A Tale of Two Cities - Batumi and Tbilisi

11/08/2018-15/08/2018

After finishing our awesome trekking adventure through the Caucasus mountains we sure were in need of some rest so decided to head to the city of Batumi also often referred to as the 'Pearl of the black sea'. It was either head here or take a 10 hour bus ride to the city of Tbilisi which, after experiencing the not so glamorous marshrutka bus service of Georgia, I definitely preferred the slightly better option of heading to Batumi having to only put up with the bumpy winding roads, car sickness and cramped conditions for 6 hours....definitely NOT one of the many joys of travelling!

Batumi is a Black Sea resort which encompasses a waterfront promenade stretching for about 7km. I must admit I wasn't hugely keen on visiting Batumi, remembering my school days of lounging around the crowded and tacky beaches of Santa Ponsa and the fact we would be leaving the stunning views of the mountains surrounding Mestia but when we arrived to Batumi I was actually very pleasantly surprised. It seems the city recently has undertaken numerous building projects and remains a hub of architectural innovation with the construction of some visually spectacular structures throughout the city. The old Batumi stretches between the seaport and the boulevard and features many distinctive building facades while the Boulevard itself seems to be a local hive activity with cafe lounges, shops, cool sculptures and dancing fountains in abundance.

Enjoying our evening stroll on the Boulevard after eating some delicious Asian cuisine because we were quite frankly tired of eating copious amounts of bread and meat on the trek, by chance we happened to meet some English guys we had spent time with during our hike so decided to meet them that evening for a drink. Luckily for Paul they were heading to the only Irish pub in town to watch the first game of the premier league so I was dragged along to watch some footie....Can I just say, I am such a great girlfriend!

To take some much needed rest from our previous hectic few days we spent the following day lounging on the beach in as much shade as possible being the pasty Irish that we are while the locals and Europeans lay worshipping the sun for hours on end. The water was extremely wavy that day so we didn't venture too far in for a dip, instead we sat on the waters edge letting the lukewarm water cover our feet as it lapped onto the stones.

The next day was also a bit of a lazy but enjoyable one. We strolled further down the Boulevard towards what is a famously stylish MacDonalds restaurant, having being named building of the year in 2014 with its unique architecture encompassing an entire glass front and unusual shape. We stopped in for a visit and treated our selves to a snickers Mcflurry ice-cream... very Georgian I know! That night we were privy to a free night of Georgian wine testing and traditional folk dancing taking place on the happening boulevard and as a backpacker, these free entertainments nights with free booze are a serious bonus! On the way back to our room that night we passed a few casinos, gambling being something the Georgians seem to love. Maybe it was the free wine that we had consumed an hour before hand but we made the turn up the steps of the lavish Raddison Blue hotel casino door and handed over our passports to get registered to go down to the basement casino to hopefully win some Lari. The setting was a far cry from the poky guesthouse rooms we had been staying in and somehow I didn't quite feel like we fitted in wearing our grubby shorts and sweaty t-shirts surrounded by glamorous men and woman drinking whiskey and prancing around in high heel shoes but alas we stayed for an hour playing roulette and happily walked away with winning a large enough sum to get us a free dinner.

Our few days stay in Batumi was a relaxing one, exactly what we needed to unwind and take a breather from our previous hectic few weeks but the next day saw us take the 6 hour bus journey to the capital city of Tbilisi. Tbilisi is a dramatic city set along the Kura River where both eye catching modern contemporary architecture and old picturesque buildings live in unity as one and all overlooked by the 17-centuries-old Narikala Fortress. We arrived in the city at about 4 o'clock in the evening, pretty tired after the bumpy and uncomfortable ride from Batumi but we powered through and took the 5 o'clock walking tour of the city which by the end had lasted about 4 hours but we got an idea of some cool places to go visit in the coming few days. We also happened to get talking to a great group of other backpackers, a German, two Argentinian cousins and a Singaporean so headed for a tasty traditional Georgian dinner and afterwards instead of splashing out for drinks in one of the local bars, we offered instead to host the guys back in our Airbnb for some drinks. A night discussing each others cultures over copious amounts of wine and an adorable black furry cat that had snuck indoors for lots of rubs ensued.

