How I turned my Instagram account into a Photo Blog
In April I bought my first ever "smartphone" - Android phone with Dual SIM... It actully has WI-Fi router built in and in days I have no "ground" Wi-FI I can use Mobile Internet to connect to my laptop. Anyway - I'm very satisfied with my first Android phone.I must admit I'm using phone for it's sole purpose - to call, but that has changed - with my new Android phone - I'm using few apps on it (Google Adsense, Google Analytics, some news apps and Instagram).Some already probably knwo - I'm an expat in Georgia (South Caucasus), when I first arrived here, more than 3 years ago. I arrived already with an aim - to build Travel site for Georgia. Since I didn't know anything about this amazing…
Related nodes based on taxonomy terms
Today I will show you, how you can create a list with related items for your Drupal site using taxonomy terms and Drupal views. At first you will need you actual content with taxonomy terms on it. If you are not familiar how to add taxonomy terms to your Drupal site, you might want to read this guide on that.
I presume you have your content set up, it's tagged with different terms. Now lets add a block with related items on that.
Related nodes based on taxonomy terms
In above screen you can see an example with node page and related nodes in block. You can see a live example as well here.
This is achieved by using views and placing it on themes region.
Related nodes by taxonomy…
Turtle lake - My working place for today
In summertime it's hot as hell in Tbilisi city - there are two options - air conditioner or Turtle lake. I prefer second option.
The features of working at Turtle lake - here is a free Wi-Fi internet available, all across the lake (Silkspot), here is a great coffee bar - Intelligentsia, which Turkish coffee is among the best available in Tbilisi and Georgia overall.
Turkish coffee at Intelligentsia coffee bar (Turtle lake)
And best of all you can get out of your everyday Tbilisi routine. Did I mentioned? Weather here is more windy and for a few degrees lower than in city? Why it so? That's an easy question - Turtle lake is located up in the Tbilisi mountains, the altitude…
SPAR enters Georgian market; SCANIA to produce fuel from wine making waste; Georgia celebrates EU AA and Free Trade
On the other day I spent interesting afternoon walking around one of Tbilisi's neighbourhoods - Saburtalo. Made a ton of instagrams, visited local shopping chain Goodwill, tasted sushi and other different activities.On days like that - is great opportunity to observe what is happening around in city and in country. You might ask how? Well, it's easy with your eyes. I usually prefer free business newspapers available in different city's place. So it got my free newspapers at Saburtalo Goodwills shopping centre. Georgian Press ReviewFirst SPAR supermarket to open in Georgia - interesting article about Dutches owned supermarkets store, soon will be available in Georgia - it seems that…
Experienced my first Earth Quake - Tbilisi
Today for the first time in my life I felt tremors of earth quake and it happened in Tbilisi, capital of Georgia. Nothing serious, as it's was announced in news - magnitude of this quake was 4.8. Although using other sources I found it was even 5.2.
My story will be as dumb as many other dumb stories you have heard, like - I went to bath and then I noticed that water is swinging.
Indeed, my story is dumb - I laid back to take a nap and felt my bed is swinging. OK... at first I thought and continued to enjoy my nap. Then after few hours when again I was enjoying another great nap (Actually usually I don't take 2 naps in a day, I don't nap at all, but today 2 naps and two quakes) -…
Summer Solstice in Tbilisi (2014)
There are some nations that celebrate Summer Solstice, most of them located in Eastern Europe.
Celebrating Summer Solstice involves having a bonfire. Since in Georgia, nobody celebrates Summer Solstice, and it was a working day, we decided to make a little fiesta on our balcony
How to chill your beer for Summer Solstice (and not only)
Typical food at Eastern European celebrated Summer Solstice includes yeast dough for patties, cheese (Georgian Sulguni), Rosol salads, and beer.
How about a barbecue on the balcony?
