Anna

Jun 4, 20195 min read

Why GEORGIA is My New Favorite Country

Updated: Oct 28, 2019

This post is a continuation of my travels in Asia from my previous blog post to Azerbaijan with world traveler Jessica Nabongo.

After our brief stay in Azerbaijan, it was off to the mystical capital city of Tbilisi, Georgia. I have read in Conde Naste Traveler for years that Georgia is one of the hottest underrated destinations in the world right now. Jessica obviously does a ton of research on all of the countries she will be visiting, some more than others, and she had been eagerly waiting to visit Georgia for quite some time.

Widely known for being the birth place of wine, Georgian winemakers began back in 6,000 BC. Crazy!!! Jessica and I are both wine buffs (dry, white wine mostly, but we will try anything), so we knew we just had to see what it was all about.

In addition to having amazing wine, Georgia boasts some truly delicious food. I had no clue what that would be at the time, but one month later, I still crave some of their best dishes.

To top it all off, the mountain and valley landscapes were breathtaking, but the Georgian people were just the most welcoming bunch I have met in awhile. There were a good amount of tourists but not an overwhelming number, and the local people treated all of us with kindness and incredible hospitality.

Tip: Get a Guide and Driver

We had a local guide, Ia (pronounced "ee-uh"), and a driver with us the entire time. She was the best guide I've ever had. I recommend you get a guide for at least a day or two. She took us to historical sites we didn't even know existed, into amazing restaurants we wouldn't have found ourselves, and to beautiful local wineries that were off the beaten path. It's definitely not necessary as it's a really accessible city, but to get out of Tbilisi into the wine lands, you'll need a driver. Georgia is also very cheap people! (message me for Ia's contact info)

So let's break it down into 8 reasons why I love Georgia:

1 - The Wine

Ok this place does wine right. At literally every single lunch and dinner spot, wine was offered. Not just your casual house wine imported in, more like homemade from the backyard of the restaurant. Some popular favorite types are Saperavi (red) and Mtsvane (white). Georgians use the ancient technique of qvevris, which are these massive clay vessels put in the ground, where wine has been fermented, stored, and aged. This technique makes Georgia famous, thus making Georgian wine very unique. Georgia has many many grape varieties that don't exist elsewhere, some which create an amber hued or "orange" wine.

It's unique. It's fantastic.

2 - The Food

Our very first stop was at this adorable earthy restaurant called Culinarium Khasheria. I ordered chikhirtma (a chicken, mint and cilantro soup) and Jessica ordered shkermuli (garlic chicken), both were divine. Some other popular Georgian dishes we ordered on the trip were

khachapuri (cheese-filled bread)
khinkali (meat and soup filled dumplings)
kubdari (meat-filled bread).

WOW. You can't get a bad Georgian dish. In fact, if you are in another country with a Georgian restaurant, go, you won't be disappointed.

3 - The Stray Dogs

I just recently became a dog mom, and it has changed my heart completely. Now anytime I see a stray dog in any country, I must go to it and pet it. I've seen a lot of strays in Nepal and Colombia, but nothing like in Georgia. They are everywhere and they are beautiful. So beautiful they'd be snatched up in a U.S. shelter immediately. Luckily organizations come around to vaccinate and tag the dogs, which makes me a feel a tad better. They also seem fairly well fed as they are in tourist and market areas. Plus, they are so sweet! (Adopt, don't shop!)

4 - The Hotel

I am a huge sucker for a boutique hotel. If you don't know what that is, it just means it's not apart of a major chain so it has a ton of character. It can be cheap or expensive. Luckily in Georgia, everything is cheap, so you have to stay at Rooms Hotel. Tbilisi's Adjara Group opened Rooms Hotel and Stamba Hotel, which take up almost an entire city block, side by side. They both have restaurants and bars. The vibe is really a blend of hipster and luxury. It's in the middle of some amazing restaurants and bars itself, so it's a perfect place to stay. Only 10 min away from old Tbilisi (downtown) by cab too.

5 - The Diversity

We put Georgia in the middle of traveling to Azerbaijan and Belarus, and it was a nice break. Without trying to overgeneralize the people, Azerbaijanis have more middle eastern looks to them, and Belarusians were much more Russian (um.. white people). We stuck out in both, of course, for different reasons. But, Georgia felt way more welcoming, with a mix of so many different people. Our guide, Ia, was a red head! With more tourists and ex-pats Georgia was a beautiful melting pot from all over.

Jessica is not from Georgia nor related to it's diversity, but I loved this pic of her and Ia!

6 - The Hospitality

Ok. So I have never come across so many generous people in one country. We were gifted a bottle of wine at Chateau-Marani Giuaani AFTER we drank unlimited tastings, ate too much cheese, and had amazing conversations about wine and culture. At Pheasant's Tears Winery, we trusted the chef to bring us out the most colorful beautiful dishes. The owner, chef, and his wife all stopped by our table to hand pick our wine and make sure we were satisfied with our dishes. At g.Vino, the owner also stopped by our table and even explained Georgian wine processes with really helpful displays. Georgia, stop being so nice!

7 - The Color

There is color everywhere. I'll let the photos explain better than my words can.

8 - The Views

The history of Georgia radiates everywhere you go. Architecture, mountains, city squares, tops of cable cars. They all give life to the vast culture that dates back thousands of years. Can you imagine living there? I can't... so I must move there.

BONUS

Jessica and I did a sulfur bath massage at Orbeliani Bath House (which is beautiful by the way). It was the weirdest thing I've ever done. The water smelled (like sulfur... duh) and was extremely hot. Then a Georgian lady, who didn't speak a lick of English, came into our own private room and made us partially strip down to then scrub and massage us. I have never laughed so hard. BUT our skin felt as smooth as a baby's bottom after.