Blog Archive: September 2023
Svaneti movie
| Living in Georgia | 67 seen
After over a decade in exile, the moment finally arrived – I set foot in the enchanting region of Svaneti last weekend, and the experience was nothing short of magical. Accompanied by our trusted friend, Vazha, we embarked on a road trip that traced the scenic route from Kutaisi to Mestia and Ushguli, with a return via Leteknhi. This four-day sojourn unfolded like a cinematic narrative, with each stop revealing the rich tapestry of Svaneti's beauty and cultural heritage.
A Journey through Time: From Kutaisi to Ushguli
The road to Svaneti is more than just a passage; it's a journey through time. Driving through the historical city of Kutaisi, we felt the echoes of the past reverberate in its architecture and cobblestone streets. As we ventured further, Zugdidi welcomed us with its lush landscapes, setting the stage for the awe-inspiring mountains that awaited us in Svaneti.
Mestia, the heart of Svaneti, greeted us with its iconic Svan towers, standing tall against the backdrop of snow-capped peaks. A stroll through the narrow streets felt like stepping into a medieval storybook, where every corner held tales of resilience and tradition. Ushguli, with its claim to being the highest continuously inhabited village in Europe, unfolded before us like a hidden gem, revealing the untamed beauty of the Caucasus.
Cultural Gems Along the Way: Dadiani Palace and Enguri Dam
Our journey wasn't just about the breathtaking landscapes; it was also a cultural odyssey. A pit stop at the Dadiani Palace in Zugdidi immersed us in the history of the Dadiani dynasty, with its intriguing artifacts and well-preserved interiors. The Enguri Dam, a colossal structure bordering Abkhazia, captivated us with its engineering marvel and the sheer power it harnessed from the Enguri River.
A Cinematic Chronicle: The Svaneti Movie
Armed with cameras, we documented every moment of this unforgettable journey, creating a cinematic masterpiece that encapsulates the essence of Svaneti. From the misty mountains to the vibrant local life, every frame tells a story of homecoming, discovery, and the enduring spirit of a region that has withstood the test of time.
Thumbs Up to Svaneti: A Tale of Return and Discovery
As you embark on this cinematic journey with us, don't forget to enjoy the movie we've crafted from our Svaneti adventure. It's a tribute to the resilience of a region that has beckoned us back after years of anticipation. Give it a thumbs up and join us in celebrating the timeless beauty and cultural richness of Svaneti – a place that will forever hold a special place in our hearts.
Last chance workout on the trails around Turtle Lake before Tbilisi Marathon
| Living in Georgia | 28 seen
After our successful start at the Tbilisi Adventure run back in April I gathered everyone from the Caucasus Translations office for the Tbilisi Marathon Run in October (2023).
This time we applied for a 10K distance. To test my limits I started to train for the 10K run at the gym on a treadmill.
Surprisingly my results were quite good, and maybe that's why Olga (Latvian explat), after seeing some of my Facebook posts invited me to join her for a trail run. I was intrigued enough and agreed.
After returning from our Svaneti trip - I sent her a message asking which day and where should we plan our run. We agreed on Thursday morning at 8:00 AM at Turtle Lake.
Said - done! I took our kiddo to the school bus in Vake, and from there took a taxi up to Turtle Lake, where I met Olga and Jerry Lee (dog). Our trail run started.
I followed Olga's lead and enjoyed the run which comes with some very spectacular views. Back in the days we come here a lot for hiking trips. It was my first time actually running here.
Unlike running on a treadmill it was completely different, instead on replying on treadmills screen I had to rely on myself. Might be a little bit hard at the start, but I believe with time it can improve greatly.
Back in the days we used this trails for hiking adventure, could spend hours going around, having a little picnic. Running is completely different.
Best Hikes In Tbilisi Are Located Near Turtle Lake
In total we made little less than 9 km in 1hour and 30 minutes. On treadmill I can manage to finish 10K in 1hours 13 minutes. Answering on question - is it easier or harder running on a trail? Sure, it is harder, but also more fun and adventerous.