The good thing is Georgians don't mind if you bake your chicken barbecue on your balcony; they do it often themselves. The bad thing is that when we chilled the beer, we…
Cycling to Tbilisi sea and back
Today was a great Saturday, we took our bikes and rode to Tbilisi sea and back. It was all day long (more than four hours) fun experience in very hot Summer day in Georgia.Total distance: 16.9 km, Climb: 213 m, Time: 4.30h, Feelings: SuperbRoute mapWhen we finally reached Tbilisi sea - I was so exhausted, after I got of from bike, my stamina was over:Tbilisi sea
Georgian Bus - Great way to travel from Kutaisi to Batumi or Tbilisi
At first, when Kutaisi International airport was built (around 2012/2013) there were few transport options to choose from to get at least to the city center of Kutaisi, as it turns out, the city is actually located about some 17km from the airport. Back in the days, there were just taxi services, which was and still is pretty costly (as long as you are not using BOLT)One way direction from Kutaisi city center to the Kutaisi airport with street taxi cost about 20GEL (price as of 2015). If you are really on a budget you might get from Kutaisi airport to Tbilisi (Didube station) for 10-12 GEL by using Batumi - Tbilisi marshrutka, you can try to catch one, just after leaving the…
Batumi Aerial Tram
One of the must have tourist attractions in Batumi is an aerial tram (cable car) ride. Built back in 2012 these gondolas will take you in a 2,5 km long route at maximum elevation of 252 meters. During you ride you will enjoy breathtaking aerial views of Batumi city.Best enjoyed in evenings shortly before sunset. At the other end of the ropeway there is nice viewing platform offering scenic views to the city and Black sea.Ticket price per ride (round-trip): 10 GEL, as of 2016Futuristic design of Batumi cable car stationLocated at the Batumi bay, this station house indeed features futuristic design - but when overlooked from overall city architecture - it' s awful…
Sataplia cave in Georgia
Sataplia cave together with Prometheus cave are one of the main tourist sights around Kutaisi town, in Republic of Georgia.I first visited Sataplia cave at the end of May 2014, when my father for the first time visited me in Georgia. I picked him up at Kutaisi airport and before departing back to Tbilisi I decided to take an opportunity and explore this cave together..At first you will need to have some taxi to get there, luckily I had one. Sataplia cave is located some 18 km away from Kutaisi. The entrance fee (as of 2014) in park was 6GEL and was accompanied by English speaking guideEntrance gates at Sataplia cave territorySataplia Cave is located at…
Exploring Tbilisi and Mtatsminda: A Day of Adventure with My Dad in Georgia
Back in May 2014, my dad came to visit me in Georgia and also celebrate his 60 birtdhay, and we had an amazing time exploring the country. One of our most memorable days was when we went on a walking tour of Tbilisi, the capital city of Georgia.
We started the day by taking a ride on the metro to Avlabari and then hired a taxi to take us up to Sameba, one of the largest Orthodox churches in the world. From there, we walked down to the old city and explored the historic streets and buildings.
Next, we headed up to Narikala Fortress, an ancient citadel that overlooks the city. The views from the top were breathtaking, and we spent some time admiring the panoramic views. We then made our way…
Laidi Manor
Laidi manor or palace (Laidu muiža - pils in Latvian) is a very cool tourism sight in Laidi parish, Kuldīga municipality, in the historical region of Courland (Kurzeme)Built in the early 19th century by the local German nobility, it has housed the Laidi primary school since 1921.Park at Laidi manorThe origins of the manor date back to the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries. The complex of the manor has formed around the administrator’s house, which is the oldest one in the manor. From the year 1800 to 1810 the nobleman Manteuffel was building the manor’s castle with its household buildings in classicism style. The complex is symmetrical and has been formed around the inner yard. At both…
Bagrati Cathedral in Kutaisi
Bagrati Cathedral probably is among the most iconic site to visit in Georgia, and it should be a must have on your travel list if you have been in those parts of Georgia (Kutaisi). If you are traveling to or from Kutaisi International airport take your time and pay a visit here.
In fact I have visited Bagrati cathedral just between my travels to or from Kutaisi airport. So did happened my first visit here after I had been living in Georgia for more than 3 years. And so did happened when I last time took my mom here after she arrived to Kutaisi.
P.S. Both of my parents have visited Bagrati Cathedral while visiting me in Georgia.
I was eager to play with a HDR images for my…
Hotel Royal Batoni, Kvareli, Kakheti, Georgia
One of the most interesting hotels I have stayed last time. Located in the footsteps of surrounding mountains next to Ilias lake, which offers some recreation opportunities, in heart of Georgia, Kakheti, Kvareli.
