Hotel reviews

Hotel Edelweiss Review in Gudauri

Located in Gudauri, a 10-minute walk from the nearest ski lift, Edelweiss Hotel features an on-site restaurant serving Georgian and European cuisine and free Wi-Fi throughout the property.

We booked hotel Edelweiss for 2015 Christmas (December 23-25) and enjoyed our stay at this place a lot. Thus the price we paid for this hotel is well above average (about EUR 100 per night) we are paying for hotels in Georgia, the service offered for price…

Georgia

The Gabriadze Theater in Tbilisi

Though modest in size, The Gabriadze Theater is among the world’s preeminent cultural institutions. Presenting mature puppet performances full of depth and meaning, it has gained the respect and recognition of international audiences and critics alike.Located in the heart of Tbilisi Old Town, just right next to the Anchiskati church, this theater building offers some interesting architecture as well. Thus, I have never visited a spectacle here (…

Building & Renovation

Replacing Roof - Part 1: Removing the old roofing

In today's home remodeling series I'll share some epic experience on roof replacement works. If you have been following my blog for a while, you probably have noticed that in Spring 2015 we inherited an old and very bad managed rural house.

That Summer taught me a lot  - I learnt how to use a scythe to move a grass, and also excelled as a construction worker (Room One - Wall and Ceiling Painting with Water Based Paint, How to Patch…

Latvia

House Of Food / Fontaine Palace in Liepāja

House Of Food is a place to eat good, quick international food from all corners of the world. Louie Fontaine, the owner and rock musician, has designed the place with a feel similar to a 50’s American diner, with an open kitchen and restaurant booths so high you’ll sit cosy and private in your own restaurant.

Located at the canal front downtown in an old factory building - this place absolutely rocks!



Hotel Fontaine Royal in Liepāja…

Restaurant reviews

Cafe bar Gradus in Gudauri

Cafe bar Gradus is located in Georgian ski resort town in Gudauri. Located  just between the first and second ski lifts, this place offers great cuisine, drinks and lovely view to Caucasus mountains.

It's outdoor terrace is great for sun bathing. The prices here are in - it depends category, although not high compared to Western standards, there are some items with higher price attached and some for very reasonable price. So for a 5 years…

Postcards from Gudauri

Gudauri is a popular ski resort located on the southern slopes of The Greater Caucasus Mountain Range in Georgia. The resort is situated in the Stepantsminda District, along the Georgian Military Highway near the Cross Pass, at an elevation of 2,196 meters (7,200 ft.) above sea level.

We have been heading to Gudauri at least once in a year. There are few great reviews about Gudauri on…

Travel

Turtle lake in Tbilisi

Turtle lake is a direct English translation of Kus Tba (Georgian: კუს ტბა), a small lake at the outskirts of Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, so named due to the perceived abundance of turtles living in these places.

Those of you who have been following my blog, probably have noticed I have mentioned Turtle lake a lot on my blog, I have been heading here in hot summer days to breath a fresh air and…

Drupal & Servers

Linode: How To Secure Nginx with Let's Encrypt on Ubuntu 12.04

Encrypted HTTPS websites are pretty much a hot topic nowadays. I have seen a lot noncommercial websites and blogs using HTTPS protocol lately.  I believe cheap prices for certificates and possible SEO boost from Google are pushing more and more to add HTTPS. Including me!

In fact this article is first since my blog is HTTPS, to celebrate that I decided to write shot tutorial how you too can enable HTTPS on Ubuntu 12.04…

Building & Renovation

Loft cleaning - Preparation works for replacing that leaky roof

It was already last weeks of July, and we had bought already our return tickets back to Tbilisi, Georgia, and there was still one urgent task to complete if we wanted our rural house to survive upcoming rain and winter season - we had to replace roofing.

Oh, boy - back then I had no idea how frustrating, yet fun experience it will be. After finishing temporary repair works at home's first floor - I went upstairs and decided it's time to clean…

Building & Renovation

How to open a bottle of wine with a hand drill

There are many options to open a bottle of wine without using a cork screwer, last summer I tried a new method - using an old school hand drill.

f you have been following my blog and especially home remodeling series you have probably noticed I have been trying out a lot of interesting tools lately, how about mowing a grass with a scythe? 

Tools you will need:


A bottle of Badagoni, semisweet Khvanchkara wine (produced in…

Stacking firewood in barn

Last summer taught me a lot of new things. I tried mowing grass with a scythe after which I "upgraded" to a trimmer. After all I was doing a new thing for me - home remodeling. 

