Marriott Hotel Tbilisi

... Throughout her long history, Georgia has been occupied most of the time by numeral foreign forces – the Romans, the Persians, the Mongols, the Turkish, the Arabs, and lastly, the Russians. Yet quite amazingly, they retain their own language and writing. But it may not be a blessing for visitors because only try to read the name of a place (important when you are looking for mini-bus) is ...

... use sheep fleeces to catch gold deposits in the mountain springs. This also meant that Medea was Georgian, so I was careful not to get too close to the Georgian ladies. But plagued by Mamluks, Mongols, Ottomans and Soviets Georgia has had it rough. It was only in 1991 that it was once again declared an independent country. But by 1992 it was already embroiled in a war with Russia. 10,000 Georgians would die and Daddy E and his friends were in the thick of it ...

... pulled out the video of the Russians his group had killed. That upset me a good bit. I know it's a war, and people die. That's what happens. But nobody deserves to have their son show up on some barhound's cellphone. I was just teaching the kind of kids who end up fighting- the ones who won't go to university or have the money to pay their way out of conscription. And I just kept thinking of one of my kids being on someone's cellphone.

... Rustaveli square, what a nice moment. I couldn't find the metro but it was an easy walk anyway. We went to see her uni, a park next to her block of flats filled with policemen, playgrounds and ruins of playgrounds; then Rustaveli avenue with the only street sellers of tourist stuff [it's the main shopping street in the city, used also as a kind of lively promenade: Tamar met several friends there and I did the Slovak people;) - this town organization reminds me of Saarbruecken ...

Hallo zusammen, nach meinen Ausfluegen in die Umgebung war ich noch frueh genug zurueck in Tblisi um mir die Stadt anzuschauen. Als ich allerdings auf den Huegel mit der Burg und der Kartlis Deda Statue wandern wollte sind mir doch zwei Jugendliche entgegengesprungen, jeder mit einem Messer bewaffnet... Nun, da ich schon immer der Ansicht war, dass es besser ist alle irdischen Besitztuemer bewaffneten Raeubern zu geben als es auf einen Kampf ankommen zu lassen, habe ich dies getan. Sie ...

... plonk, cherry juice, water, then back to finish internetting to 9pm, then onto the tube after dark, and back to the hotel. Tub up a bit, then out to the flash restaurant opposite, but find they are closed, in spite of the sign in the window. To the Kopala Hotel, which we know has a restaurant. Get directed to the roof terrace, where the hostess has decided it is too late. Has second thoughts, finds there is still an hour to ...

... getting around inside, still hearing the bleat from time to time. We made a circle around the church, mainly in order to take photoes and impress from the area. I was a bit surprised that there were only several tourists so I could have counted them in 10 fingers. I think I would prefer emptiness in this kind of trips. Moreover, the cloudy weather probably prevented people to get out of bed, I guess. We were just about to exit the area of the church, and we saw the reason ...

... familiar to my soul yet previously unheard: a different tuning system, many parts, with men and women singing ın their ancient polyphonic style. Georgia was perhaps and arguable the birthplace of choral harmony. It wasn't Sunday and this wasn't choir practice. These were people who loved to sing. Outside the church, two young men practiced their harmonies together as they walked. Also on the icy streets were a few families huddled together near a ...

... bump it slipped off and rolled forward. She jumped up to stop it and carried it back to put it in the fridge, allowing me to step over and make the kill, which everyone agreed was quite elegantly done. The game came down to two of us and I won it by positioning their bag at the back of the back locker, so they had to climb inside, where I could wait outside and get them with marmite and a trowel.

... s Uganda. Remember the Italian experience, well the Ugandans were equally conquered and analysed. Muni found that his name, Munyoro, means 'the great one - or someone of reverence' in Bunyoro, a tribe in Uganda, and thus proceeded to lord it over those he considered his subjects. Being a dowager I soon put paid to any illusions he might have had about subjugating his mother - that is my ...