Tblisi

Our first day in Tbilisi. With no money, we exchanged $5 at the reception, got a taxi and headed for the Sheraton Hotel. We figured that it would be the only place in town oriented towards serving Westerners and might have some tourist info. With the tourist desk empty, the receptionist at the Sheraton did the best she could to help. We found a city tour and she offered to look for a car/driver for us. Our next challenge was finding any books on the sites of Georgia. We headed to Rustaveli Avenue, the main drag in the city, found a few books (a bit dated, but beggars can’t be choosers) and a McDonalds.

With no tourists in the city, our regularly scheduled minibus tour became our own private guide and driver in the city. We saw Metekhi Church, called the Church of the Virgin, built between 1281 and 1289, the Sulfur Baths and Caravanserai.

We stopped at the Sioni Cathedral, the residence of the Catholicos of the Georgian Orthodox Church. The church supposed holds the cross of St. Nino, who converted Georgia to Christianity in 337 AD.

Then we stopped at Anchiskhah Church, a 16th Century Basilica. We made a quick stop to the tour company and got some info for other options then headed to the funicular part way up Mt. Mtatsminda and to the Pantheon where we visited the grave of Joe Stalin’s mother. The minibus came up the narrow, cobble-stoned road to meet us and had to back down the road. The rain left the stones very slick and the bus slid half way down the hill. We opted to walk part of the way down.

Our dinner recommendations included 3 Georgian restaurants so we went on our typical scoping tour. We settled on one that didn’t make the top 3 list, but had a beautiful outdoor setting. Unfortunately, it also had warm wine and bad food.
Note- there are armed police everywhere in this city. They are on every block and at every intersection.