March 3, 2010
Things go bump in the night. I came home from an excursion downtown and discovered we didn’t have any water. Since we had had low water pressure the previous day I waited and tried later to no avail so called the Embassy maintenance and was told someone would be right over. It was 4:45. At 5:30 I called and was assured someone would come. Someone did and we discovered that the new water pump that had been installed on Tuesday has a wiring problem that blows the circuit breaker every time you plug it in. Great. They will return on Friday to repair or replace it. In the meantime we had no water. So I changed out dinner menu from shrimp which require cleaning with lots of water to an omelet. We were told that the city water came on at 7:00. Residents of Tbilisi receive their water at 7:00 p.m. but I am not sure for how long. I guessed for three hours; but as it turnout it was about 12 hours. I tried the kitchen faucet numerous times and by 7:25 we had water. I quickly did the dishes and filled several containers so we would have water for breakfast. I do require coffee at a minimum. Then I ran upstairs and took a bath. I doubt we will have water in the morning. Because we have a house leased by the Embassy we are privileged and have a water tank and a pump so we have water throughout the day, not just for the three hours at night. The problem is our new pump isn’t working properly so we have no pressure except when the city is pumping water into the system. We take a lot for granted in the US. I don’t even think about water when at home. We just turn on the tap, there it is. Not so here. We also have frequent power outages. Today there was one while I was gone but again we have a huge generator that comes on automatically 30 seconds or less after the power goes off.
Today is Mother’s Day in Georgia so the embassy was closed. Ron was sort of down in the dumps so we went for an outing to the botanical gardens. Nothing like nature to lift your spirits. Shortly after arriving Ron got a call from a contact at the World Bank and wanted to meet with him. After our walk and taking photos Ron headed to the World Bank and I went to Abashidze to check out a store that has high end cookware. I have passed by numerous times but never when it is open. Well it wasn’t open today either! So I had an Americano and headed for home. I thought it would be fun to walk home. A mistake as it was quite far, close to an hour. After having walked from the metro to Old Town then up to the gardens and through the gardens my feet were oh so tired by the time I got home and I was uncomfortable for the rest of the evening. Dumb!
Because it was a national holiday and a pretty day with sunshine there were loads of families and individuals out for a stroll. The streets were crowded with pedestrians and I have never seen so many flower vendors. There were on very street corner and some in between. They were selling small bouquets of violets, daffodils and tulips which are sometimes sold individually like roses. There are always roses for sale here.
March 5th
Tonight we went to a free dance class at the embassy. Jock and Laurie joined us and it was fun although I was reminded of what a great dancer my sweet husband is and that I have two left feet. Poor guy! This was an introduction class with more to follow for a small fee. We came home after a spontaneous dinner at the H&H Saloon which was an experience in and of itself. American style food, live entertainment on a very small stage and music way too loud for folks our age. The entertainment was Georgian dancers (one male and three women who were scantily clad) doing some Western routines like cancan girls andsome Chicago kind of scenes. We packed for our trip to Bakuriani on Saturday.
March 6
After yoga class, I came home for breakfast and to get ready for our trip. The five of us (Jock, Laurie, Leslie and the two of us) piled into the car around 10:30 and were on our way. Jock had planned a supra for Laurie and managed to fill seven of the nine rooms with friends at our small hotel. All of this was a surprised for Laurie’s birthday and he pulled it off. The supra was great fun with John Hansen serving as the tamada (toastmaster). We laughed a lot with various liberties taken from the traditional supra. Most folks left the next day to return to Tbilisi. Ron and Jock skied while Leslie, Laurie and I took a walk in the snow. After lunch and naps Ron and I walked to town and bought a few items from local vendors. We headed home on Monday which was another holiday here: International Women’s Day.
March 17
Time got by me and I am ‘behinder’ than usual. IWA has a spring bazaar and I spent a lot of time at Patty’s house helping to get ready for the event. Patty heads up a craft group that raises a lot of money by making and selling items at our two bazaars and open houses held each year. I am not crafty so I help where I can. This time I helped pack things for transporting to the Embassy where we had a sale on Wednesday before the bazaar on Saturday. We sold hand painted eggs, spring themed wreaths, pillows, silk floral arrangements. So I spent three days last week helping with that then on Saturday I spent the entire day at the bazaar. There were about 60 Georgian artists selling items and I managed to do my part to support the local economy. I bought a large print of a photograph, a lacquer box with St George slaying the dragon, a charming triptych painting of the annunciation, nativity and the three wise men, a hand painted ceramic bell and some hand made paper envelopes. It was fun and IWA made 6000 GEL, about $3600 from table sales and selling the items the craft group had made.
On Friday we head out to San Francisco where Ron has a meeting with Treasury advisors from around the world. This is his first time meeting with his counterparts so it may be enlightening. We are guessing that he is not the only one who is frustrated with the pace of work here. We will be in SF until Friday March 26 then we fly to LA until Monday to visit Ron’s mom Sonia and her partner Bob. Sonia turned 89 in January and is a role model on aging. She Skypes with us weekly and communicates with email also. I hope I am as sharp when I am in my 80’s as she is.
We fly back to SF and fly out on Monday night the 30th arriving in Munich and spending one night there to help alleviate jet lag. Then we fly home on the 31 arriving at 3:00 AM in Tbilisi, but then that afternoon we fly to Istanbul for a four day weekend with our best buddies, the Conly’s. No moss gathering here. Stay tuned for pix and adventure stories that are sure to happen as Istanbul is a magnet for the long Easter week-end (for some unknown reason) We learned of its “draw” when we tried to book a room and found most every hotel fully booked at inflated prices – like three to four times normal.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Roses, ruts, rain and rants
Feb 21 2010
On Valentine’s Day Ron overwhelmed me with a dozen red roses. We left the next day for the ski resort and I was thrilled when we returned on Monday to discover the roses still looked great.
One of the things we deal with in a developing country is the dirt: dirty air and dirty streets in this case. Because many streets are not paved and because many paved streets have potholes, there is dirt everywhere. So when it rains or snows, you get very muddy. I frequently have to wash off my shoes and polish them much more frequently here than at home. The house requires vacuuming twice a week and dusting often.
I have started a yoga class that Laurie teaches in our neighborhood at Leslie’s who lives right around the corner from Laurie. We meet at 7:30-9 on Wednesday morning and at 8-9:30 on Saturday. I have gotten terribly out of shape and more rigid than I care to admit so I am thankful to be limbering up. Laurie is a great teacher and I am thankful that I don’t feel like I have to compete with the much younger participants. There are four other women in the class.
I read in the newspaper an ad for bank mortgages. Thank your lucky stars, it is 14.9% here! Remember the 1980’s?
Today is Tuesday and because it is sunny again I went downtown to get a gift for a friend’s son who turns six on Sunday. When I stepped outside I thought it was warm enough to go without a jacket but once I got outside the gate I realized that our front porch is the warmest place in Tbilisi because it faces south and the stone porch and façade of the house absorb the heat and fooled me into thinking it was warmer than it really was so back into the house I went to get my lightweight coat. I went to town on the metro.
I don’t know if I mentioned the people who beg for money here. Ninety percent are the elderly who have very meager pensions; I think it is about $40 a month which is totally inadequate. Mostly elderly women beg. Widows dress in black and many cover their faces with a veil to save being embarrassed by begging. Some hold a picture of a saint, I assume to let you know they are Christians. Many Georgians give to the poor and we do also. Some beggars will stand in the entry to the metro as there is always foot traffic there and they can get out of the weather if it is cold or rainy. Some ride the subway and walk down the car either verbally asking or simply walking with their hand out. Sometimes there are children begging but not as often as the elderly. Also I see people lying on the street on a blanket with a cup for donations. There are a number of regular beggars at the main subway junction where I change lines. Today I looked in my car and counted about 80 riders and 11 had on a coat or jacket that wasn’t black! Most of the 11 were gray or brown with an occasional color like green. I wear black jeans daily and have a black jacket that I wear when it isn’t too cold so I fit right in here!