Together with Olga we agreed to repeat such runs once in a while.
Sweet Home garage apartment in Borjomi
| Hotel reviews | 27 seen
Sweet Home apartment is located on Rustaveli street 51, Borjomi. What really makes this place stand out - this is a kind of garage apartment or more precisely apartment built a top of a garage.
We booked this place for a one-night stay at the end of August 2023 and paid GEL 80, in cash. At the start, I was a bit skeptical about this place, but once I saw the inside interior I was truly fascinated.
Kind owner even offered as a free parking inside the garage. Besides a free garage, lovely apartment with Wi-FI, TV, hot shower and even gas heating (good if you come here in Winter) we also got a huge terrace.
This apartment offers free private parking and free WiFi. The apartment is fitted with 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom, bed linen, towels, a flat-screen TV with cable channels, a dining area, a fully equipped kitchen, and a terrace with mountain views. A bicycle rental service is available at the apartment.
The best is yet to come, the bedroom was qeuipoed with bunk bed, which gave a trully amazing feeling during our short, but memorable stay in Borjomi
I did finf a lot of inspiration at this place for our frame house.
Highly recoemnded place - book now on Booking.com
Champ de Mars
| Tourism objects | 18 seen
The Champ de Mars is a large public greenspace in Paris, France, located in the seventh arrondissement, between the Eiffel Tower to the northwest and the École Militaire to the southeast. The park is named after the Campus Martius ("Mars Field") in Rome, which was dedicated to the god Mars.
The name alludes to the fact that the lawns here were formerly used as drilling and marching grounds by the French military.
We visited Champ de Mars, and had an amazing picnic in the footsteps of the Eiffel Tower at the start of July 2023 during about our 2 weeks trip around France.
Originally, the Champ de Mars was part of a large flat open area called Grenelle, which was reserved for market gardening. Citizens would claim small plots and exploit them by growing fruits, vegetables, and flowers for the local market. However, the plain of Grenelle was not an especially fertile place for farming.
The construction, in 1765, of the École Militaire designed by Ange-Jacques Gabriel, was the first step toward the Champ de Mars in its present form. Grounds for military drills were originally planned for an area south of the school, the current location of the place de Fontenoy. The choice to build an esplanade to the north of the school led to the erection of the noble facade which today encloses the Champ de Mars. The planners leveled the ground, surrounded it with a large ditch and a long avenue of elms, and, as a final touch, the esplanade was enclosed by a fine grille-work fence.
When in Paris, pay a visit to Champ de Mars.
Tbilisi's Revitalized Beauty: Aghmashenebeli Avenue and Dry Bridge
| | 27 seen
It was one of the few weekends, at the start of September 2023, when we decided to stay in Tbilisi, instead of traveling around Georgia, and spend quality time in the city.
We agreed to walk by foot to Aghmashenebeli Avenue, and from there visit Dry Bridge and Orbeliani Square, and depending on the mood return home or keep exploring the city.
I remember this area before the great restoration works started, and I love returning here time after time.
New Life for Agmashenebeli avenue, Tbilisi
A few weeks ago, Tbilisi mayor Kakha Kaladze announced that all street cafeterias will need a special license to keep outdoor spaces. During our short walk, most of the outdoor spaces were removed, but a few stayed (apparently with a license)
The major restoration works were performed here back in 2016, with renovating completely all streets and all houses (at least facades)
From here on we headed towards Dry Bridge, spent a few minutes, and headed towards Orbeliani Square, but didn't reach it as met some expat friends in the park opposite the President's Palace and stayed there for a few hours.
Piece of Life after all!
Eiffel Tower
| Tourism objects | 44 seen
The Eiffel Tower is a wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. Constructed from 1887, it is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower.
