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Hotel Lenno (Italy)
4-star hotel Lenno is set in an elegant building just off the main road, and right on the shore of Lake Como, in the fantastic Gulf of Venus. There is free Wi-Fi. We booked this hotel in mid-November 2019, during our week-long trip to Italy/Switzerland and paid about $110 per night. We arrived here from the lovely town of Lecco We were lucky and managed to get a baby crib for our 16-month old daughter:…
Georgian Museum of Fine Arts
Georgian Museum of Fine arts is located on Rustaveli avenue just opposite to Tbilisi parliament building. The museum has been opened for public just recently at the end of 2018. It is interesting to note that currently, it is the only building in Georgia built purposely to house art exhibitions.The museum houses over 3500 artworks, created by over 80 artists during the last 70 years. The museum exhibits private art collection of the…
Lecco town in Italy
Lecco is a small city in northern Italy, some 50 kilometers (31 mi) north of Milan. The city lies at the end of the south-eastern branch of Lake Como. The Bergamo Alps rise to the north and east, cut through by the Valsassina of which Lecco marks the southern end. We visited the town of Lecco for a couple of hours in mid-November 2019, during a week trip to Italy/Switzerland. Really…
Tori 'Cafe-Restaurant' near Akhaldaba
Tori is a small roadside cafeteria located near the town of Akhaldaba. We have made a stop and dinned here at the end of June when traveling to Borjomi Cafe Tori Restaurant Well, what can I say about this place? A typical roadside cafeteria, you can get here some coffee and decent food. Prices seemed kind of expensive, maybe because the cafe is located on a pretty touristic route close to Borjomi. Road to Borjomi There is free parking…
Grand Hotel Del Parco - Bergamo Airport
The Grand Hotel is a modern, peaceful hotel set in parkland just 6 km from Bergamo. It offers air-conditioned rooms and suites, a fitness centre and free parking. A scheduled shuttle service to/from Bergamo Train Station and Orio Al Serio Airport is available on request. We booked this hotel in early November 2019, for a night after landed at Bergamo airport. Nothing fancy, but a decent 4-star hotel for budget money near Bergamo…
Mushtaidi Park in Tbilisi
Mushtaidi park and garden in Tbilisi is great for activities with kids - it features a Ferris Wheel, choo-choo train, carousels and more. The entrance in the park is free, but there is a fee for carrousels. Park is well maintained and quite popular among locals. I first discovered this park a couple of years ago while cycling around Dinamo arena. Sculptures at Mushtaidi park The Mushtaidi is one of the oldest parks in…
Azcot Hotel in Baku
Set in a 19th century building on Fountain Square, Azcot Hotel is located in the heart of Baku and offers air-conditioned rooms with a flat-screen satellite TV. It features a 24-hour front desk and free parking on site. We booked Azcot Hotel for a one night stay (actually paid for two nights) in early August 2019, and paid for our stay about USD 120. We booked two nights because we had a plane back to Tbilisi in seconds night evening, not…
Georgian Parliament Building in Tbilisi
The Parliament of Georgia Building is located in Tbilisi on Rustaveli Avenue, close to the foothills of Mount Mtatsminda. The building complex was constructed as the House of Government of Georgian SSR on the site of the demolished 19th-century Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. For those of you interested in Soviet Architecture, here you go another cool object of interest in Tbilisi. See: Brutal Tours - Explore…
Tavada Restaurant in Baku
Tavada restaurant is another fine example fo great Azerbaijani cuisine and service. Located on Mardanov Brothers street this place serves fine Azerbaijani and European cuisine. Discovered in early August 2019, during a weekend trip to Baku. Kid friendly - got a baby chair for our 13-month old daughter + asked to make mashed potatoes for her Mashed potatoes especially for babies Lovely Dolma with a yogurt sauce If there is a reason…
Nergiz Restaurant in Baku
Nergiz restaurant is located on Fountain Square in Baku, this places serves typical Azerbaijani cuisine and let me name it as of the best Baku restaurants. Discovered in early August, during my birthday trip to Baku. Just like another excellent Baku restaurant Dolma, Nergiz also is located in a basement. Dolma at Nergiz restaurant If there is a reason to visit Azerbaijan, then it's because of Dolma. The best…
Gino Paradise Water Park in Tbilisi
Gino Paradise is a multifunctional water park located in Tbilisi near Tbilisi sea. At the complex, there is located a grand aqua park and unique relaxation wellness center, fitness hall and catering objects. Gino Paradise is one of the most recommended places to visit with kids. Tbilisi for kids (17 Places to Visit) First discovered already a couple of years ago, while cycling to Tbilisi sea, but visited for the first time at the end of…
Ambassadori Kachreti Golf Resort
Located in Kachreti village, some 75 km from nations capital Tbilisi this 5-star hotel offers a tennis court and air-conditioned rooms with a flat-screen TV. We booked a night here, returning from Dedoplis Tskaro at the end of June 2019. We paid just $80 for a night here, the fee included free pool visits, which was awesome and our baby girl enjoyed a lot. Ambassadori Kachreti Golf Resort Guests of the hotel can relax beside the…