Monday, February 15, 2010
Learning about Georgia & ordinary stuff
Feb 3, 2010
I asked Elza, our language teacher, about wages here. She earns $10.00 an hour teaching Georgian. In our case it is $18 since there are two of us. Her husband works at the embassy as a security guard and the guards make between $600-$700 a month and the embassy provides insurance for their families. This is an above average salary but not a great one here. They are fortunate because they both have jobs. Elza’s utilities for a three bedroom apartment run about 80-90 GEL for gas, 30 internet, 40 for electricity, 9 for garbage and 9 for water. That totals to about $81 a month for her utilities. Many people make 400 GEL (Georgian Lari) a month in their jobs. That’s about $231 a month. Nino’s nephew makes 35 GEL ($20) a day as a restaurant worker but they usually only get three days a week of work. He was thrilled to get the job. Nino our housekeeper gets 35GEL each time she comes and she is usually here 3.5-4 hours. She also gets all Georgian and US holidays off and paid. This is not normal but she said that is the way it was for her. My friend has a half time housekeeper and pays her 700 GEL ($404) a month. To have your children in private school is cost a minimum of $100 a month per child. Gia, our driver, has three kids in private schools. I asked Maia our masseuse how much her utilities cost. She lives with her sister in an unheated apartment. Only the bedroom has heat. The electric bill is 85 lari, the gas is 35 lari, the internet is 30 lari, water is 15 and trash is 8. So her utilities are $100 a month. She supports her sister who has lost her job and her mother who doesn’t work. Maia makes her living with one housekeeping job and doing massage, about ten a week at 25 lari per massage. So she may make around $623 a month plus whatever she makes as a housekeeper. That would be a fairly good salary but she is supporting three people. In addition she helps out with her niece and nephew. Maia’s other sister died a few years ago and she and her sister do what they can to help out the children’s father. I am humbled by how hard it is here in Georgia. People make do and say it is better than under the Soviets where no one had heat, electricity was limited to a few hours daily and food was in short supply.
I asked Nino about her utilities. She lives in a house as opposed to an apartment. It is three floors: a full basement used for storage and wine making I think. The main floor is a large open floor plan with kitchen, living and dining rooms as well as a bathroom. On the upper floor there are four bedrooms but she says they only use one of them for the five people who live there: Nino, her husband Zura, their two kids and Zura’s mother. The house is 15 meters x 14 meters. About 45 feet by 42 feet or 1900 sq feet. Her electricity in summer is about 80 lari and it is 100 in the winter. Her gas is 200 in the winter and 40-60 in the summer. She doesn’t have to pay for water or trash. She tried to explain that to me but it made absolutely no sense. So her utilities at the highest are $175 a month. She only heats the downstairs which is one large room and she uses what sounds like a gas space heater. So I doubt the room is very warm. I am guessing at her income based on what I pay her. She has one other client that she works for five days a week. So I would guess she makes $700 a month. Zura’s income has been sporadic but when he works he makes what Nino makes on a daily basis. In the winter he has almost no income since he has been doing yard work. He just got a job where he works on a contractor who drives military to and from the airport and other places in Tbilisi. Zura gets 20 lari a day working up to 12 hours a day. That is $11.67 a day. He was making up to 70 lari a day when he worked doing yard work but this new job has regular days he works so he is thrilled to be out of the house and earning a regular income. Zura has this very sad face, as though he is permanently depressed. In this culture which is male chauvinistic, men are expected to be the bread winners and Zura was laid off five years ago at a bank and has not had regular employment since then. No wonder he has such a sad face.
February 9, 2010
On Saturday we woke up to five-six inches of snow. We thought our art salon tour would be cancelled but it wasn’t. We walked 15 minutes to a nearby square where we were picked up by the mini bus that the embassy had arranged for the tour. There were 11 of us all together. Most had come from the embassy where the mini van had originated. We visited five galleries. The range was amazing. The first gallery had paintings hung from floor to ceiling literally so it made it difficult to really look at the art but frankly real estate is relatively expensive so people maximize the space. There were three rooms of paintings. We saw one we liked: an urban scene which has become one of our favorite themes. Next we visited an artist who represents other artists. He had paintings on the wall but three times as many on the floor in upright stacks, making it vey difficult to see what was there. The space was cramped as it usually is in developing countries. People do business on a shoe string so space is at a premium. From here we went to a café/art gallery. Oddly enough they were supposed to set up for a show later in the day but none of the art was out for us to see. You would think if they knew a bus load of Americans were coming to look at art and possible buy some they would have things out. They hurriedly bought out paintings and leaned them against the wall for us to view. Afterwards we had lunch in the café. We had ordered our meals over the internet to avoid wasting time. I had ordered a salad, soup and cornbread for a $6.00 lunch. Good lord, the portions were gigantic. I could have gone swimming on my soup bowl it was so big. I didn’t finish any of the three items. After lunch we went to old town and visited two more galleries, one of which had the prices in euros, a sign that it wasn’t affordable. The last gallery we had visited previously. The owner carves cameos from mammoth tusks. Where one finds mammoth tusks these days is beyond me. His gallery also was chock full and nothing of interest to us. One person bought one painting on the tour and another person bought a ring at the last gallery. We may return to buy the street scene if we are feeling flush.
We got home around 3:00 and started preparing for our dinner party. We had the Culpeppers over and the Nutters who live two blocks away. The two couples are friends so it worked out nicely. The Culpeppers have been so gracious to us, inviting us numerous times to their home for fabulous meals. I was glad to finally be able to reciprocate.
On Sunday Laurie called to say she was having back spasms and asked if Maia coming to give us massages. I told her I would call and see if she was available. Maia arrived here about 12:30 and I walked her over to Laurie’s as they had never met. Afterwards, Maia came back over here and gave Ron and me a massage. I was so glad as I had overdone my weightlifting exercise on Friday using ankle weights that weigh 14 pounds each. My hips were killing me Friday and Saturday night. Maia’s massage cured what ailed me! Sunday night we watched a 1949 Japanese detective film. It was interesting to note how some things have changed and others haven’t changed in film making.
Monday I stayed home as Elza is on a vacation with her family so we don’t have language class until Thursday this week. She had assigned a long lesson so I spent a lot of time on my homework. In the afternoon I went over to Laurie’s for tea and for her to show me where the yoga class will be. Tomorrow I start a new class that Laurie is teaching in Leslie’s house around the corner from Laurie. Afterwards I came home and fixed a simple meal as we both have gained weight this past week, Funny thing but it is so much easier to take off three pounds than 20 so we weigh daily and start to work on lessening our intake once we realize we are gaining.
Today is Tuesday and I went to the embassy with Ron to find out about using the CLO office to sell tickets for an IWA fund raiser we are having on the 19th. I worked out a schedule and will start tomorrow. I spent the rest of the day doing homework, working on an email to raise funds for Shilpa, an orphanage in Sri Lanka and drafting an open house invite for Maia, the artist. We want to host the reception in one or two weeks for our friends to meet Maia and hopefully get her more commissions or sales.
It has been cold since Saturday. A little snow lingers and the sun pops out throughout the day making me happy.
