Quiet Day

 03-10-2022

Love those days without an alarm!  By the time I'm through with yoga Ammar is awake and ready to take on the day.  We set out without an agenda and do some shopping and wandering.  I find a kitty, finally, to deal with my feline withdrawal! She is so soft and friendly and there is a lady behind me rattling on in Georgian.  I'm afraid to look at her for fear she is hollering at me!  Ammar tells me later that she is happy I am being nice to the cat because some people hit her!  I could have tucked her under my arm and brought her home - if home weren't thousands of miles away!

It's not every day you see someone walk down the street with a baby doll!

Isn't she a sweetheart!?

We stop at the little coffee shop down the street and arm ourselves with espresso and cappuccino and continue exploring.

I know I don't get out much, but aren't these pretty unusual?

When hunger finally sets in we go to our favorite "restaurant" and drink cappuccino and espresso for a while before ordering breakfast.  I can't believe how much food is wasted here!  I have the Georgian breakfast and it's enough for two people and Ammar has a katchapuri and would have fed another two!

After a respectable length of time, and a glass of Turkish tea and a bottle of water, we close our accounts and head back outside.  The street market near the Peace Bridge is open and we wander there for a while;  but there is nothing new from the last time we were here.  One of the underground corridors built to cross under the busy streets has lots of little shops and we find a cap for Ammar since there is snow in the forecast for the rest of the week.  The temperature is supposed to be quite low;  but with such low humidity, little wind, and MANY layers, we are pretty cozy.

The graffiti in Georgia is much classier than ours!

I'm still campaigning for the cable car up to the fortress and Mother Georgia, so we take a cab, after quite a cross-cultural discussion about where we want to go.  We finally arrive only to find that the cable car isn't running!  Ah well, best-laid plans!  We go back to British House to warm up and rest a bit, stopping first at the little store across the street for some provisions. Vital things like cheese-flavored chips and Oreos and yogurt!  We'll go back out later, for dinner.

Definitely time for dinner now!  And how can we beat free?  While my machine is running I am texting with the guy who is supposed to be doing our wine and cooking tour. He thinks we are really brave to be here!  He's had lots of cancellations because people are afraid of the situation with the Ukraine! We settle on the 14th as the date for our tour and he invites us to his new wine spot here in Tbilisi and asks if there is anything else he can do for us.  There's another tour I've been thinking about and I'll ask him in the morning if he can do it on the 12th or 13th.

I've had a beer and a bottle of water and Ammar has had uncounted cups of espresso so it must be time for dinner!  I have grilled mountain trout with roasted vegetables and mushrooms with a Georgian cheese called sulugami.  Ammar has lentil soup and two orders of grilled shrimp.  And I'm working on a glass of wine! I can't possibly finish everything!  By the time I give up Ammar is about ready to leave and we catch a cab instead of walking home in the rain!  A lovely end to the day!