The first couple of days this week were busy days as I did lots of laundry and packed for our trip to the country of Georgia. It is the first trip we have taken since we have been here, and I did not remember where everything was. It took awhile to get things put together and stuffed into suitcases. It is also right at the time when we are moving from long sleeves to short sleeves. I have yet to sort through the boys things. :(
The highway between Yerevan and Tbilisi leaves much to be desired in my opinion. I can't even imagine trying to navigate it at night. It took longer than we would have liked to get there, but we made it safe and sound.
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| Getting ready to enter Georgia! |
After sitting in the car, we were all ready to stretch our legs. We decided that walking to McDonald's and taking the metro back would work much better than taking the metro there and walking back. With the metro ride costly the equivalent of 30 cents US each for me and Rob (free for the boys) we could have easily taken the metro both ways, but it helped us get a feel for the city too. It was about 1.5 km and pleasant weather.
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For some reason the boys thought it would be a good idea to do this in front
of a fountain. |
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I meant to go back and get a closer look at this church, but there
were a lot of services since it was right around Eater. Maybe another trip
or perhaps if you have seen one Georgian/Armenian church you have seen
them all. |
We got to McDonald's and it was crowded. Now I realize that this is not the most cultural choice for a meal, but since they don't have a McDonald's in Yerevan, it was a treat for the boys and familiar food for me and Rob. This was a planned and much talked about thing to do when we were planning our trip.
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| How long has it been since he has had a cheeseburger? |
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| Cool looking McDonald's |
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| View from outside the McDonald's |
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| More right outside the McDonald's |
We enjoyed dessert outside and then hopped on at Rustaveli station which is right outside the McDonald's and rode one stop to Liberty Square. To ride the metro you need to buy a rechargeable card which costs 2 Lari ($1.20). The nice thing is that unlike in places like Washington DC, multiple people may use the same card. As you go through the ticket gate it shows you what your balance is after subtracting the fare. These cards work on the buses and some of the marshrutkas (mini buses) in the city. It is unfortunate that the metro does not go to more of the tourist type locations because it is cheap, efficient, and clearly labeled and announced in English as well as Georgian. When I used google maps on my iphone for directions, it has metro and marshrutka information included which can help with planning. We primarily walked however. The idea of cramming on a marshrutka with the boys is less than appealing. Oh, if you are REALLY upset about the $1.20 for the metro card, you can get a refund within 30 days if you return the card, your receipt, and provide your ID. See what useless knowledge I picked up?
One highlight of the trip was the elevator in our hotel. One boy would get to hit the call button and the other boy would get to select the floor. Of course they had to rotate who did which button because I am sure one is more exciting than the other. Don't ask me which though. As an added bonus the ground floor is 0 rather than 1 as it is in the US. Such excitement for the boys to learn about new cultures.
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| Adieu Elevator Friend! The boys miss you. |
This is Freedom Square where our hotel was located. Some places seem to refer to Freedom Square as Liberty Square. It was a good location for being able to get to the metro or to walk to many tourist sites. Taxis are also inexpensive here, unlike places in the US.
We walked to take the cable car from Rike Park up to Narikala Fortress. There were some nice views from the cable car and from the fortress area up above. Ryan seemed to be tripping on everything including his own feet, so we didn't explore the area around the fortress as much as some people might want. In fact, even if he weren't falling every five feet, I can assure you that neither boy was interested in looking around much. They did enjoy the cable car though. The cable car uses a metro car and is 2 lari per person each way. I believe they charged for the boys as well. I am sure that it depends on who is working at the time. Still, not expensive. It is also a doable walk, though you miss the cable car view. There is no entrance fee other than the cable car. The hours of operation I saw listed varied by website.
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On our way to Rike Park. I am not even going to try to remember what
church was where or what each is called. |
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| Yep, some church or monastery. |
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Looking up towards the Mother Georgia statue. She seems to watch you
wherever you go in the city. |
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| On the cable car! |
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| I found looking down into non tourist areas interesting too. |
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| Part of Narakala Fortress |
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| Tbilisi from the cable car |
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Rike Park with the two funky looking amphitheater tubes.
The bridge over the water is Peace Bridge and is pedestrian
traffic only. |
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| View that includes a church or two. |
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I think this is part of the botanical gardens. We didn't go there on this trip.
Picture is taken from the fortress. |
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| Mother Georgia |
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| It was so exciting to see signs of spring everywhere. |
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Even Justin noticed how many people sold junk on the sidewalks.
It reminded me of China. There was everything from fruit and flowers
to balloons and masks. |
We were hungry and stopped by a restaurant that had a menu out front. I was dreading the boys having to try (heaven forbid!) something new. I figured Rob and I could eat while they drank and played on the phone and then we could get them something. They surprised me though and did really well.
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| Do you think Justin got a big enough bowl of soup? |
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Georgian Khachapuri bread. Delicious! I took some home to
have for later too. |
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| Khinkali (dumplings) |
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| Ryan trying his shawarma. He and I each ordered one. |
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| Rob had ostri. |
We had SO much food. We had no idea how large the portions would be. It should be noted that our meal here cost less than our meal at McDonald's. This was a lot more food too. We could have spent even less if we had realized how much food there would be. Some we were able to take back with us to the hotel, but much was wasted.