February 15 2010
YIKES! I apologize for taking so long to get this posted. We had more snow on Friday and had planned to go to a movie but when we started driving out of the neighborhood we realized it was not a good plan as the roads were so slippery. We were with Jock and Laurie and turned around and went to their house and watched the DVD ‘Spanglish’. We slid our way walking home and I got up early for my yoga class. Ron and Jock packed the car and came by to pick us up at Leslie’s after the yoga class. We all piled into the car to head to Bakuriani, another ski resort. We didn’t go anywhere as the street was a sheet of ice. We all got out and started pushing the car (uphill!) and nothing. Then two guys came by and with five of us pushing Jock got some traction and made it to the top of the hill and off we went. About 90 minutes into the trip we had a flat. Unfortunately the wind was blowing to beat the band and we nearly froze to death. We went from bad to worst when we found out the spare had almost no air. The good news was John Hansen was coming to Bakuriani and was behind us so we called and asked him to stop and help. He put our tire on top of his loaded car (four adults, a toddler and ski gear and luggage). He left us with a small compressor so we could fill the spare. We drove to the next wide spot in the road and called John who had backtracked looking for a tire repair place and he joined us at the tire repair place we had found. We had to go to another place to buy an inner tube. One thing that you learn to live with in developing countries is a lack of inventory. Often you have to go to several places to find what you need. I am not sure how we would have accomplished this repair had it not been for John. I can’t begin to describe how cold it was but colder than Paris which is 16 degrees F when I was there in January. We drove on to Bakuriani and had a late lunch around 3:00, a very picked over buffet at the hotel, and went to our rooms for a nap! The next day we had breakfast at 9 when they started serving at our hotel. Then the guys headed up the hill to ski when the lift opened around 10:30. Georgians do not do early morning anything! Leslie, Laurie and I walked up the hill and made it all the way to the top where the ski lift was and saw Jock and Ron after their first run. It was sunny and warmer than the day before. We tried helping a man and his family by pushing his car on the road as he was spinning his wheels on the ice. No luck! The three of us just didn’t have enough oomph. On the way down we helped another man and were successful. Rarely did we see chains on this icy road but there was a lot of traffic to the ski lift. On the way back I spied an Illy sign across the street from our hotel which only served instant coffee. Being from the NW where coffee is one of the major food groups, I eschew instant coffee. The place was a lovely family owned small hotel. It was nicer than our hotel in décor. Our hotel had three or four fixtures with plastic columns with small plastic fish in them. I think if you plugged them in the heat from the light at the bottom would cause the fish to float or swim but none were functioning and were awfully ugly anyway. The Cedars across the street has tasteful Georgian wall hangings and hand made sconces. The owners were warm and welcoming. We enjoyed some great Americanos and cappuccinos. The next day all of us went over there after our breakfast and had another coffee drink before taking off for home. We made reservations for another three day weekend in early March. We arrived home three hours later to dry streets. We were glad the snow and ice had dissipated as it made traveling much easier.
I asked Elza, our language teacher, about wages here. She earns $10.00 an hour teaching Georgian. In our case it is $18 since there are two of us. Her husband works at the embassy as a security guard and the guards make between $600-$700 a month and the embassy provides insurance for their families. This is an above average salary but not a great one here. They are fortunate because they both have jobs. Elza’s utilities for a three bedroom apartment run about 80-90 GEL for gas, 30 internet, 40 for electricity, 9 for garbage and 9 for water. That totals to about $81 a month for her utilities. Many people make 400 GEL (Georgian Lari) a month in their jobs. That’s about $231 a month. Nino’s nephew makes 35 GEL ($20) a day as a restaurant worker but they usually only get three days a week of work. He was thrilled to get the job. Nino our housekeeper gets 35GEL each time she comes and she is usually here 3.5-4 hours. She also gets all Georgian and US holidays off and paid. This is not normal but she said that is the way it was for her. My friend has a half time housekeeper and pays her 700 GEL ($404) a month. To have your children in private school is cost a minimum of $100 a month per child. Gia, our driver, has three kids in private schools. I asked Maia our masseuse how much her utilities cost. She lives with her sister in an unheated apartment. Only the bedroom has heat. The electric bill is 85 lari, the gas is 35 lari, the internet is 30 lari, water is 15 and trash is 8. So her utilities are $100 a month. She supports her sister who has lost her job and her mother who doesn’t work. Maia makes her living with one housekeeping job and doing massage, about ten a week at 25 lari per massage. So she may make around $623 a month plus whatever she makes as a housekeeper. That would be a fairly good salary but she is supporting three people. In addition she helps out with her niece and nephew. Maia’s other sister died a few years ago and she and her sister do what they can to help out the children’s father. I am humbled by how hard it is here in Georgia. People make do and say it is better than under the Soviets where no one had heat, electricity was limited to a few hours daily and food was in short supply.
I asked Nino about her utilities. She lives in a house as opposed to an apartment. It is three floors: a full basement used for storage and wine making I think. The main floor is a large open floor plan with kitchen, living and dining rooms as well as a bathroom. On the upper floor there are four bedrooms but she says they only use one of them for the five people who live there: Nino, her husband Zura, their two kids and Zura’s mother. The house is 15 meters x 14 meters. About 45 feet by 42 feet or 1900 sq feet. Her electricity in summer is about 80 lari and it is 100 in the winter. Her gas is 200 in the winter and 40-60 in the summer. She doesn’t have to pay for water or trash. She tried to explain that to me but it made absolutely no sense. So her utilities at the highest are $175 a month. She only heats the downstairs which is one large room and she uses what sounds like a gas space heater. So I doubt the room is very warm. I am guessing at her income based on what I pay her. She has one other client that she works for five days a week. So I would guess she makes $700 a month. Zura’s income has been sporadic but when he works he makes what Nino makes on a daily basis. In the winter he has almost no income since he has been doing yard work. He just got a job where he works on a contractor who drives military to and from the airport and other places in Tbilisi. Zura gets 20 lari a day working up to 12 hours a day. That is $11.67 a day. He was making up to 70 lari a day when he worked doing yard work but this new job has regular days he works so he is thrilled to be out of the house and earning a regular income. Zura has this very sad face, as though he is permanently depressed. In this culture which is male chauvinistic, men are expected to be the bread winners and Zura was laid off five years ago at a bank and has not had regular employment since then. No wonder he has such a sad face.
February 9, 2010
We got home around 3:00 and started preparing for our dinner party. We had the Culpeppers over and the Nutters who live two blocks away. The two couples are friends so it worked out nicely. The Culpeppers have been so gracious to us, inviting us numerous times to their home for fabulous meals. I was glad to finally be able to reciprocate.
On Sunday Laurie called to say she was having back spasms and asked if Maia coming to give us massages. I told her I would call and see if she was available. Maia arrived here about 12:30 and I walked her over to Laurie’s as they had never met. Afterwards, Maia came back over here and gave Ron and me a massage. I was so glad as I had overdone my weightlifting exercise on Friday using ankle weights that weigh 14 pounds each. My hips were killing me Friday and Saturday night. Maia’s massage cured what ailed me! Sunday night we watched a 1949 Japanese detective film. It was interesting to note how some things have changed and others haven’t changed in film making.
Monday I stayed home as Elza is on a vacation with her family so we don’t have language class until Thursday this week. She had assigned a long lesson so I spent a lot of time on my homework. In the afternoon I went over to Laurie’s for tea and for her to show me where the yoga class will be. Tomorrow I start a new class that Laurie is teaching in Leslie’s house around the corner from Laurie. Afterwards I came home and fixed a simple meal as we both have gained weight this past week, Funny thing but it is so much easier to take off three pounds than 20 so we weigh daily and start to work on lessening our intake once we realize we are gaining.
It has been cold since Saturday. A little snow lingers and the sun pops out throughout the day making me happy.
