Tbilisi Part 4

Last Part
After lunch at Wendy's, we decided to walk to the funicular because it was just over a kilometer away.  We walked and we walked and we walked.  We had the funicular located on our map and kept walking and our little dot moved closer and closer to the spot on the map.

Random nothing on our walk

One of many homes we passed on our walk.

Justin half dead on our walk.

We somehow ended up at the mid point funicular station.  There is a bottom, a halfway point, and the top. We arrived at the halfway point, wondering WHY they have a stop there, but so glad that they did.  We had a card for it, but didn't know how much money was on it because the friends who gave it to us hadn't known.  The kids were free, I got through, but there was not enough left on it for Rob.  Yes, they have a cashier there.  No, it wasn't open.  The employee took pity on us and told us to pay the extra at the top.

There was a group of three people there waiting for the funicular already.  They seemed to have been at the middle stop on purpose though.  Heaven knows why.  A couple arrived at the stop and evidently they had been trying to find the bottom station as well.  They had no card at all.  The group already there swiped the card for them.  Guess we weren't the only idiots that day.  Seriously though, we followed the map AND signs that said funicular.  You would think that if they are going to put signs up for tourists they would try to get them right!

At the top, we tried to pay and the cashier said she couldn't do that.  Okay.  On we went then to the amusement park.  Evidently Mtatsminda Park (also known as Bombora) was the third most visited park in the USSR back in the Soviet days.  I think that is just so sad.  It is a pretty bleak park.  It makes me think of the kind of place you would pick for a creepy movie set.  My kids don't know any different though, so they were happy.

Haunted House

Coming out of the Haunted House.

 Rob went into the haunted house with the boys.  They loved it and even wanted to go again.  I asked Rob if it was scary and he said no, but that it was highly inappropriate.  Nice.  Oh well.  I am happy to report that they did not have any nightmares.

Many of the rides were closed.  Much of the park was just strange.

What exactly is this and what is it holding?

See what I mean?  What is it and why?

Decorative or scary?

So this is cool because...

 Justin got to go on this swing ride, but they said Ryan was too short.  Too bad because he really likes this ride.  He was a good sport about it though.

One of the nicer looking rides.

Oh look!  My family in a weird sculpture.

 Ryan had to go to the bathroom while we were there.  We found one that was really well marked.  We went in and Ryan was horrified to discover the toilet was squashed.  I told him it wasn't squashed, it was a squatter.  Why a boy who can pee outside has so much trouble with a squatter is beyond me.  He had the worst time and wanted to know where to stand, how to aim, etc.  I should have just had him go in the bushes.

The entrance (which is at the opposite end from where the funicular pulls up) has a funky structure that is fun to climb on.  What a cool tree house.

There they are!

 The regular bumper cars were not a choice for my kids, but the junior ones were a go.  They were fortunate that they were the only two in there at the time because they were not the most coordinated people you have ever seen in your life.  Oh my.  They had fun though.

Junior bumpers were the perfect size and speed for them.

Down we went once we were done.  We rode from the top to the bottom this time rather than walking halfway. :) Nice view of the city from the top and as we went down.

From the bottom we caught a cab because we were tired!  We got some ice cream and then slowly walked back to our hotel.  I had the best pistachio ice cream I have had in a long time.

Ryan is trying to make a cute face.

Random pic by the ice cream place

Restaurant where we had our huge meal the day before.

 We doubted that we would be hungry for dinner.  The boys were up for a little cotton candy though.  We picked up bananas and a few other odds and ends to snack on later.

 The next day we started home.  Here is a fairly decent stretch of the road.  There are no potholes as big as our car nor are there cows in the road.  If only the roads were this nice the whole way.  Oh, and love the bus in front of us.  We passed as soon as we could see around it or we would probably still be driving.

Home again with laundry to do and bags to unpack.  Sigh.  The part of the vacation I don't enjoy.