The next day with slightly heavy heads from the night before we decided to take a cable car ride up to explore the Narikala Fortress which is one of the ancient symbols of the cities defence offering good views of the city below. We climbed and clambered around the rocky walls of the fortress and took the short walk from there to the Kartlis Deda (Mother of Georgia) monument, symbolising the national character of Georgia with a bowl of wine in her left hand to greet those who come as friends (I come as a friend!) and in her right hand a sword for those who come as enemies.

We had some time to spare that afternoon and Paul had read online about a shooting range so we decided to take the short taxi ride out to it as it was something neither of us had attepted before. After some difficulty finding the building with the street numbers not in chronological order, inside with the walls covered in all sorts of guns and ammunition we requested to shoot 10 rounds each. He brought us down to a small basement cellar with two shooting ranges. He was up first, and with neither of us a clue what we were at the guy who greeted us at the front desk showed us how to hold and fire the gun. The sound was a hell of a lot louder than I expected so no wonder he gave us the ear muffs to wear. I was up next and due to the sheer force and power of the gun I only managed to fire 3 rounds so gave the rest to Paul as it was a sensation I really didn't like and the fact I was holding a weapon that had the power to kill another human being really didn't sit well with me. But having said that, the first shot I made was the closest out of the both of us to the bulls eye...so maybe a skill I'm not so bad at after all!

The next day was big Pauls 29th birthday and we were due to take a day trip from the city to the fascinating David Gareja monastery complex situated on the border to Azerbaijan. A pretty cool way to spend your birthday me thinks! The complex is a remarkable Georgian historic site comprising of the Lavra monastery today inhabited by monks and on the hill above, Udabno which has beautiful frescoes painted on old church ruins carved out in the rock faces. On the hill top can also be seen many army guards with weapons ready to pounce if any attempt is made to climb down the mountain side to cross the border into Azerbaijan, a pretty intimidating but intriguing site. We had also read before going that there were snakes in this region but didn't expect that when we threw a stone down a hole in one of these old churches to see how deep the tunnel went that a hissing sound of a snake would echo back at us. We ran out of there fairly promptly back down the hill to catch our bus!

That evening we had arranged to go for some drinks to the only Irish bar in town to meet our Singaporean friend we made on the walking tour two days previous and also a lovely Georgian couple who saved the day for us all the way back in Bucharest paying for our bus ticket to the airport. We said we would keep in touch with them and arrange to meet when we had made our way to Tbilisi and so that we did. It was delightful night of chats and live music with even a present of delicious Georgian wine from the couple which by the way we are enjoying a glass of right now as I right this blog entry! A splendid end to Paul's birthday.

Our last day in Tbilisi, for the moment anyways, saw us pay a visit to the sulphur bath houses where the hygiene is slightly questionable and where the smell of rotten eggs from the sulphur fills the room. Having said that, we really did feel squeaky clean and fresh afterwards having both received a full body scrub, me from a small old delicate woman and an old hefty man for Paul. After the scrub we both relaxed in the roasting hot sulphur water and dare I say, it's best to do this in the nude! Definitely an experience everyone should try at least once.

That night we decided to head to the most hipster spot in town to see what all the fuss was about, Fabrika, a multifunctional urban space set in a former soviet sewing factory where one can experience all kinds of venues from dive bars, Asian cuisine, a hostel and a co-working hub space. A great place to buy a beer and gaze around at the quirky spaces where pallet furniture is in abundance (I now officially want a pallet coffee table in my future house!) and observe the new age, free spirit travelers cackling. It was definitely worth the visit to end our magnificent few days in Tbilisi.

Both cities offer a unique experience, one of modern seaside splendour and one of unique old architecture and history We thoroughly enjoyed both city scapes, with Georgia now ranking high on one of our favourite spots we have visited, an absolute gem!