February 15 2010
YIKES! I apologize for taking so long to get this posted. We had more snow on Friday and had planned to go to a movie but when we started driving out of the neighborhood we realized it was not a good plan as the roads were so slippery. We were with Jock and Laurie and turned around and went to their house and watched the DVD ‘Spanglish’. We slid our way walking home and I got up early for my yoga class. Ron and Jock packed the car and came by to pick us up at Leslie’s after the yoga class. We all piled into the car to head to Bakuriani, another ski resort. We didn’t go anywhere as the street was a sheet of ice. We all got out and started pushing the car (uphill!) and nothing. Then two guys came by and with five of us pushing Jock got some traction and made it to the top of the hill and off we went. About 90 minutes into the trip we had a flat. Unfortunately the wind was blowing to beat the band and we nearly froze to death. We went from bad to worst when we found out the spare had almost no air. The good news was John Hansen was coming to Bakuriani and was behind us so we called and asked him to stop and help. He put our tire on top of his loaded car (four adults, a toddler and ski gear and luggage). He left us with a small compressor so we could fill the spare. We drove to the next wide spot in the road and called John who had backtracked looking for a tire repair place and he joined us at the tire repair place we had found. We had to go to another place to buy an inner tube. One thing that you learn to live with in developing countries is a lack of inventory. Often you have to go to several places to find what you need. I am not sure how we would have accomplished this repair had it not been for John. I can’t begin to describe how cold it was but colder than Paris which is 16 degrees F when I was there in January. We drove on to Bakuriani and had a late lunch around 3:00, a very picked over buffet at the hotel, and went to our rooms for a nap! The next day we had breakfast at 9 when they started serving at our hotel. Then the guys headed up the hill to ski when the lift opened around 10:30. Georgians do not do early morning anything! Leslie, Laurie and I walked up the hill and made it all the way to the top where the ski lift was and saw Jock and Ron after their first run. It was sunny and warmer than the day before. We tried helping a man and his family by pushing his car on the road as he was spinning his wheels on the ice. No luck! The three of us just didn’t have enough oomph. On the way down we helped another man and were successful. Rarely did we see chains on this icy road but there was a lot of traffic to the ski lift. On the way back I spied an Illy sign across the street from our hotel which only served instant coffee. Being from the NW where coffee is one of the major food groups, I eschew instant coffee. The place was a lovely family owned small hotel. It was nicer than our hotel in décor. Our hotel had three or four fixtures with plastic columns with small plastic fish in them. I think if you plugged them in the heat from the light at the bottom would cause the fish to float or swim but none were functioning and were awfully ugly anyway. The Cedars across the street has tasteful Georgian wall hangings and hand made sconces. The owners were warm and welcoming. We enjoyed some great Americanos and cappuccinos. The next day all of us went over there after our breakfast and had another coffee drink before taking off for home. We made reservations for another three day weekend in early March. We arrived home three hours later to dry streets. We were glad the snow and ice had dissipated as it made traveling much easier.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
A super Supra and a piece of art
We had our first supra at our house and it was super. We had 18 invited guests and ended up with 16 plus the two of us. It was great fun. On Friday we shopped for groceries, went out to dinner and the movie "This is It", Michael Jackson’s final bow and set up the two tables to seat our guests. We had borrowed a table, 10 chairs, plates, wine glasses and cutlery from the embassy who delivered these items Friday morning. On Saturday we made the couscous salad which requires a lot of chopping: dates, onions, red and yellow peppers, etc. Then Ron made the salmon. We actually had time to rest in the late afternoon.
Guests arrived from 5-5:30 with a couple of late comers. A supra is a ritualized feast, a very old tradition in Georgia. The party began with us waiting for everyone to arrive. We served beer, juice, sodas and whiskey as instructed by Marika, Ron’s assistant at work. We have never bought whiskey in our lives just to give you some perspective here. We did not serve appetizers because the meal goes on for hours with twice the food needed for the number of guests. Yes that is part of the tradition: too much food. This was a potluck by the way, making it quite easy for the two of us. Ilya who works with the other Treasury rep, was asked to come and cook the pork as he has a reputation as an excellent ‘barbequer’. After he got the first batch done, he asked us to be seated. By this time the table was covered with various dishes, most of which you would see at every supra: three kinds of Georgian breads, a spinach dish with walnuts, an eggplant dish with walnut sauce, chicken salad, fish salad, fish stuffed with tarragon, baked beans, Georgian cheese, fried chicken, pork bbq. 
Did I leave something out? Oh yes fabulous bilini made by Tiko, Gia’s wife. In the kitchen were two huge boxes of gooey bakery desserts. There were three carafes of wine, a pitcher of wine and because I had run out of pouring containers we used our coffee pot for wine. Get it? Wine is central to this event and this cultural. We also had juice as most women do not drink that much wine. I had requested 10 plates from the embassy and soon realized not a single guest brought a serving container. We shipped a minimum of goods here so I was using salad plates for dining so I could use dinner plates as serving dishes. I resorted to cereal bowls, soup bowls, etc because you don’t pass large platters or bowls to serve the guests. Multiple dishes of the same food are placed along the table so that each serving dish serves three-four guests.
Since Ilya was outside cooking Roland started us off with the first toasts so we could begin our meal. To make a long story short, we were at the table, eating, toasting and drinking until 10:00 p.m.! It turned out that Ilya was long winded. At one point I observed Nino rolling her eyes as Ilya went on and on about peace, one of the traditional toasts. She looked across the table to Elza and said something which was the equivalent to ‘enough already’. Those who smoked would get up and go outside for a smoke during the meal. One of the nontraditional toasts was to Tim Grewe, Ron’s predecessor. Tim made many friends in the time he was here and left an indelible mark on their hearts. It was very touching. I wrote him at 11:30 that night to let him know he is sorely missed. Everyone left by 10:30. No one would take any leftovers but Nino was still here and I insisted she take some. She resisted until I asked her how Ron and I could eat this much food before it spoiled and many items would not freeze well. At that point she loaded up. 
The tamada,Ilya, however hung around until 11:30! He was wound up shall we say. We got everything cleaned up but not put away but we were too tired to continue to finished Sunday morning. By the way, most of our guests used taxi services rather than drive after a night of drinking. Gia parked his car in our garage and took a taxi home. On Sunday he came over to get his car. I was glad to see how smart and responsible our guests were.
Sunday afternoon Maia came over and gave us both 90 minute massages. What a blessing. We are averaging about two a month. She is very good and very reasonable. We always give her a healthy tip for which she is grateful. Afterwards we went to another Maia’s who is an artist, to pick up our commissioned art piece, a felt/wool & silk wall hanging. She had set out teacups, chocolates and bottled water for the occasion. She unveiled the piece and we were thrilled. She exceeded our expectations and we loved it. We initially met her in November and talked about what we wanted. We had two follow up meetings and kept our fingers crossed as you never really know how it will turn out when you commission an artwork. Ron had a metal rod to hold the hanging manufactured based upon some metal work we saw this summer in Italy. We have commissioned art twice before at home and were somewhat disappointed. Not this time. We love it. See photo. The detail photo is the more accurate on the color. Last week I explored a job opening at the Community Liaison Office at the embassy. It is a half time position. Before I left home I assumed I would get a job while here to avoid getting bored. I was offered a consulting position early on but we were still trying to move in and get settled and it felt all wrong to be starting work before we got settled. I interviewed the coordinator and the other half time worker and decided against the job. I felt I would be underemployed if not bored at work. One of my favorite bosses used to say ‘there something worst than not having a job and that is having a job you don’t like’. After I reviewed the other job description I decided it was too much of a stretch for my skills. I had many of the transferable skills but not the work content skills. It was full time with travel. I felt I would have to give up too much even if I could qualify although I doubted that I would. Both jobs were specifically for family members of employees of the embassy. If the state department wants to attract employees with families, they realized that there has to be good job opportunities for those family members. I realized I am not bored here and seem to have enough activities to keep me engaged. I still want to take some art classes and will be starting yoga this month so will hold off on job search for now.
February 2 Tuesday
For the past four days we have had incredible weather: sunny and warm. Yesterday it got up to 61 degrees Fahrenheit. Today was even warmer. I had been indoors Saturday and Sunday because of the dinner party, clean up and massages so I was determined to get outside on Monday. After language class I came home and worked at the computer then had lunch and left for the afternoon. I took the subway downtown and walked around, ending up at a large high end grocery, the only place I have found decaf coffee, an Italian import. I got a few items then headed to Prospero’s Books which has a café where I can get a decaf Americano, a rarity here. I read a couple of local papers then went across the way to the art shop where I can get decent cards made by local artists. I picked out eight and realized I had a 50 lari note for a 24 lari purchase. Of course she couldn’t make change, a common problem in developing countries so I left my groceries there and went in search of a bank. I returned and made my purchase and headed home.
I called Laurie and we decided to have a play day on Tuesday, today. We both love being outside when the weather is good so we decided to visit the outdoor ethnological museum that Ron and I had visited early on. We took a cab there and enjoyed walking around looking at houses that were moved to the site from various regions of Georgia, illustrating the different architectural styles. It was the perfect day for it. We wore light weight jackets and chatted the entire time. I saw the artist George who works there and whom we had met on our first trip. He is now the proud father of a two month old son whom he had with him today. What a cutie!
Laurie and I decided to walk down the hill and catch a cab below. We were up high enough to see the Caucasus Mountains including Kazbegi, Georgia’s highest. Ultimately we decided to walk the entire way home, well over an hour. Neither of us could bear to get inside a car and out of the sun. I told Laurie we were ‘sluts for the sun’. I got home at 3:40 and was tired and hungry but so happy to have spent the entire afternoon outside. We had to shed our jackets it was so warm. Can you believe it in February? How great is that?