Baku Old City
Old City or Inner City is the historic core of Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. The Old City is the most ancient part of Baku, which is surrounded by walls which were easily defended. The Old City of Baku, including the Palace of the Shirvanshahs and Maiden Tower, became the first location in Azerbaijan to be classified as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. We visited …
Picnic Area - Vashlovani National Park 32 km
This picnic area is located on the crossroads before Chalaubani - the Tsnori - Dedoplitskaro-Kvemi Kedi road. We made here a stop after our car malfunctioned while offroad driving trying to reach Patara Tba near Dedoplis Tskaro and it happened so, that at this crossroad car just stopped - now we let it cool for a couple of hours and tried to enjoy our time here (wish we had some barbecue with us back then) As we have been…
Maiden Tower in Baku
The Maiden Tower is a 12th-century monument in the Old City, Baku, Azerbaijan. Along with the Shirvanshahs' Palace, dated to the 15th century, it forms a group of historic monuments listed in 2001 under the UNESCO World Heritage List of Historical Monuments as cultural property, Category III. It is one of Azerbaijan's most distinctive national emblems, and is thus featured on Azeri currency notes…
Patara Tba near Dedoplis Tskaro
Patara Tba or Little lake is located near the town of Dedoplis Tskaro in the region on Kakheti, Georgia. We tried to visit this lake at the end of June 2019 but as the road heading here turned into an offroad turned our car back - as a rule of thumb in Georgia - once you are of from the main highway - the road turns into offroad. Off road driving in Georgia Patara Tba from distance
Yanar Dag / Burning Mountain in Azerbaijan
Yanar Dag literally meaning "burning mountain" is a natural gas fire which blazes continuously on a hillside on the Absheron Peninsula on the Caspian Sea near Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. Flames could jet into the air 3 meters (9.8 ft) from a thin, porous sandstone layer. I had a chance to visit Yanar Dag for the first in August 2019, during a weekend trip to Baku. To get here we ordered a taxi…
Monadire Dedoplis Tskaro Restaurant
Monadire is a small roadside restaurant located in the town of Dedoplis Tskaro, we made a stop here at the end of June during our explorations in the area. The places look bit abandoned or not well maintained, but despite first looks - the place is quite good. They may not have all ingredients on-site, but they will figure it out to go to the nearby hop to buy missing ingredients. As we learned- Monadire means hunter. The places serve…
Nukriani Lavender fields in Georgia
Nukriani lavender fields are located near Nukriani village in the region of Kakehti, Georgia. Best way to get here when driving from Tbilisi is to take a shortcut before Chalaubani and drive the road Tsnori - Dedoplitskaro-Kvemi Kedi. We took a trip here at the end of June 2019, and almost missed this point, luckily I noticed a tiny signboard on the roadside informing that lavender fields are somewhere here: Signboard Nukriani Lavender…
Orbeliani Square
Orbeliani square has recently undergone some serious renovations works and has been opened for public. It's said that about $31 mln has bees spent on renovation works, which took more than two years. It's interesting to notice President Salome Zurabishvili, moved to the Presidential Palace on the Orbeliani Street when she was elected to the post in 2019 Renovated Oberliani square in Tbilisi A couple of years ago similar…
Fairmont Baku hotel at Flame Towers
Located in the Flame Towers Complex, just a 3-minute walk from the famous Martyrs' Alley, 5-star Fairmont Baku, Flame Towers features picturesque views of Baku City or Caspian Sea. We booked a two-night stay at Fairmont Baku in early August, during my birthday trip to Baku, Azerbaijan, for a two-day stay we paid USD 349, which I believe is the lowest amount of money we have paid for a luxury stay at 5-star hotel ever. Top 14…
Amazon Alexa Echo Dot (3rd Gen) - Smart speaker Review
There are more than 50,000 user reviews about Alexa Echo Dot smart speaker on Amazon, and in this article, I wont be very original, but I will write another review from a point of view of a stock trader and a father of a little baby girl. I purchased our first Echo Dot smart speaker at the end of August 2019, it took more than 2 weeks to get it shipped to Georgia (country) and just in the mid-September, it was finally here. …
Dolma restaurant in Baku
Dolma restaurant is located on M.Rasulzada street 8 in Baku, this places serves typical Azerbaijani cuisine and is named as of the best Baku restaurants. This restaurant was a recommendation from a Tripadvisor, we got here from our hotel room in Flames Tower using Bolt Taxi application At first, it was hard to find this place, as the restaurant is actually located in a basement, which actually is more like a dungeon…
Buratino Lake
Buratino lake is a relatively small, artificial (man-made) water reservoir near Manglisi town in the region of Kvemo Kartli, Georgia. We first discovered and visited Buratino lake in the mid-August 2019, after getting directions here from the Algeti Visitors center. Just shortly before getting here we made a short stop at Manglisi cathedral. The road heading to Buratino lake is not in the best shape, an SUV car is…