The Latest

Sorry I'm being a bit slack, people! I've just been so busy...
Last weekend was another gem. On Friday we spent the evening drinking and dancing with Dima's friend Maka and her flatmate Nino. On Saturday we were invited out for a walk with our neighbour Koko, his brother Sasha and their friends (who do regular weekend walks in the hills around the city). Dima and Koko decided to cycle so I was left to walk with the others- around and up from Kustba (Turtle Lake- see previous photos). Luckily there were a couple of English-speakers: Davit, a homeopathy doctor, and his daughter Mari- a sweet ten-year-old who quickly adopted me as her English-speaking friend and didn't leave my side for the rest of the walk! We met up with the cyclists near a wooded area where we set about finding the walnuts that had fallen from the trees. Most of the nuts had already been nabbed, but Mari and I made a good team and, by scrabbling about in the autumn leaves and climbing and shaking a few trees, we gathered ten good nuts for the group. After a mad and energetic game of tag, we headed back down to Tbilisi. It was dark by that time and we got a beautiful view of the city lighting up as we came back down to it. Dima had already been home an hour by the time I got back- and he'd cooked a couple of delicious chicken legs for us!!
Sunday: In the morning we went shopping for a dishwasher for Nyra- with no running hot water (the shower water is heated by a small heater) it was painful to see her having to boil hot water on the hobs each day to do the washing up! A dishwasher found and later delivered, we then met up with Koko again and walked to meet a few others of the group from the previous day. It was 1pm and the hiking began... As Saturday had been quite a slow walk for me (with three children present) I felt in need of more exertion this time so I stuck with Koko and Dima who alternately jogged and fast-walked (I did NOT jog!). Our destination was a small chapel called Udzo- a place that is said to give infertile women the answer to their prayers (hmmm! <--that's scepticism by the way...and wondering what kind of priests work in the confession boxes there!!!). We passed some amazing scenery as we went higher and higher. The autumn colours were breath-taking: hills of red, green, brown and yellow trees and the city, as it first spread out and then receded into the distance behind and below us, was spectacular. It took nearly three hours to get to the chapel and I loved every minute- laughing and joking with Dima and Koko, making plans for future walks, listening to them speak Georgian (not much progress there this week, sadly!)...The sun had begun to set by the time we turned back and it was a beautiful walk down. On the way up we'd met a hungry abandoned puppy. Dima, on the way back, wanted to go and see her again and give her the left-overs of our lunch. Sadly, by doing this (we DID see her and she followed us nearly all the way down in gratitude- we feared we'd be forced to take her in!) we lost our way and ended up following Dima's advice and crawling through bushes and trees and sliding down steep slopes in the pitch black. It was so ridiculous to be lost in the dark, I couldn't stop laughing at our madness: and it felt so good to realise that at last I've found a fellow appreciator and inventor of impulsive and adventurous detours!!! hehe! We got home at 8pm, knackered and with my knees seizing up! But the party didn't stop there! A quick dinner later and we met up with Koko and another of his friends to go to Irina's (she's a friend of Koko's and Dima's) to watch a film on her flat-screen tv and celebrate our surviving the day with wine and cognac! Home at 2.30am and then I had class at 9am and another week began...
So far this week we've had a quiet time. We went to Vake park to have a few challenging games of chess with the guys there (Dima plays, I watch!) the other night and last night we stayed in watching films. This coming weekend will see us car shopping and driving (or being driven, should our car mission fail) to Koko's friend's house in the outskirts of the city for a bbq and walk in real forest. Can't wait! Oh, and Dima's due to be on tv tomorrow- he's going to be interviewed about Georgia's participation in the Frankfurt Book Fair (first time ever for them to have a Stand there) as the Executive Director of the Georgian Book Publishers and Booksellers Association. It's all happening here...! Photos below...xxx