Monday, January 25, 2010
January 20 2010
I can’t remember if I have told this story or not so forgive me if I am repeating myself. The Radisson Hotel is a newly remodeled high end hotel in the heart of Tbilisi. It is about 15 stories high. Prior to the remodel it had been a hotel for IDP’s (internally displaced persons). I would guess this was a result of the internal conflicts with the two regions that want to be separate entities: South Ossetia and Abkhazia. The story we heard from several people was that when the IDP’s lived there they took their cows with them and had them on their balconies! Can you imagine? We were told it took three years to rehab the hotel. No wonder.
This weekend we had our first dinner guests. We didn’t have a tablecloth so we were waiting for one to be made. We now have two tablecloths in different sizes and 12 napkins thanks to Lala who is the Conly’s housekeeper and an exquisite seamstress. Our first guests were the Conly’s, our new best friends and Rami and Patrick who both work at the Embassy. Rami is from Toronto and is Palestinian and Patrick is from SE Texas. They have two adorable children, Canaan and Maya, six and five and a half years old. Ron and I had made salmon and chicken earlier in the week to make sure we liked the taste of each before deciding on our menu. We rarely cook with meat so thought we should try it out here as nothing is the same here as at home. For instance, chickens are not bleached so they are much more yellow than at home. I also discovered that they have a lot of pin feathers which take an inordinate amount of time to clean off the bird. Oy! Well the night we had chicken and the night we had salmon convinced us either one would be great. The salmon is imported by a German firm I was told but I don’t know from where. It is not as rich nor as fatty as ours is in the NW but it was still good. Next I needed to buy pans for making a pavlova. Easier said than done but ultimately found some at a store in town. I mistakenly picked up three pans as intended but in two sizes. I also realized that I had not been given the VAT discount even though I had given them my diplomat card. So the next day I returned to the store. I talked to several people before I was introduced to the manager. After much discussion she said she would give me the discount but could not take the pans back and refund my money. It taught me a lesson to be more observant particularly about the dip card discount. The three pans cost close $56. As I have said before, it is an expensive place to live. On Friday we went shopping together and managed to spend over $120 for the meal. After dinner we took a taxi and went to the movies at our favorite funky theater with the bad seats. We take our own cushions now and Ron observed someone else this time who had brought a cushion to sit on as the seats are Soviet era hard wooden seats. I know they are Soviet era because the numbering of the rows is in the Russian alphabet. We saw Invictus about Nelson Mandela and how he used rugby to help unite his country after apartheid.
On Saturday we managed to stay busy in the kitchen most of the day. I had not slept well so we snuck in a nap late in the afternoon. We had bought charcoal to grill the salmon but discovered that it is not compressed like ours so the heat quickly dissipated and we had to finish the fish in the oven. It was delicious. Dinner was later than we had intended but I wasn’t as coordinated with my timing of the various dishes. We had a grand time visiting and eating and enjoying Ron’s famous pavlova with frozen berries. Everyone left around 10:30.
On Sunday we hung around the house most of the day. In the afternoon I went out for coffee with a friend whom I met through IWA. She works for the International Red Cross and lives about ten minutes from our house. Ron walked to the hardware bazaar to get some needed items. In the evening we Skyped my sister and Ron’s sister and later did a Skype chat with Ron’s mom who is 89 this month! Sonia is an amazing woman to say the least. We all should be so lucky to be as involved, alert and savvy as she is.
This week we are making preparations for a Georgian potluck here. We have invited 20 Georgian guests. These are people Ron works with and whom we know such as our language teacher, our driver and housekeeper. It should be great fun. We discovered we can get extra everything (tables, chairs, dishes, cutlery etc.) through the Embassy. This is a real help since we only brought ten plates, etc. Ron and I will provide salad, drinks, salmon and barbeque. Hopefully, one of the Georgians will do the barbequing since we don’t know how they do it but every time we have eaten it it has been fabulous.
I can’t remember if I have told this story or not so forgive me if I am repeating myself. The Radisson Hotel is a newly remodeled high end hotel in the heart of Tbilisi. It is about 15 stories high. Prior to the remodel it had been a hotel for IDP’s (internally displaced persons). I would guess this was a result of the internal conflicts with the two regions that want to be separate entities: South Ossetia and Abkhazia. The story we heard from several people was that when the IDP’s lived there they took their cows with them and had them on their balconies! Can you imagine? We were told it took three years to rehab the hotel. No wonder.
This weekend we had our first dinner guests. We didn’t have a tablecloth so we were waiting for one to be made. We now have two tablecloths in different sizes and 12 napkins thanks to Lala who is the Conly’s housekeeper and an exquisite seamstress. Our first guests were the Conly’s, our new best friends and Rami and Patrick who both work at the Embassy. Rami is from Toronto and is Palestinian and Patrick is from SE Texas. They have two adorable children, Canaan and Maya, six and five and a half years old. Ron and I had made salmon and chicken earlier in the week to make sure we liked the taste of each before deciding on our menu. We rarely cook with meat so thought we should try it out here as nothing is the same here as at home. For instance, chickens are not bleached so they are much more yellow than at home. I also discovered that they have a lot of pin feathers which take an inordinate amount of time to clean off the bird. Oy! Well the night we had chicken and the night we had salmon convinced us either one would be great. The salmon is imported by a German firm I was told but I don’t know from where. It is not as rich nor as fatty as ours is in the NW but it was still good. Next I needed to buy pans for making a pavlova. Easier said than done but ultimately found some at a store in town. I mistakenly picked up three pans as intended but in two sizes. I also realized that I had not been given the VAT discount even though I had given them my diplomat card. So the next day I returned to the store. I talked to several people before I was introduced to the manager. After much discussion she said she would give me the discount but could not take the pans back and refund my money. It taught me a lesson to be more observant particularly about the dip card discount. The three pans cost close $56. As I have said before, it is an expensive place to live. On Friday we went shopping together and managed to spend over $120 for the meal. After dinner we took a taxi and went to the movies at our favorite funky theater with the bad seats. We take our own cushions now and Ron observed someone else this time who had brought a cushion to sit on as the seats are Soviet era hard wooden seats. I know they are Soviet era because the numbering of the rows is in the Russian alphabet. We saw Invictus about Nelson Mandela and how he used rugby to help unite his country after apartheid.
On Saturday we managed to stay busy in the kitchen most of the day. I had not slept well so we snuck in a nap late in the afternoon. We had bought charcoal to grill the salmon but discovered that it is not compressed like ours so the heat quickly dissipated and we had to finish the fish in the oven. It was delicious. Dinner was later than we had intended but I wasn’t as coordinated with my timing of the various dishes. We had a grand time visiting and eating and enjoying Ron’s famous pavlova with frozen berries. Everyone left around 10:30.
On Sunday we hung around the house most of the day. In the afternoon I went out for coffee with a friend whom I met through IWA. She works for the International Red Cross and lives about ten minutes from our house. Ron walked to the hardware bazaar to get some needed items. In the evening we Skyped my sister and Ron’s sister and later did a Skype chat with Ron’s mom who is 89 this month! Sonia is an amazing woman to say the least. We all should be so lucky to be as involved, alert and savvy as she is.
This week we are making preparations for a Georgian potluck here. We have invited 20 Georgian guests. These are people Ron works with and whom we know such as our language teacher, our driver and housekeeper. It should be great fun. We discovered we can get extra everything (tables, chairs, dishes, cutlery etc.) through the Embassy. This is a real help since we only brought ten plates, etc. Ron and I will provide salad, drinks, salmon and barbeque. Hopefully, one of the Georgians will do the barbequing since we don’t know how they do it but every time we have eaten it it has been fabulous.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Let it snow!
January 19, 2010
On Friday we packed up for our ski trip to Gudauri and went out to dinner at a restaurant we had not tried before, a Lebanese place. It was fairly good. Then we headed to our favorite funky movie house that was playing Blind Side, a sweet film about a white family taking in a poor African American teen who turned out to be a star football player. The seats in the place are wooden and very uncomfortable after about 15 minutes. I had mentioned this to a dear friend back home so for Christmas James sent us two chair cushions. We took these with us in a plastic bag and were so grateful for them as it never got uncomfortable. This is one of the few places to see movies in English.
