Beyond Tbilisi

Our brief travels beyond Tbilisi allowed us to visit some wonderful places, to learn more about the history and culture of Georgia.

Svetitskhoveli Cathedral in Meskheta.

A wall at the cathedral, where you can see many
layers of Georgian history.

Alaverdi Monastery, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Jvari Monastery, another UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Jvari Monastery.

And, now for something completely different, Chateau Mere in Telavi. It is a remarkable property with an excellent restaurant. Worth a visit!

And this summarizes our amazing trip to the Republic of Georgia. We appreciate all of the hospitality, knowledge, insights, and friendliness of the many people we met. And we really enjoyed the many, many wines and the delicious food that we shared with our new friends.

Traveling Around Tbilisi

So we did more than eat, drink, and be merry in Georgia. We took in several of the cultural and tourist sights and sites. First, around Tbilisi.

Mother Georgia oversees the city. In her left hand she holds
a bowl of wine to greet friends; in her right is a sword
for those who come as enemies. A woman with attitude.

Tbilisi panorama from Mtatsminda plateau.

Beautiful iron work in Old Town Tbilisi.

Tbilisi՚s sulfur baths are a popular destination.

Inside one bath.

The Tbilisi synagogue in the old town.

Tbilisi՚s wonderful traffic, from our
hotel room.

The next post will cover some of the places we visited outside of Tbilisi.

Searching for Yarn in Georgia

When we travel, our focus is usually wine and local wool. Georgia did not disappoint on either, but the wool search went an unexpected direction.

I found a few skeins of knitting wool, but it was very rough and rustic. Then I learned about felt products from Georgia. The wool is perfect for felting.

Very warm and sturdy felt slippers.

Socks, also heavy and sturdy. Most socks were simply striped;
these were more colorful.

My new felted shawl.

A beautiful marble rendition of a linen drape on a tomb
at the Svetitskhoveli Cathedral in Mtskheta.

Then we visited the Nukriani community union in Kakheti. One of the projects is training women (mostly) in the arts of quilting, felting, and other traditional crafts. The members create and sell beautiful objects, such as those below. All of the felt is made by hand.

Nukriani figures.

Making a felted flower.

Felt flower pins.

Wall hanging with Georgian sun symbols.

My experiences have been that fiber people, like wine people, are generous and delighted to talk about their art.

Republic of Georgia Travels, Food Edition

It has been quite a while since I have summarized a travel adventure, but a recent trip to the Republic of Georgia merits a few words. We were there for the United Nations World Tourism Organization conference on wine tourism. The conference provided an opportunity to learn more about a country that I could barely locate on a map. Now I know a little bit more.

As most of our friends expect, the first installment will be about food. Georgian food is simple, fresh, and flavorful.

Georgian bread, baked in a clay oven.

The hanging items are churchkhela, a sweet made from
thickened grape juice and nuts. You know what
vodka and wine are.

Spices!

Salad with fresh cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, and herbs,
lightly dressed.

Meat, stick, fire, yummy.

Fresh herbs, including tarragon, parley, purple basil.

Khinkali, meat-stuffed dumplings.

Matsoni (yoghurt), with honey and walnuts at the
Alaverdi Monastery.

All kinds of peppers.

Other food we enjoyed were eggplant with walnut sauce, chicken with walnut sauce, cheese, and lamb stew. We gobbled it down before I could take a picture.

Future installments of our Georgia trip will include my search for fiber and visits to historical monuments. Mike will cover wine on his wine economist blog.

Milano

It has been a long time since I have posted here. Not that we stopped traveling; I just stopped posting. But it is time to start up again, especially after our recent week in Milan for a conference on sustainability and sensory analysis in the wine industry and an enormous trade show on wine bottling and production.

Site of the conference and trade show

Hey, Tacoma people! Does this look familiar?
It is the Stella Polare Congress Center.

Stella Polare from the inside

Reception at Stella Polare

We also we able to be tourists in Milan for two days.

The Duomo, with sunlight filtering through
the stained glass windows

The beautiful, ridiculously expensive Galleria 

A visit and lunch at Eataly, a beautiful store

Produce at Eataly

Enjoying an Aperol Spritz at the new Aperol Terrace

View from the terrace

Cannot go to Italy without enjoying gelato

Visiting South Africa — Wine!

The purpose of our trip to South Africa was to learn more about the South African wine industry and the many excellent wines. Did we ever! Here a few — a few — of the wines we tasted.

Need I say more?

We had a wonderful trip to the Western Cape of South Africa. There is so much more to see and do (and eat and drink)! We would welcome a return trip.

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We have many people to thank for our exceptional experiences in South Africa: wine makers, farmers, hospitality staff, chefs, servers, hotel and B&B owners and staff, wildlife rangers, Wines of South Africa staff, VinPro staff, and many others. We especially appreciate the many friends we made during our travels. Thank you! All of you!

Visiting South Africa — Food

Anyone who knows us will know that we like food tourism. And we are among those obnoxious people who take pictures of their food. So here is a sample from South Africa.

Boerie (sausage sandwich) from Gourmet Boerie

Yummy lunch at the Joubert-Tradauw deli

Fish at Botlierskop Private Game Reserve, where meals
are included with the visitor package

Fresh veg at Terroir Restaurant at Kleine Zalze

Sosatie (Malay kebabs) at Botlierskop

Lunch at Two Oceans at Cape Point, with
line fish, calamari, mussels, langoustines

Braai!

Lamb rolls at Pierneef à La Motte

Beet salad at Jordan Wine Estate

Each meal was accompanied by outstanding wines of South Africa. I would go back to every one of these places.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

We have many people to thank for our exceptional experiences in South Africa: wine makers, farmers, hospitality staff, chefs, servers, hotel and B&B owners and staff, wildlife rangers, Wines of South Africa staff, VinPro staff, and many others. We especially appreciate the many friends we made during our travels. Thank you! All of you!