We stayed here at Easter weekend, 2014 and we definitely got what we paid for.
About Royal Batoni
Located in a picturesque area on the bank of Ilia Lake, between the Kvareli Mountains and the Duruji River, Royal Batoni offers a sauna and outdoor swimming pool with beautiful views of the lake. Free Wi-Fi and private parking are available.
The elegant rooms feature modern design and furnishings. They offer satellite TV and private bathroom with a bath or shower, hairdryer and…
Time-Lapse: Observing the Thriving Ivy on the Opposite Wall
Have you ever wondered how nature changes over time? One fascinating way to witness this transformation is through time-lapse photography.
For three weeks in April 2014, I've been taking photo shoots of the wall opposite to me and observing the leaps of ivy as it thrives. Now, after capturing the growth of this plant over a period of time, I am excited to share the finale of this time-lapse experiment with you.
Time-lapse photography allows us to see the changes that happen too slowly for us to perceive with our own eyes.
In this case, the ivy's growth was captured day by day and compiled into a video, revealing the impressive speed at which the plant has grown. The time-lapse provides a…
Adding CAPTCHA to Drupal 7 Webform
CAPTCHA is an essential tool for preventing spam and malicious attacks on your website. Adding CAPTCHA to your Drupal 7 Webform is a straightforward process that can be completed in a few easy steps.
In this article, we will show you how to add CAPTCHA to your Drupal 7 Webform to protect your website and improve the user experience.
Step 1: Install the CAPTCHA module The first step is to install the CAPTCHA module on your Drupal 7 website. To do this, go to the Drupal website and download the module. Once the module is downloaded, log in to your Drupal 7 website, go to the Modules section, and click on the Install new module button. Choose the CAPTCHA module from the list and click on the…
Inject Block In Drupal 7 Node With Block Inject module
I was looking for options to inject Google Adsense ads into my Drupal blog. There are a few modules and tactics available. But today I found an excellent module - Block Inject.
The Block Inject module allows for regions to be created and injected in the middle of chosen node types.
You can create any number of regions to inject as well as select as many node types you would like these regions to be injected in. The blocks you assign to these regions will then appear in the middle of the body field of these node types if the number of paragraphs is bigger than 2.
Download it here: Block Inject
Here is an example of injected Google Adsense into the middle of content:
I tried to…
Some magic with Drupal, Flickr and Georgia
Update: Further developments of both tourgeorgia.eu and instagram wall have been stopped. I have created a new Travel Map section instead.
Since I bought my first Android phone so many new thoughts and ideas has run through my head - I mean in opportunities of development. One of them I already realized - I created my custom Instagram wall, where I'm syncing all my photos taken by phone, and putting them on map. I really like this approach. Update: I have stopped further development of Instagram wall
When I first landed to Georgia, back in 2011, I wanted to start fresh, not only my life abroad, but to make some fresh start up/project. And I created Tourgeorgia. The idea behind scenes, was…
Import your Instagram photos to your blog using Flickr + Flickstagram
Recently I bought my first Android phone, and I found Instagram app really useful. What I like the most is it's mapping options, so you can add latitude/longitude auto, if your GPS is turned on.
Then I wanted to import my Instagram photos to my blog and found some problems with it. As I'm using Drupal as my blogs CMS, at first I headed to Drupal.org to search for some ready built modules, to import my Instagram photos, so I could later use views, for example, to tune things up. There are few solutions provided by Drupal community, but Instagram requires SSL, and at this stage, I'm not ready to enable some Open Source SSL. I just want a solution that works.
So then I remembered, some…
Gremi monastery complex in Georgia
Another very interesting tourist attraction in Kakheti close to Kvareli - Meet the Gremi Monastery complex. Features rich history and very spectacular views. For the first time I visited Gremi monastery complex back in 2014, when we booked a private tour from Hotel Royal Batoni. Next time I was here was during another short one day trip around region Kakheti together with my mom. This definitely means there are places in Georgia where it is worth to return.Impressive fortification walls at GremiThe monastery complex is located just right next to the highway making it impossible to miss this place. It is worth to mention that since 2007 the monuments of Gremi have been…