On Saturday we got up early as Jock and Laurie arrived at 7:45 to load us up and head to the Embassy where we would meet up with others and caravan to the resort. The Community Liaison Office (CLO) had arranged for a special price for the weekend and reserved a number of rooms. There were five cars in the caravan for the 90+ minute trip. We didn’t hit snow until quite close to the hotel fortunately. The scenery along the way was lovely. Gudauri is at 2000 meters, 6,561 feet in altitude. We had been very fortunate in that a neighbor loaned us a lot of equipment for the trip: snow shoes, gloves, water proof pants, snow shoe poles, etc. Ron and Jock had rented skis and poles. We arrived mid morning and unpacked the car then got the lay of the land. When unloading the car, I was walking across the parking lot to get the next load and my feet flew out from under me and I landed face down, right on my nose. Ouch! I thought I had broken my nose or my glasses but fortunately all was in tack. Just a bit sore on the nose. The parking lot was covered with ice/snow.
Ron and Jock went skiing before lunch, and then we ate and rested. About 3:30 we met up and the four of us went shoe shoeing. What fun! Due to the altitude we have to catch our breath about every 10-15 minutes. It snowed everyday we were there all day long. The hotel package included our meals and as I looked around I think that is because there is no where else to eat other than the other hotels. We were lucky as each meal was buffet and there were enough choices to find something we liked.
On the second day, the lift was not working in the morning so the four of us went show shoeing and climbed the slope up to the first lift stop. Here there was a ‘Vitamin Hut” with Wifi. We were shocked but sure enough there was someone in there with his laptop. We ordered Americanos and hot chocolate. Jock and I had finished the coffee long before the hot chocolate arrived. But it was worth the wait. I tasted Ron’s after he and Laurie squealed in delight saying it was the best ever. OMG they were right, it was thick and so chocolatety! I don’t know how they made it but I can guarantee it had nothing to do with Swiss Miss instant!!
We went back down the slope after taking a dead end trail. There we saw a creative soul who had hitched up his horse to a sleigh and who was taking skiers up to the lift that was working. See photos.
After lunch and a rest, we went to the ‘tepid’ tub which was not hot. The indoor swimming pool was empty. The sauna was functioning and separated by gender. Laurie and I worked up a good sweat then followed another woman outside and rubbed snow over our warm limbs. I liked it all except my feet got really cold standing barefoot in the snow. I went back in the sauna to warm up and regretted not going back out to the snow as it took a while to cool down. That night before dinner we played a board game with two other Embassy staff, Terry, Kirsten and Acquil her six year old son. Acquil was too young to play but hung around and kept us entertained. We sat together at dinner and afterwards, Ron showed Acquil how to hang a spoon from his nose. Kirsten was taking photos of the two of them with spoons on their noses when Acquil announced that they were the ‘nose brothers’. I just about peed in my pants I was laughing so hard. He is a bright and charming kid.
The next day there was better visibility although it was still snowing. Jock had gotten up early and gone out to his car to clear the snow off. He came in to breakfast and announced he had cleared nine inches off his roof. Kirsten, Jock and Ron decided to get in one more ski session. I read in my room. A little after noon we were loaded up and headed out about 12:30. The going was slow at first as the roads were covered with snow and Terry was driving a two wheel drive vehicle. We were caravanning to make sure neither car had any problems. All the others had left after the first day when the ski lift ceased to work. We stopped on the way home at Ananuri where two churches sit side by side. They are surrounded by a crenellated wall at the head of a reservoir. The lower church was built in 1689. Most of the frescos were lost to a fire in the 18th century but some survived. There were carved external decorations. One is a huge cross on the backs of two dragons, flanked by two lions, and two mustachioed angels. The pagan elements clearly show Persian influence according to our tour book.
We had a good chicken dinner and watched the news on BBC before heading off to bed. On Tuesday we woke up to a light snow fall. We had another holiday, the Georgian Epiphany. So we slept in since neither of us had slept that well. Ron baked two loaves of bread after breakfast. I made granola and walked to a store to see if I could get more wine glasses for our party on Saturday. I found the glasses and got some shot glasses for our Georgian party which will be the last weekend in the month. Georgians traditionally drink chacha (homemade vodka) shots and drink wine with the meal. Unlike Americans who drink before and throughout the meal, Georgians only drink when there is a toast. No wonder they have so many toasts! You get to drink more. The snow changed to mixed snow and rain by mid afternoon. The streets were clear all day but there was a little accumulation on the grass. It was a great weekend and we are thankful for a safe trip and the break from work for Ron.
On Friday we packed up for our ski trip to Gudauri and went out to dinner at a restaurant we had not tried before, a Lebanese place. It was fairly good. Then we headed to our favorite funky movie house that was playing Blind Side, a sweet film about a white family taking in a poor African American teen who turned out to be a star football player. The seats in the place are wooden and very uncomfortable after about 15 minutes. I had mentioned this to a dear friend back home so for Christmas James sent us two chair cushions. We took these with us in a plastic bag and were so grateful for them as it never got uncomfortable. This is one of the few places to see movies in English.
Ron and Jock went skiing before lunch, and then we ate and rested. About 3:30 we met up and the four of us went shoe shoeing. What fun! Due to the altitude we have to catch our breath about every 10-15 minutes. It snowed everyday we were there all day long. The hotel package included our meals and as I looked around I think that is because there is no where else to eat other than the other hotels. We were lucky as each meal was buffet and there were enough choices to find something we liked.
On the second day, the lift was not working in the morning so the four of us went show shoeing and climbed the slope up to the first lift stop. Here there was a ‘Vitamin Hut” with Wifi. We were shocked but sure enough there was someone in there with his laptop. We ordered Americanos and hot chocolate. Jock and I had finished the coffee long before the hot chocolate arrived. But it was worth the wait. I tasted Ron’s after he and Laurie squealed in delight saying it was the best ever. OMG they were right, it was thick and so chocolatety! I don’t know how they made it but I can guarantee it had nothing to do with Swiss Miss instant!!
The next day there was better visibility although it was still snowing. Jock had gotten up early and gone out to his car to clear the snow off. He came in to breakfast and announced he had cleared nine inches off his roof. Kirsten, Jock and Ron decided to get in one more ski session. I read in my room. A little after noon we were loaded up and headed out about 12:30. The going was slow at first as the roads were covered with snow and Terry was driving a two wheel drive vehicle. We were caravanning to make sure neither car had any problems. All the others had left after the first day when the ski lift ceased to work. We stopped on the way home at Ananuri where two churches sit side by side. They are surrounded by a crenellated wall at the head of a reservoir. The lower church was built in 1689. Most of the frescos were lost to a fire in the 18th century but some survived. There were carved external decorations. One is a huge cross on the backs of two dragons, flanked by two lions, and two mustachioed angels. The pagan elements clearly show Persian influence according to our tour book.
We arrived home around 4:00 p.m. after dropping off the rented equipment. We ate a quick snack and then walked to the grocery store. I wanted to buy a chicken and cook it to see what it tasted like as we are having a dinner party (our first here) on Saturday. I spent over 40 minutes plucking pin feathers out of that bird. What a pain in the ass! I have already mentioned that I have to wash eggs after buying them here. But the pin feathers made for real work. We rarely cook with any meat so I thought it best to do a trail run. It is good to know about the extra work involved so I can do that the day before if we decide to have chicken. Chickens are not as highly processed as at home. They are not bleached so the skin is much more yellow than our chickens at home. On Wednesday I am going to buy some salmon and try it out then decide on our menu.
We had a good chicken dinner and watched the news on BBC before heading off to bed. On Tuesday we woke up to a light snow fall. We had another holiday, the Georgian Epiphany. So we slept in since neither of us had slept that well. Ron baked two loaves of bread after breakfast. I made granola and walked to a store to see if I could get more wine glasses for our party on Saturday. I found the glasses and got some shot glasses for our Georgian party which will be the last weekend in the month. Georgians traditionally drink chacha (homemade vodka) shots and drink wine with the meal. Unlike Americans who drink before and throughout the meal, Georgians only drink when there is a toast. No wonder they have so many toasts! You get to drink more. The snow changed to mixed snow and rain by mid afternoon. The streets were clear all day but there was a little accumulation on the grass. It was a great weekend and we are thankful for a safe trip and the break from work for Ron.
