We had been looking forward to arriving in Georgia for a long time. This stage of our journey symbolised our return to Europe, both culturally and geographically (Georgia is considered to be on both the European and Asian continents).
Not that we didn't like it, or were even fed up with Asia. But we miss home all the same, and returning to Europe is good for morale.
Arriving in Georgia in such a good frame of mind, we had no choice but to love it.
Our stay in Georgia was a bit special. For the first time on our trip, we chose to do some voluntary work. For a fortnight, we volunteered for a hotel that organises yoga, dance and meditation retreats in the Georgian mountains. A break in nature that did us a lot of good.
So we made very few stops in Georgia, but we fell in love with it all the same. We'll be back to explore all the regions of this country!
A lovely meeting
Despite a strong language barrier (most of the volunteers and staff all speak Russian), we had some wonderful meetings at Gomarduli.
Anna is the manager who welcomed us. She's probably the person who spoke the best English, and did everything she could to integrate us into the team and make us feel at ease. We had some interesting conversations together during our walks through the surrounding villages. We'd like to thank her for her typical Georgian welcome and kindness!
Slava is the chef at Gomarduli. He's not one for talking much, so Dune tried another approach when she was working in the kitchen: talking music! Slava always listened to rock music from the 60s and 70s during his shift. Good common ground! As the conversation progressed, we learned more about him. Slava is Russian, and after many years in finance, he devoted himself to his passion: cooking. His dream is to immigrate to France. He's passionate about the culture: the music, the food, the scenery. The problem is that France is probably one of the most difficult countries in the world in which to immigrate (contrary to what people would have us believe). So Slava laughingly asked us several times to adopt him!
Slava, we can't wait to see you live in France <3
Our favourite place:
Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, is a city that captured our hearts. The city is beautiful, with its sloping streets, old buildings that are sometimes tagged and sometimes colourful, and its many cafés, wine bars and bakeries. It's green and well shaded thanks to the many trees in every street, and its Orthodox churches perched high up in the city, visible from any street, make you want to climb them to get a nice view of Tbilisi.
We didn't do much sightseeing, and mostly just walked around, ate well, met some really nice French people (hello globapattes), had a few drinks, played games and went to the cinema. We got back to a simple life, and that did us a lot of good.
We loved the atmosphere in Tbilisi. We could even live there for a while!
What's for dinner?
Aaaah Georgian cuisine... One of the best of the trip! Although the most well-known specialities may seem redundant and heavy, Georgian cuisine is actually varied and can be very well-balanced. Our favourite specialities:
- Badrijanis: our favourite dish! These are aubergines filled with walnut cream. They are served with pomegranate seeds. IN-CROY-ABLE!
You can also find badrijanis made with peppers instead of aubergine. Or pkhalis, balls made with walnut cream and spinach.
- Khinkali: a typical Georgian dish, khinkali are large ravioli. We love them stuffed with mushrooms!
- lobios supi: red beans are a big part of Georgian cuisine. This dish resembles a red bean stew, served with herbs in an earthenware pot. Delicious!
- When it comes to drinks, how can we not mention Georgian wine? Georgia is the cradle of wine, and many Georgians still make wine using the ancestral method.
Another drink is kompot! Fruit is soaked in water for several days, or even months. It's a very refreshing drink.
Georgia's best-known dish is undoubtedly khachapuri. A kind of Georgian pizza, it is topped with Georgian cheese, sulguni, and sometimes an almost-raw egg is served on top. We tried it, but didn't love it. The cheese has little character, and it's a very, very heavy dish.
In general, it's very easy to find vegetarian and vegan options in Georgia at any restaurant. In Tbilisi, the offerings are even more varied, with many 100% vegan restaurants springing up around the city.
Our stay in Georgia was also marked by the demonstrations that took place in Tbilisi in reaction to a draft law, nicknamed the "Russian law". Basically, Georgian MPs were debating a law under which any NGO or media outlet receiving more than 20% of its funding from abroad would have to register as an "organisation pursuing the interests of a foreign power". This proposed law is similar to legislation already passed in Russia, which Putin has used to repress all opposition. Adopting this law would also reduce Georgia's chances of joining the European Union, when the country has just been recognised as a candidate.
Demonstrations were held every evening against this law, which was seen as a threat to freedom of expression. They were violently repressed. At the same time, we saw pro-Ukraine, pro-EU and anti-Putin tags all over the streets.
The law against foreign interference was finally passed.
join us on our journey!
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