"Georgia - but not the one next to Alabama" Georgia by lenoreva

Georgia Travel Guide: 1,209 reviews and 3,623 photos

Sights

Georgia is a gorgeous country with many cultural highlights. In addition to hanging out in Tbilisi, I went to:
Jvari church (pictured) and Sveti-Tskhoveli cathedral in Mtskheta, Stalin's birthplace Gori, the "resort" town of Borjomi, and the cave monastery complex Vardzia. We also set out one day to Davit Gareja on the steppe, but it was raining, the roads were unpassable, and we had to turn back.

We also took a side trip to Armenia.

Why here?

I went to Georgia to visit my friend Camilla who was an exchange student to Ecuador at the same time I was. She is now a diplomat working at the Dutch embassy in Tbilisi. I went with a friend of mine, Raquel, younger sisiter of my college roommate Margaret. We met at the Munich airport (since she was flying in from South Carolina) and flew the last leg together.

We arrived at 3:30 am - nearly all flights to this area arrive and leave at god-forsaken hours - and were met by a driver that Camilla arranged. We had a bit of a weird feeling getting in the car with him (he could have stolen that sign with our names on it from anyone :), until Camilla called and welcomed us to the country.

Pros and Cons

Pros:many cultural highlights, rugged nature sights, friendly people
Cons:scary traffic, areas that are at war
In a nutshell:Definatly one of my favorite destinations now!

Last visit to Georgia: Apr 2006
Intro Updated Nov 29, 2006
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Reviews (9)

Borjomi Mineral Water Park Things to Do (5)

Borjomi is about 2 1/2 hours from Tbilisi by car which means you could do this a day trip, or use it as a base for... more travel advice

Stalin Museum in Gori Things to Do (5)

The town of Gori, Stalin's birthplace, is about 1 1/2 hrs from Tbilisi by car. The Stalin Museum was built around the... more travel advice

Kartlis Deda (Statue of Mother Georgia) Things to Do (5)

A walk in the Narikala Fortress area on the hill above the old town will take you past this 20m statue of Mother Georgia... more travel advice

View of outside of "beehive baths" - Georgia

Abanotubani - Tbilisi sulphur baths Things to Do (5)

Apparently, going to the baths is a pretty popular social activity in Tbilisi. We rented a private bath for an hour at... more travel advice

Restaurants (1)
Good Georgian food
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Comments (5)

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starship Jan 18, 2012 at 7:41 AM

Nice page on this little seen area of the world! The Stalin railroad car would definitely be interesting. Good hotel, restaurant and taxi tips. I really admire your adventureous spirit!!
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JohnniOmani Feb 15, 2007 at 8:44 AM

Great page on a great country :) keep up the good work and I enjoy your pages a lot. I will keep reading because they are entertaining ;) cheers from Oman
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SLLiew Jan 15, 2007 at 11:23 PM

Enjoyed your detailed narration of your Georgia trip. I can feel that I was there too :) Oh, overchanging taxi drivers - every tourist's challenge. Cheers, SL
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Nemorino Dec 12, 2006 at 8:53 AM

"There aren't that many tourists in Tbilisi, so there aren't many traps." --- Nice explanation! Sounds like a totally exotic place. The Georgian mezzo-soprano Nino Surguladze sings at the Frankfurt Opera sometimes, and she is really good.
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MalenaN Dec 3, 2006 at 4:06 AM

Georgia is a lovely country and it sounds like you had a great visit!