Monday, January 11, 2010
How you going to keep 'em down in Tbilisi?
January 10 2010
Ah Paris…what a beautiful city. I was last there in 1970! My friend Andrea from Eugene was attending a Buddhist retreat about five hours outside of Paris and invited me to join her in Paris after her retreat ended. I debated about the expense and decided what the heck and booked a seat on the cheapest flight I could find which isn’t cheap here. I flew on Belavia Air, an airline from Belarus, a member of the Russian Federation. We left Tbilisi at 6:10 a.m. requiring Gia to pick me up at the house at 3:45. Oy! My boarding pass was hand written. After Gia dropped me off he called me about 20 minutes later to make sure the plane was leaving on time. What a sweet gesture. The plane was only about one third full. The man in front of me fully reclined his seat and my knees were pressed into the back of the chair. Oy! As soon as I could I moved to an empty row and stretched out. The food served was two small rolls: one with salami and one with cheese and a thin piece of lettuce. No condiments. We got to Minsk in a couple of hours where I had an eight hour layover. You can get a direct three hour flight to Paris from Tbilisi but it costs four times as much as taking a longer flight. Being the frugal person I am…well I had an eight hour layover in Minsk! It was 15 degrees below zero Centigrade! Minsk was as flat as Florida . There was snow on the ground but the runway had been plowed. I was directed to the passport control area and instructed to fill out the immigration card. I protested saying I was not staying in Minsk but to no avail. I got out of line, completed the form and returned to the desk. Once the officer read that I was there for 8 hrs, she instructed me to wait. A uniformed person came and took me through two locked doors and up some stairs to a ‘transit hall’. It was a large area that would hold about 200 people. One person was there sleeping on a couch. Soon I was joined by another person, a young Australian. The only other person was a guard to watch over us. After a while I asked the guard if I could get some water. He followed me down the stairs to the bar where I bought a bottle of water for 2.5 euros. Ouch! Fortunately they accepted euros, dollars and rubbles. I had some euros and dollars which was fortunate as there was no currency exchange in the part of the airport where I was. I returned to the transit hall and I slept for a while on a couch. At some point about 20 passengers were escorted into the room and waited for there until their connecting flight boarded maybe an hour or so later. I chatted with the young woman who had been in Georgia for about three weeks. She hated to leave but needed to return home to Australia. She later approached the guard saying she didn’t have a boarding pass and wanted to go get one. He told her to wait. Someone later came, took her passport and baggage claim ticket then returned and handed her the boarding pass. Strange, we felt like these people had watched too many Russian spy movies! I was left in the hall with the guard and original person who was now up and playing his radio loudly.
Later I went for coffee and a snack. Guess what? The only food available was a half slice of dry white bread with my choice of salami or cheese, just like the plane! They had any kind of liquor as well as a few juices, sodas, beer and wine. I got an Americano, a salami ‘sandwich’ and a small dark chocolate bar (health food). The cost was one euro less than the water!
At 1:15 another uniformed person came and asked me ‘Paris?’ I said yes and he said ‘Come with me’. He walks me through three security stations. I get my boarding pass and wander into a smoke filled waiting area. I now have 90 minutes before boarding. The sun has been out all day but the temps haven’t moved. Everyone here is blonde or has light brown hair with blue eyes by way of contrast to the folks in Georgia where 90% have black hair and dark eyes. I see many fur coats here. Must be more wealth than in Georgia. We were late boarding the plane and were herded into a waiting bus that would take us to the plane out on the tarmac. It was an unheated bus and even with it loaded with live bodies, it was still bitterly cold. The bus sat on the tarmac for 20 frigging minutes. No one could figure out what the holdup was but then they opened the doors to two full buses and left us standing outside while letting five people at a time go up the steps and into the plane. I was out in the cold for another full fifteen minutes. I had a warm thick wool coat but it was short and I realized my tushie was quite cold. My fingers turned to ice even with lined leather gloves. My feet felt like large blocks of ice. After boarding it took quite a while to thaw. I left my coat on for 20-30 minutes. I thought my feet would never get warm again. I don’t remember ever being that cold. It was still 15 below according to a tall gorgeous black French man standing beside me. These temps will make Paris seem balmy! I have been checking the temps there and it is supposed to be 32 degrees F during the day all week and 21 at night. The plane was packed and the seats were the smallest I have encountered in all my travels. The term sardine can comes to mind! They served a ‘meal’: salami and cheese sandwiches! The sunset set at 4:20 while we were boarding the plane.
I arrived in Paris and breezed through the passport area. I didn’t check any luggage so was on my way quickly. The hotel had sent me directions so I hopped on a train that took me to the center of Paris and then caught the Metro to an intersection one block from our hotel. Andrea had not arrived so I went to our room and unpacked, waited 30 minutes and decided to go grab something to eat since it was 8:30. The hotel clerk made a recommendation of a nearby restaurant. I was more tired than I realized and missed the street but found it after retracing my steps. I got there and it was closed. The restaurant next door was packed and I didn’t see any seats so went across the street to a Japanese restaurant, one of my least favorite cuisines but thought I could get a hot bowl of noodle soup. No such luck. I was seated at a ‘table’ with two couples who were together and another couple at the other end. I was between the two parties. It was one of those places where they cook at your table as a form of entertainment. After traveling for 18 hours I was in no mood for entertainment! And they didn’t have noodle soup on the menu. I ordered miso soup and pot stickers, ate and went back to the hotel. Andrea had arrived and it was great to be together again. We have known each other for thirty plus years.
We slept in the next day and had missed the breakfast at the hotel. We went across the street and had fabulous coffee and pastries. Those French know butter! We decided to be kind to ourselves and not knock ourselves out trying to see everything. Our goal for Monday was to go to Musee de l’Orangerie to see Impressionist art mainly Monet’s Water Lilies. We decided to walk as the sun was out. We started from the cafe around noon. It was cold, damn cold but we persisted. It never got above freezing the entire week and with the chill factor it was 16 degrees F. Oy! Every time we went out my fingers suffered. Our masseuse in Tbilisi had knitted me a wool hat before I left and I was so thankful to have it. It would slip on my head but without it I would have been miserable. We walked along the Seine River, saw Notre Dame along the way and the Louvre. I had no desire to go inside the Louvre. I had been there 40 years ago and it is just too darn big. You could get lost in there and never emerge. We did duck into Shakespeare and Co. bookstore. It is a famous English bookstore where David, our son, spend his nights in Paris, sleeping on their floor. The place was packed with Americans, mostly people half our age. It felt good to get out of the cold but it was crammed and claustrophobic. We arrived at the museum and lucked out as there was no line to enter. This is a relatively small museum and Monet’s Water Lilies are housed on the main floor. They are huge and occupy two rooms that are round with curved walls which contain four large panels of Monet’s paintings, one to each wall. I was overcome by their beauty and I wept at the sight of them today. I had last seen them in 1970 when I visited every major art museum in Western Europe with Walt Padgett, my first husband who is an artist. We spent a long time in both rooms then headed downstairs to see other Impressionist works. What a thrill! We returned to Monet’s Water Lilies before leaving. Around 3:00 we stopped for lunch and had a delicious omelet with French fries! We skipped dinner since we ate a late breakfast and lunch. On our second day we visited Musee d’Orsay, a huge museum and we had to wait in line outside in the freezing cold for an hour to get in. Andrea was most patient with me as I really was committed to seeing the works here. Once inside we decided to concentrate our viewing on the Impressionist works and skip the rest. I get saturated after viewing works for two hours or so. The museum was a madhouse, frankly. Too many people in some rooms to adequately view the works. But we prevailed. In one room we were looking at a painting and a woman with a small digital camera thrust her arm in front of us to take a photo of the painting. It was rude to say the least. Later I observed her and realized she was not looking at the works, just thrusting herself in front of patrons and snapping photos. What an interesting species we are…I went to the museum shop to buy gifts for Gia’s children who study art in their school in Tbilisi. The night we ate at their home they showed us their texts with lots of photos of famous works of art. Afterwards we found another delightful café with another fun waiter. I have no memory of what I ate but it was good!