I first visited this iconic place back in 1990 or 1991, together with my mom and brother. back then I was about 5 year old, but I still remmebr that trip from Latvia to France with bus. Quite good memories. One of my first foreign trips.
Now, last time we visited Eiffel tower in Paris back in July 2023, during oour about two week trip in France
Locally nicknamed "La dame de fer" (French for "Iron Lady"), it was constructed from 1887 to 1889 as the centerpiece of the 1889 World's Fair.
Although initially criticised by some of France's leading artists and intellectuals for its design, it has since become a global cultural icon of France and one of the most recognisable structures in the world.
The tower received 5,889,000 visitors in 2022, up by 197 per cent from 2021, when numbers dropped due to the COVID virus.
The Eiffel Tower is the most visited monument with an entrance fee in the world: 6.91 million people ascended it in 2015. It was designated a monument historique in 1964, and was named part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site ("Paris, Banks of the Seine") in 1991.
We had an amazing pickic here, with delicous french cider, cheese and more. Awesome.
The tower is 330 metres (1,083 ft) tall, about the same height as an 81-storey building, and the tallest structure in Paris. Its base is square, measuring 125 metres (410 ft) on each side. During its construction, the Eiffel Tower surpassed the Washington Monument to become the tallest human-made structure in the world, a title it held for 41 years until the Chrysler Building in New York City was finished in 1930. It was the first structure in the world to surpass both the 200-metre and 300-metre mark in height. Due to the addition of a broadcasting aerial at the top of the tower in 1957, it is now taller than the Chrysler Building by 5.2 metres. Excluding transmitters, the Eiffel Tower is the second tallest free-standing structure in France after the Millau Viaduct.
Seems nobody cuts grass here, as tourists just stomp over it.
The tower has three levels for visitors, with restaurants on the first and second levels. The top level's upper platform is 276 m (906 ft) above the ground – the highest observation deck accessible to the public in the European Union. Tickets can be purchased to ascend by stairs or lift to the first and second levels. The climb from ground level to the first level is over 300 steps, as is the climb from the first level to the second, making the entire ascent a 600 step climb. Although there is a staircase to the top level, it is usually accessible only by lift. On this top, third level is a private apartment built for Gustave Eiffel's private use. He decorated it with furniture by Jean Lachaise and invited friends such as Thomas Edison.
Later in the evening we also took the tower ride and got some amazng views of Champ Du Mars and Paris. Once in Paris, pay a visit to Eiffel tower!
ABC Land - Children's party service in Tbilisi
| Entertainment | 145 seen
ABC Land children's party service is located in Saburtalo, Tbilisi on University Street N8.
I first heard about this place some time ago from another expat family here in Georgia, but first visited together at the start of September 2023, when we (our kid) got invited to a birthday party from our class at British International School in Tbilisi.
ABC land is located in a separate 5 or 6-story building, unlike kids' entertainment centers which are quite a few around in Tbilisi, this place is specially designated for kids' parties, like birthdays etc. and seems have to be reserved beforehand
The event we atteneded was 5-year birthday party, event was held in English, there were few attractions, the total time was about 2 hours, with snacks both for kids and grownups
It was a fun time spent together with kiddos and engaging in fun talks with other expat families.
The place seems very professional, especially built or designated for kids' parties, with playrooms, softball etc. At this time I have no idea about pricing, as we were just guests here, but seems might be a little bit pricey, as I hear this place trendy among expat families here in Georgia.
Luxembourg Gardens
| Tourism objects | 22 seen
The Jardin du Luxembour, known in English as the Luxembourg Garden, colloquially referred to as the Jardin du Sénat (Senate Garden), is located in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, France.
Creation of the garden began in 1612 when Marie de' Medici, the widow of King Henry IV, constructed the Luxembourg Palace as her new residence. The garden today is owned by the French Senate, which meets in the Palace. It covers 23 hectares (56.8 acres) and is known for its lawns, tree-lined promenades, tennis courts, flowerbeds, model sailboats on its octagonal Grand Bassin, as well as picturesque Medici Fountain, built in 1620. The name Luxembourg comes from the Latin Mons Lucotitius, the name of the hill where the garden is located.
