Lena introduced us to Khingkale (meat filled dumplings) on our second day in Tbilisi and taught us how to dust them with pepper and eat them with our hands (without spilling the juices).FYI, 25 dumplings were more than enough for the 3 of us!Read more about Georgian Food and our visit to Georgia.
Dusk falls on Old Tiflis.Read more about Tbilisi and our visit to Georgia.
The village of Adishi in Svaneti splits the mountains en route to Ushguli. We spent a night with a local family here. Read about our visit to Svaneti and the rest of our visit to Georgia.
A peak emerged from the top of the pass from Adishi to Iprari.Read about our visit to Svaneti and the rest of our visit to Georgia.
Roasted strips of eggplant filled with a ground walnut and garlic filling. Delicious!This particular batch crafted by the capable hands of Lali in Kisiskhevi.Read more about Georgian Food and our visit to Georgia.
A mosque, sulfur baths, and Georgian churches mark Tbilisi's landscape.Read more about Tbilisi and our visit to Georgia.
When Lali sensed our enthusiasm for Georgian food, she agreed to make khingkale (meat filled dumplings) from scratch with us. Once the meat filling is made, it's all about the fill, turn, tuck and twist.Depending on whom you talk to, khingkale tops require 21 or 37 turns. But who's counting??Read more about Georgian Food and our visit to Kakheti.
Tbilisi (or Tiflis, meaning 'Hot Water') was named so in 452 by King Vahtang Gorgasali because of its natural sulphur hot springs. The springs are supposed to have medicinal qualities and are still used by locals today. ..Although the sulphur lends an odd smell to the baths, they make for a relaxing visit. Tbilisi's remaining mosque is on the hill at right. Read more about Tbilisi and our visit to Georgia.
This friendly woman held court over beautiful piles of dried fruits at the Tbilisi main market.She allowed us to sample a handful of just about everything - apricots, raisins, and prunes to name a few. Audrey's not a fan of raisins, but even she liked the ones here.Read more about Georgian Food and our visit to Georgia.
Bakuriani, Georgia - a small skiing village and one-time Olympic game host hopeful sports Adidas, in a rusted, Soviet hangover style.www.uncorneredmarket.com/2007/08/georgian-site-round-up/2/
One of the newly renovated buildings in Tbilisi's Old Town.
Villages in Svaneti are dotted with these trademark towers. Used originally for defense, many of these towers date back to the 12th century.Read about our visit to Svaneti and the rest of our visit to Georgia.
Balconies of all sorts and sizes make up Tbilisi's architectural landscape. We found this one in Sololaki.
During Soviet times, Bakuriani was apparently a hip and happening ski town, so much so that it was an Olympic host bidder.More recently, after the fall of the Soviet Union, Bakuriani has fallen into a state of disrepair. It is now being rebuilt, even bigger, even better. Construction sites are everywhere and trucks from Turkey loaded with construction materials rule the roads. Read about Georgian sights and our visit to Georgia.
One of the most amazing churches we've ever seen, not because of the artwork and design, but because of the feeling inside. It's not a museum, but an alive church. Read more about Tbilisi and our visit to Georgia.
This graffiti was found on one of the walls of the Telavi Hotel that now houses refugees from Abkhazia. Someone obviously has some artistic ambition, but most of what we saw at the hotel was pretty depressing - a crumbling hotel full of refugees who have no where to go and no where to work. Read more about our visit to Kakheti and adventures with Misha and Shota.
The result of Lali's lessons with us on how to fill, twist and tuck khingkale. After a few twists, some turns, a wing and a prayer, they are dropped into a pot of salted, boiling water in order to cook the meat inside. If assembled correctly, all the juices stay in the dumpling just long enough to dribble down somone's shirt on the first bite. The trick: eat khingkale with your hands, while keeping the hot juices inside the dumpling as you eat. Not to be missed when in Georgia.Read more about Georgian Food and our visit to Georgia.
A popular restaurant outside of Mtskheta served up ceramic mugs full of our favorite Georgian bean dish - lobio. Here, it's complemented by mchadi (cornmeal bread that weighs as much as a brick).Like all Georgian feasts, this was only one of the numerous courses; we could barely move afterwards.Read more about Georgian Food and our visit to Georgia.
Read about our visit to Svaneti and the rest of our visit to Georgia.
Khajapuri, the ubiquitous signature Georgian cheese-stuffed bread oozes gooey goodness. A common site on the Georgian table - breakfast, lunch and dinner. Very addictive.Read more about Georgian Food and our visit to Georgia.
A friendly vegetable vendor shoots us a smile at the Telavi main market.Read more about Georgian Food and our visit to Kakheti.
Fog begins to fill the gaps in the village of Ushguli.Read about our visit to Svaneti and the rest of our visit to Georgia.
If the size of the wine jugs are any indication, the monks at Alaverdi have a large supply of wine to get through each year..... Read more about our visit to Kakheti and adventures with Misha and Shota.
Zaur and his son share similar eyes and a love for hats.Read about our visit to Svaneti and the rest of our visit to Georgia.
Shashlik, tomatoes, puri (flat Georgian bread), herbs and homemade wine are all spread out on the ground for a feast after the climb to the caves. A ruined 8-9th century church sits rubbled in the background. After the hike, Misha handed us each 2 candles to light in the church where an impromptu altar was set up. Read more about our visit to Kakheti and adventures with Misha and Shota.
