Tbilisi, how can I possibly describe a place with the most peculiar and beautiful places, churches and people I have seen, both Georgian and Armenian. A country that strikes you completely at the first visit, Tbilisi was founded in the 5th century AD when it became the capital, prior to this Mtskheta was the capital (20km away from Tbilisi) and I can give endless reasons why it is still a fantastic idea to visit this strange and exotic place. Georgia to us was very strange, in the sense that it had the feel of Europe with its history dating back to 4th century BC! King Vakhtang Gorgasali of Kartli is said to be the founder of Tbilisi with his fascination becoming forming a legend revolving around the hot springs, giving Tbilisi its current name. Georgia to this day remains a hybrid city with Asian and European aspects, its history is some of the oldest in the world yet it remains quite unknown to the western world. Notwithstanding this fact, we are certain this will be the next big thing, this will be the destination every traveller in the world will be visiting very soon, if they have not already. It has definitely found its way into our hearts. So go with us to Tbilisi, a city that Alexandre Dumas described as the “city of legend and romance”.
On our balcony we had our breakfast, with this view
Our days in hidden Georgia started with Georgian products, namely Tonis puri (the canoe shaped bread we bought from the local baker) for 40 lari for one. Cheese, croissants, tomatoes and salami, nectarine and peach. Our favourite.
Let’s start on the architecture..
The Radisson building was formerly a luxury hotel turned into a refugee camp, and now the Radisson.
Georgian National Academy of Sciences
Such street art was everywhere..
Georgian National Opera Theatre
The Opera.. incredible!
Buildings such as these were everywhere! With flowers like these as decoration.
The National Gallery
The Kashveti Church of St. George is a Georgian Orthodox on Rustaveli Avenue
The Parliament building
Freedom Square
How incredible is this!
I fell in love with this old staircase, it really is so romantic.
Most of the markets are like this, mini markets run by the local people who produce it themselves which means a lot of it is organic.
An old man on the street saw us looking at the courtyard he came out of (where he lived) and opened the gate for us to film. I got so emotional because he was so kind, old and cute and allowed us to film his private courtyard for no reason at all. The people are so kind, most of the older people speak Russian and Georgian which means you can communicate in Russian which was easier than Georgian for us.
Note: the spiral staircases, so Georgian!
I love the vines!!
How can anyone not love this! We walked 20km plus to take in as much as we could, needless to say we had a lot of ground to cover. We walked from Marjanishvili Street to old town Tbilisi which was about 4-5km. Marjanishvili does have a metro however, we do believe the best way to acquaint yourself with a city is to walk the city, and although we were quite a bit out of the Old Town, we stayed in the most picturesque area and loved every moment.
The statue behind was built in 1958 is named Kartvlis Deda, meaning "Mother of a Georgian" and she stands in traditional Georgian dress on top of Sololaki Hill.
Jvaris Mama Church
Jvaris Mama Church, how SPECTACULARLY beautiful is this!!!
A synagogue
Saint George Armenian Cathedral of Tbilisi
Typical Georgian Babushki (grandmothers), they were so cute – they bought tea and sat in the park.
Yugo_boy holds a Churchkhela, which we thought was a sausage, this candle-shaped sweet is traditional Georgian and is made from a combination of wine, nuts, grapes and flour.
One of our favourite places in Tbilisi!!!!
As some know, I am a HUGE vine fan (fan of vines), and Tbilisi is VINE CAPITAL, vine heaven with beautiful red roses!!
Just look at THIS!
David Agmashenebeli Avenue – so picturesque! Very close to where we were staying!
David Agmashenebeli Avenue
David Agmashenebeli Avenue – how can anyone not love this. Plus the ambiance! With live Georgian music playing at times..
And to end.. one of my favourite buildings! We absolutely loveee Tbilisi! If anyone has any suggestions on the size of the photos please let me know, or any better photo streaming websites, I’m hoping this size is good so you can all enjoy it as much as we have! More of Georgia to come!!