We first discovered and visited this park in July 2023, as it was conventialy located close to our Boutique Hotel Sainte-Beuve in Paris
There was quite awesome, but paid, kids playground located inside the Luxembourg gardens territory. We paid about EUR 5 for an entrance here, our 4-year old daughter spent some good hour here.
In 1611, Marie de' Medici, the widow of Henry IV and the regent for the King Louis XIII, decided to build a palace in imitation of the Pitti Palace in her native Florence. She purchased the Hôtel du Luxembourg (today the Petit Luxembourg) and began construction of the new palace. She commissioned Salomon de Brosse to build the palace and a fountain, which still exists. In 1612 she had 2,000 elm trees planted; she directed a series of gardeners, most notably Tommaso Francini, to build a park in the style she had known as a child in Florence.
Francini planned two terraces with balustrades and parterres laid out along the axis of the château, aligned around a circular basin. He also built the Medici Fountain to the east of the palace as a nympheum, an artificial grotto and fountain, without its present pond and statuary. The original garden was just eight hectares in size.
The Medici Fountain was built in 1630 by Marie de' Medici, the widow of King Henry IV of France and regent of King Louis XIII of France. It was designed by Tommaso Francini, a Florentine fountain maker and hydraulic engineer who was brought from Florence to France by King Henry IV. It was in the form of a grotto, a popular feature of the Italian Renaissance garden. It fell into ruins during the 18th century, but in 1811, at the command of Napoleon Bonaparte, the fountain was restored by Jean Chalgrin, the architect of the Arc de Triomphe. In 1864–66, the fountain was moved to its present location, centered on the east front of the Palais du Luxembourg. The long basin of water was built and flanked by plane trees, and the sculptures of the giant Polyphemus surprising the lovers Acis and Galatea, by French classical sculptor Auguste Ottin, were added to the grotto's rockwork.
The gardens are featured prominently in Victor Hugo's novel Les Misérables. It is here that the principal love story of the novel unfolds, as the characters Marius Pontmercy and Cosette first meet. Several scenes of André Gide's novel The Counterfeiters also take place in the gardens.
Henry James also uses the gardens, in The Ambassadors, as the place in which his character Lambert Strether has an epiphany about his identity. The final scene of William Faulkner's novel Sanctuary is set in the gardens. Patrick Modiano heard the news he had won the 2014 Nobel Prize in Literature via a mobile phone call from his daughter while he was walking through Paris "just next to the Jardin du Luxembourg".
Non-literary references include as the setting for a few episodes of French in Action, the 10th Joe Dassin's 1976 studio album Le Jardin du Luxembourg, the cover of Tame Impala's 2012 album Lonerism, the title of a song by the band The Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger and the gardens and palace being added as a mission in the video game Assassin's Creed Unity.
Hiking and Sulphur baths in Borjomi
| Living in Georgia | 24 seen
Check out our newest cinematic creation featuring the highlights of our recent weekend escapade in Borjomi! Whether we're relishing the company of long-time friends from QSI at Tbilisi Zoo or embarking on a scenic drive through Khasuri to reach Borjomi, every moment is expertly captured and post-processed for your viewing pleasure.
Indulge in the rich flavors of Georgian cuisine, as we explore and savor delicious dishes that make our gastronomic journey truly unforgettable. Immerse yourself in the therapeutic experience of open-air sulphur baths, a perfect blend of relaxation and cultural exploration. Our hiking adventures add an extra layer of excitement to the weekend, leaving us already eagerly planning our next thrilling escapades.
Join us on this visual journey by watching the video – a montage of laughter, scenic beauty, and culinary delights. Don't forget to give it a thumbs up and stay tuned for more exciting adventures on the horizon!