Best Eastern Vere Palace Tbilisi

... it was great; there are rivers, valleys and mountain stretch out to the horizon, and you can almost see the city of Gori, merely 40 km away up a valley, where Iosif Jughashvili, a.k.a. Joseph Stalin was born in 1878 (yes, the most important and brutal Soviet leader was born a Georgian). And then we went back to visit Svetitskhoveli (Life-giving-pillars) Cathedral, where the legend says that Christ's robe is buried underneath. Apparently a Jew from the city ...

... equal spread of power between the President, Parliament and the Judicial system as the best way forward. Crippled by Russian economic and military pressure, the country is rightly questioning Saakashvili's motives in failing to prevent the crisis when he was on such good terms (reputedly) with their vodka drinking neighbours. Protests were held all over the city and the family I stayed with were heavily invovled. In my last entry I described Georgians as being ...

... for in part by the Georgian government, and then the rest by aid from foreign governments. The yards are the houses are pretty small, and every one of them is a concrete box without many rooms. They're going up pretty quickly though. I don't know where people are supposed to keep their animals or grow a garden though in those small spaces. One of the construction workers I chatted with was kicked out of Abkhazia about 3 years ago ...

... a hostel. Since street names are not easy to find, house numbers are even harder and hostels ("homestays") are quite often not marked at all...it's fun. I met two Slovak guys doing the same and finally we found it - Dodo's homestay, recommended by LP. Unfortunately, I can't recommend it at all: it's hugely expensive (>=27gel), has a very old equipment and beds and moody personnel. However, I met some interesting people: eldery US guy doing a photo study on kurdish people, bright ...

Its been ages since we have been anywhere near anything anywhere like an internet cafe so hence the peaceful silence. I don't have too long as it is already 8.30pm and it will be getting dark soon and Tblisi doesn't have the best reputation for being out alone - lots of muggings apparently - plus I need to find out about the bomb in Istanbul as I'll be there for about 5 days soon. Okay bullet points;- 1/. Kow Ata Underwater sulphur lake - mixed feelings really ...

... around it. Have a precarious climb up the wall for more photos. Back in town, walk through the same streets we covered last night, stopping at a restaurant, GMC, across the street from the fast food outlet we nearly used last night. It is not obviously a restaurant from outside, but quite swish inside. Leave the ordering to the guide, and have a great meal for about 10 lari each. Have a good pastry wrapped mince meat roll (kabob ...

... Till today, people honour their national poet and his heritage. A big bronze statue of the poet stands in the middle of the square, with some writing about it in Georgian. Behind the statue there is another national symbol, as seen in the photo - but not Georgia's. An American symbol, as a matter of fact. A huge McDonald's restaurant is located just in front of Rustaveli's statue which, actually, looks into it. Michal and I chose to dine our last lunch in Georgia in this ...

... Was the big question. "We're not Russian," a woman said, when I tried to speak to her in Russian (sorry, it's hard to learn a new language all the time, though you are right). Elsewhere in the former Soviet Republics, they had either kept the Cyrillic or adopted a Latin alphabet. But in Georgia, most Russian writing had been removed from bus signs, marshrutkas, and restaurants, adding a challenge to getting around for non-Georgian speakers. Their ...

We've reached Tiblisi and it's started raining. This is only the second time it's rained since we left Beijing three months ago, which is pretty incredible. 17/10 UPDATE: Well that was a stupid thing to write as it's then rained for 6 days straight, which made everyone quite miserable... Anyway, despite the rain I had a great time in Tiblisi. Went to some great restaurants, ate a lot of cheese pies and went to the ballet to see Giselle. Bravo! etc.

... There was loads of meat, drink and space to manoeuvre. The day was beautiful and we even managed to dance. I can say now that I have entered my 40th decade with great serenity and love - I hope this will not shatter soon. I am very disappointed by those of you who failed to send my birthday present - it involved a picture and a short blurb about how and when we met - not gold and diamonds ...