In today's Piece of Life photo series I will share with you another great outdoor activity I did last summer - stacking firewood in barn. 



Firewood waiting to be stacked in barn



Stacking firewood in barn



Stacking firewood in barn



Stacking…

Food blogger

How to prepare traditional Solyanka soup

In today's food blogger series I'll share a photo recipe on how to prepare traditional Solyanka soup. Solyanka is among my favorite soups and I prepare this some 3-4 times in a year. Pictures in this article are back from summer 2015 when I boiled a large pot with this delicious soup.


Solyanka is a thick, spicy and sour Russian soup that is common in Russia and other states of the former Soviet Union. …

Italy

Michelangelo Square in Florence, Italy

Michelangelo Square is one of the best place in Florence to take picturesque panoramic views of Florence. We found this place thanks to suggestions on some travel guide and indeed, the pictures taken here are amazing.We were lucky enough to find this place quickly as it was located in just some 3 minute drive from our hotel. Read more: Villa Carlota hotel review. We parked our car at Michelangelo Square, I installed a tripod and…

Digital Photography School

How To Take and Post-Process Night HDR Images

In today's digital school photography project I'll show how to take night HDR images and post-process them in Adobe Lightroom and Postmatix. 

A year ago - taking a decent night photo sounded mission impossible for me, since I have acquired a DSLR camera a lot has changed, and I'm starting to feel being capable of creating even night HDR's now. Take a look on this tutorial: Practicing Photography: Doing Night Shots - Tbilisi By Night…

Hotel reviews

Hotel Villa Carlota in Florence, Italy

Villa Carlota hotel in Florence is a 4-star hotel. We stayed here overnight just day before New Year in 2015. We arrived here after paid a visit to the leaning tower of Pisa and short wanderings around Tuscany vineyards.

Previous night we spent at another 4-star hotel in Lucca. Read more:  Albergo Celide Hotel Review in Lucca, Italy. Villa Carlota compared to Albergo Celide is a truly a 4-star hotel and I will definitely return to…

Vineyards in Tuscany, Italy

If there are a thousands things to see before we die - I believe to see vineyards in Tuscany are among them. At the end of December 2015, we traveled around region of Tuscany in Italy and to memorize those fascinating places I created a few panorama photos. Vineyards in Tuscany - Piece of Life.



Vineyards in Tuscany

It is amazing to observe how using a simple DSLR camera with kit lens I figured out to create a panorama…

Italy

'I Fossi' Restaurant in San Gimignano, Italy

I Fossi is a small roadside restaurant located in San Gimignano town in Italy. We arrived here just shortly we paid a visit to the Leaning tower of Pisa.We made a stop here by chance, just because noticed there is one free parking spot available. Unfortunately we managed to order just two cappuccinos and noticed there is a queue with cars on the nearby street, some lady had arrived to the hotel (turns out there is a hotel as well at…

Restaurant reviews

Roadside cafe near Surami Mountain Pass

I'm not quite sure what name this pace actually wears - I started to call it Perevelnaya (From Russian: Перевальная) which in English might sound like Next to the Mountain Pass. Since this cafeteria is actually located next to the Surami mountain pass, I believe there is nothing wrong with such of interpretation by me.

This cafe is a regular stop for me, whn traveling from Tbilisi to Kutaisi by car, in most cases I'm heading to Kutaisi…

Latvia

Cafe 'Jumis' in Skrunda

Cafe Jumis in Skrunda was among my top dining places during Summer 2015, because of it's close location to our rural house.

Located next to the highway connecting Riga with Liepaja in Skrunda town, they serve a typical bistro food here for a very attractive prices. They definitely have the best desserts I have tried in these parts of Latvia. Banana, plum and other milkshakes just rocks here.



Cafe Jumis in Skrunda



Daily menu at…

Latvia

Cafe 'Pagrabiņš' in Kuldīga

If you are the lucky one and you have a chance to visit picturesque Latvian town of Kuldīga, make sure you make your dinning out at town's of of the best cafe's/ restaurant - Cafe Pagrabiņš.


Or take a look of another Kuldīga restaurants here.


Located in the heart of Kudlīga Old town on Baznicas street, this place offers traditional Latvian cuisine for a very reasonable prices.  



Cafe Pagrabins in Kuldīga

Located next to the…

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