day and he had his last packet in his hand. I said, “Don’t forget to tell me the brand before you leave.” he made his coffee and then he handed it over to me. He said be my guest I want you to have it. 

A packet of coffee, creamer and sugar mixed together did not appeal to me much, but this was some kind of European or Georgian thing and it was absolutely delicious. We had some nice talks before I would head ot out for the morning-he was just staying there as he was renovating his new apartment in the old town. 

My host who is quite goofy was taking my suitcase down the stairs and waiting outside for the car to come.  I took my Bolt to my cultural exchange stay with my new friend, Mr. Latvia.  Bolt is like an Uber for Europe. You never know exactly who you’re going to get-someone who wants to engage in conversation and another person who doesn’t want to hear your English. 

A person who is trying to insist on dropping you off at the wrong location (my arrival from the airport driver eyeroll emoji). 

This driver was quite friendly and lovely. We spoke about the conflict going on in the world, politics, Russia, his favorite Indian food, and how the cities poor infrastructure leads to the worst Georgian drivers-some of the worst drivers for sure. 

He went up the cobblestone hill into a one-way area to park, opened my car door, and walked my suitcase in the gate to the front door. He was such a gentleman, and he was quite cute- another great man gone with the wind!
He said, “Goodbye dear, have a nice day.”
I said, Farewell watching his steps walk away thinking, 

“He is very sweet...That was really nice." 

Knock, knock on the door for Mr. Latvia-my new friend who is from Latvia, but has been living in Georgia for over 5 years. He owns his own IT company and he is very busy during the days with work and meetings so I dropped off my luggage with him and went right back outside for sightseeing.

When you are a traveler, and the weather is so beautiful you have to seize the day as you do not know what tomorrow will bring weather wise or in life…Anything can happen so Seize the Travel Moment.

I walked down the cobblestone and stumbled upon a Georgian bakery with fresh, hot khasabuli. Wow! When you see traditionally dressed older women working in a bakery making food by hand-stop and eat... You already ate? Eat again. This was so worth it to have something directly hot out of the oven and it was like underground (like many things that are hidden secrets in Georgia). 

I have scheduled a tour with Free Guru, which I encourage people to start a city/country with a Free walking tour/w donation. This helps familiarize you with a cities layout, basic words, places to visit/revisit, foods to try, and some good history. 

After spending about five minutes on the tour, I knew that I was not going to commit to it because the guide was very monotoned and to be frank- not good enough to keep my attention and stop me from wondering off and exploring so I said, “Forget it” and I decided I would just roam around and get lost on my own…that is the fun adventure.

I was craving a good history lesson, but I knew that the locals would provide that in time along with the museums. Georgia has a tremendous amount of depth with its culture-it feels like there is some history lesson from one block to the next.

Now I could just take the hop off and hop on bus like normal people, but I am far from normal wink. I went in a circle probably twice and tracked down the 390 bus that took me up the Hill to the Mother of Georgia with a breathtaking, quite peaceful walkway uphill with a whole view of Tbilisi.

I saw the Narikala Fortress with the botanicals behind it and I kept walking up hill to the highest point, which I love heights-the higher the better. There were many tourists on the bottom area as they did not want to make the climb up. I was able to be near the cable car station viewing all the people like small ants below me and the trees were so green behind me.

A man from Holland with his wife was hiking up the rocks behind me. We did not say much and then we both made it to the top and his wife was at the bottom. “We can not all hike like you. You are quite a climber.”
My greatest compliment when people comment on my intelligence, being Indian, and my athletic  capabilities😊
We sat at the top with fresh air in our face, the Roman cross behind us and a view to always remember.
I reward myself for my hike by taking the cable cars down. The kind man lets me wait and choose what car I want to be in rather than sitting with 7 people, I just sat with two and had a full view from above.
I stopped at the Meteki church- one of the oldest in Tbisli.
“The Virgin Mary Assumption Church of Metekhi, known simply as Metekhi, is a Georgian Orthodox Christian church located on the left bank of the river Kura. It sits on the Metekhi Cliff opposite the old town of Tbilisi.” Wikipedia
Timing- always timing. I walked up to the front of the church and at that exact moment a bride and groom were walking up the stairs with their wedding guests all following behind. She wore a white, silk flowing wedding dress with her veil in lace. I discreetly followed behind them to watch a bit of the ceremony. A priest shook my hand and said “ Salam when i walked up the stairs. Love the Orthodox priests:)
Leaving quietly, I walked to the Medein bazaar area where I was now staying and was approached by a young man maybe,35, from Bangladesh. 

Immediately he saw me and said “You look like indian” Always proud when I hear people say this as American is something I am not proud of and do not want to talk about… I identify the most with being World Citizen-not an American duh lol

He was handing out flyers, but left his job to walk around with me a bit. He was curious about my life and travels to Georgia. He kept saying how beautiful I was and he took me around to a few different spots just randomly.
My little bangladeshi friend was adorable a cute little brother way with his curiosity and kindness, but I had to part ways. He asks if I want to go for a glass of wine in his restaurant and I tell him it’s late and I h have to head to sleep…sad but true old person response.

When they start getting too attached, I know that is my cue to part ways and tell him maybe I will stop by his restaurant and have some Indian food. He says, “We go for wine. Another time princess.”
“Dont worry my friend, we will meet again." 

I went to my accommodation to hang out with my host and that was it for the evening. Mr. Latvia was very cool and little did I know he would become a good friend of mine...the beauty of traveling.