Gamarjoba Georgia!

Andy Pearson on 19 May 2022
Arriving in Georgia felt somehow familiar coming from a European Country and new at the same time. Georgia is a country rich in culture and famous for its even richer cuisine and wines. I know that Ireland is well-known as the "Green Island" but I can promise you Georgia is not far off it.

But let me start where it all began...we were going to spend the first couple of days in the wine region Kakheti to decompress followed by a visit to the vibrant capital of Tbilisi. We were picked up from the airport by our amazing tour guide Georgi who turned the 140 kilometres journey to our hotel in an adventure by itself. We drove through the wine valley stopping by old churches, local restaurants and little Georgian villages. You would find little pop-up stands from local farmers selling fresh juices, "Churchkhela" - a local sweet made of nuts and grape juice and of course wine. We visited one famous wine factory that is producing 25 million bottles of wine and 10 million bottles of other spirits a year. Although...it seems that they like drinking a big proportion of that themselves.

Georgian food is really as good as people always say if not even better. For lunch, we had a salad with the best tomatoes you will ever taste, Khachapuri, Georgian cheese bread and little dumplings called Khinkali (my favourite). The Kakheti wine region is surrounded by large green mountain ranges bordering Russia and Azerbaijan. To get to our hotel we had to drive through the entire valley until we arrived in the middle of nowhere at our stunning hotel facing a picturesque lake to one side and the valley with the partially snow-covered mountains to the other side. The two nights we spent at the Kvareli Lake Resort hotel were just what we needed to start our relaxing break. You can go for walks around the lake, rent a bike or hang out at the little Spa area. Reenergized we were ready to discover the capital of Tbilisi where Georgi showed us around on the first day. We took the cable car which connects Rike Park on the left bank of the Mtkvari River with a steep rise on the other side from where you can enjoy stunning views of the city. Afterwards, Georgi showed us the old town and places where he grew up but left us at the entrance of the famous Sulphur baths to discover the rest of the city by ourselves. Having a Sulphur bath was definitely one of my highlights and we came out of there feeling 10 years younger again and ready to enjoy the Georgian nightlife. Tbilisi has so much on offer from amazing restaurants to little wine cellars and nightclubs. We had dinner in a place called Balcony No 12 recommended by one of my Georgian friends. It was the most amazing dinner sitting in a little backyard with a local woman playing the piano, dinner was served by a really friendly waitress and the wine came from the winery next door. A go-to place in Tbilisi!

The next day it was already time to think about heading home. But not before a final walk around the city with a very traditional lunch at Pasanauri. It ticked all the boxes with a menu full of all the things we had come to love during our short time there.

In summary, I will definitely be travelling back to Georgia in the future and I'm getting hungry already just thinking about it.