OK, there is going to be some Tbilisi madness on this blog. Seven full years since I left, I still harbor a special place in my heart for this mysterious, crazy, emotional country. They've been through a revolution and a war, I've been through a marriage and 3 kids and 3 countries. But we can still meet at the end of the day for a glass of Georgian wine, some cucumbers and tomatoes, and some good khachipuri.Despite having served in other wonderful places (New Zealand comes to mind) Georgia really does occupy a special place in my heart. I suppose it was for that reason that I decided to surprise Aaron with a romantic 5-year anniversary weekend getaway to Tbilisi. It wasn't exactly what he expected in terms of romantic suprise destination, but he is resigned to my oddities, which is why our marriage has worked so well so far. We did also have to take the youngest, who is still nursing, which cast a decidedly mellower cast on the "festivities". No bar-hopping in cigarette-filled Beatles Club or Hangar. Although with how much Georgians love babies, it possible wouldn't have been a problem to just leave here at the hotel. Case in point, at one point in the lobby, I was negotiating something with the front desk, look over and she is gone from her car seat. Umm, she didn't learn to walk, did she? No, one of the women at the front desk had scooped her up and was introducing her to the other employees. On Rustaveli street even big, strapping Georgian men (with their big strapping beer/wine tummies) would stop and literally coo and tickle. We arrived Friday night, to a brand-new , fantastic airport, complete with cameras for identification as you enter through passport control. We were picked up by the Radisson's Mercedes, and drove into town on George Bush highway. Smooth and quick, and amazingly, the police were only stopping people who were breaking the rules. It really is true! The traffic police used to be the most insidious and visible sign of corruption and the breakdown of society there, as they are here in Kyiv. And they were gone! Viva la revolution!
So these are photos from our trip Saturday with Dave Gehrenbeck to Jvari (the church on a hill behind Aaron in the photo, and which I am standing next to up top) and to Mtskheta, which is where the Mtkvari and Aragvi rivers meet, and which will appear in the next set of photos. Mtskheta is the ancient capital of Georgia, and the centerpiece is the Tsvetiskhoveli church. But more importantly, in the photo above, you can see the redone highway to Gori, birthplace of Stalin. When I lived there it took two hours to get there. Now? 40 minutes. Amazing what $1 billion in aid will get you. Great highways - all of the Georgian roads I saw were phenomenal. What a difference.
Jvari. Aaron is posing in front. He and I both wore shorts. I don't know what we were thinking. You can't wear shorts on the territories of the churches - it's considered very disrespectful. But our guide was nice about it and explained to people if they complained. 
Above is the view from our hotel. We stayed in the Radisson Blu Iveria. When I lived there it was a run-down Intourist hotel, filled with internally displaced persons from the war in Abkhazia and with Chechen refugees. People used to keep their livestock and their chickens there, and hang their laundry out of the windows. Now it's a phenomenal all-glass structure. We were on the 17th floor, and the views were amazing, as you can see. Below is the Rose Revolution square - you can see the construction which used to be the reviewing stand during the Soviet period, where the parades would go by the high Party officials. Guess it's getting a makeover, much like the rest of the city! 
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