From here we decided to walk to the Eiffel Tower. It was so cold and the sun wasn’t out so it seemed even colder. It turned out to be farther than we had anticipated. Andrea had a fall recently and is still suffering from the fall so walking for long distances is uncomfortable for her. Alas we arrived and discovered another long line to go to the top of the tower. I told her I was unwilling to wait outside in the cold again and she readily agreed. We took our obligatory photos and headed back to a place where we could catch a bus home. Again we skipped dinner since we had eaten lunch so late in the day.
On Wednesday we decided to go our separate ways. Andrea wanted to see a museum with Asian art and I had one more Impressionist museum I wanted to see. The Musee Marmottan Monet has the largest collection of Monet’s in the world. The collection is housed in the former home of the Marmottan family and still contains some of the original furnishings. Given my intent I barely looked at the furnishings and concentrated on the paintings. Other artists’ works were here and as it turned out many of the Monet’s looked more like painting sketches or studies for his master works: The Water Lilies. There was a real bonus downstairs, an exhibit of post Impressionist and Fauvist works. I felt so lucky to have happened upon this exhibit as this is another period I like. Afterwards I made my way back towards our hotel, riding two different bus lines. I was so pleased that I never got lost! I found a café near our hotel and had salad and an omelet. Andrea arrived after me and was thrilled with her adventure as well. We decided we should splurge and have a real French meal in a fancy restaurant and went to the place our hotel recommended. Oh my! It was perfect. It was a short walking distance from the hotel and an intimate setting. Arriving at 7:30 we were the only ones there but the place filled up as the night progressed. We chose the fixed price three course option. I ordered mussels in curry cream sauce as a starter and Andrea had goat cheese in phyllo dough. Oh my god, it was too good to even attempt to describe. We shared bites so we had the best of all possible worlds. I had expected a few mussels and was shocked at the size of our portions. There was just a hint of curry and the mussels are small and so tender. I could have stopped there but had the entrée which was duck breast with a cherry sauce and two potato and apple cakes, something like hash browns only a thousand times better tasting. Andrea had a beef dish I think and we ended the evening with a chocolate mousse to die for. Oy! I would weigh a ton if I lived in France. Given their excellence in baking and my love of carbs I wouldn’t stand a chance!
The next day Andrea needed to take some time in the morning so I headed out to the internet which was about 9 blocks from our hotel. Due to the cold, I didn’t frequent it as often as I normally do. Ron had been calling me using Skype but the connection was never good and we frequently got disconnected. I don’t remember what the heck we did that afternoon. That evening we went out for a seafood dinner but frankly I was tired of restaurant food by then and should have just had a salad. Andrea was wiser than I and ordered a starter and stopped there. Afterwards we took a bus to the Louvre to see I.M. Pei’s much touted glass pyramid entrance and to see the Eiffel Tower all lit up which we could see from the Louvre plaza. I got terribly cold: hands and feet had turned to ice so we grabbed a cab and came home.
Our final day we packed up and took a cab to another hotel where Andrea was spending the night before staying with a friend for the weekend. Her new place was in the heart of Montmarte so we took a little time and walked around and visited the Sacred Heart Church. We lucked out as there was a service going on and the nuns were singing. The acoustics were superb. Afterwards we grabbed a bite to eat and went back to retrieve my bag at her hotel. From there we headed down the hill to the Metro and I took the Metro to the train station where I caught the train to the airport. Slick!
My return trip via Belarus was similar to my initial experience. I was directed to passport control and this time the person instructed me to buy mandatory insurance. I had handed her my boarding pass for the next leg of the trip to demonstrate that I was not staying in Minsk. She told me to step aside and wait. Once again I was escorted to the waiting area and just made it in time for my connecting flight. What’s up with mandatory insurance? I didn’t have time to find out but it sounds like a scam to me.
I arrived in Tbilisi at 4:30 a.m. and crawled into bed to snuggle my warm honey at 5:30. We chatted briefly and I fell asleep to be awakened at 11:40 with soft kisses. How great is that? There’s no place like home even when home is the Republic of Georgia!
Ah Paris…what a beautiful city. I was last there in 1970! My friend Andrea from Eugene was attending a Buddhist retreat about five hours outside of Paris and invited me to join her in Paris after her retreat ended. I debated about the expense and decided what the heck and booked a seat on the cheapest flight I could find which isn’t cheap here. I flew on Belavia Air, an airline from Belarus, a member of the Russian Federation. We left Tbilisi at 6:10 a.m. requiring Gia to pick me up at the house at 3:45. Oy! My boarding pass was hand written. After Gia dropped me off he called me about 20 minutes later to make sure the plane was leaving on time. What a sweet gesture. The plane was only about one third full. The man in front of me fully reclined his seat and my knees were pressed into the back of the chair. Oy! As soon as I could I moved to an empty row and stretched out. The food served was two small rolls: one with salami and one with cheese and a thin piece of lettuce. No condiments. We got to Minsk in a couple of hours where I had an eight hour layover. You can get a direct three hour flight to Paris from Tbilisi but it costs four times as much as taking a longer flight. Being the frugal person I am…well I had an eight hour layover in Minsk! It was 15 degrees below zero Centigrade! Minsk was as flat as Florida . There was snow on the ground but the runway had been plowed. I was directed to the passport control area and instructed to fill out the immigration card. I protested saying I was not staying in Minsk but to no avail. I got out of line, completed the form and returned to the desk. Once the officer read that I was there for 8 hrs, she instructed me to wait. A uniformed person came and took me through two locked doors and up some stairs to a ‘transit hall’. It was a large area that would hold about 200 people. One person was there sleeping on a couch. Soon I was joined by another person, a young Australian. The only other person was a guard to watch over us. After a while I asked the guard if I could get some water. He followed me down the stairs to the bar where I bought a bottle of water for 2.5 euros. Ouch! Fortunately they accepted euros, dollars and rubbles. I had some euros and dollars which was fortunate as there was no currency exchange in the part of the airport where I was. I returned to the transit hall and I slept for a while on a couch. At some point about 20 passengers were escorted into the room and waited for there until their connecting flight boarded maybe an hour or so later. I chatted with the young woman who had been in Georgia for about three weeks. She hated to leave but needed to return home to Australia. She later approached the guard saying she didn’t have a boarding pass and wanted to go get one. He told her to wait. Someone later came, took her passport and baggage claim ticket then returned and handed her the boarding pass. Strange, we felt like these people had watched too many Russian spy movies! I was left in the hall with the guard and original person who was now up and playing his radio loudly.
Later I went for coffee and a snack. Guess what? The only food available was a half slice of dry white bread with my choice of salami or cheese, just like the plane! They had any kind of liquor as well as a few juices, sodas, beer and wine. I got an Americano, a salami ‘sandwich’ and a small dark chocolate bar (health food). The cost was one euro less than the water!
At 1:15 another uniformed person came and asked me ‘Paris?’ I said yes and he said ‘Come with me’. He walks me through three security stations. I get my boarding pass and wander into a smoke filled waiting area. I now have 90 minutes before boarding. The sun has been out all day but the temps haven’t moved. Everyone here is blonde or has light brown hair with blue eyes by way of contrast to the folks in Georgia where 90% have black hair and dark eyes. I see many fur coats here. Must be more wealth than in Georgia. We were late boarding the plane and were herded into a waiting bus that would take us to the plane out on the tarmac. It was an unheated bus and even with it loaded with live bodies, it was still bitterly cold. The bus sat on the tarmac for 20 frigging minutes. No one could figure out what the holdup was but then they opened the doors to two full buses and left us standing outside while letting five people at a time go up the steps and into the plane. I was out in the cold for another full fifteen minutes. I had a warm thick wool coat but it was short and I realized my tushie was quite cold. My fingers turned to ice even with lined leather gloves. My feet felt like large blocks of ice. After boarding it took quite a while to thaw. I left my coat on for 20-30 minutes. I thought my feet would never get warm again. I don’t remember ever being that cold. It was still 15 below according to a tall gorgeous black French man standing beside me. These temps will make Paris seem balmy! I have been checking the temps there and it is supposed to be 32 degrees F during the day all week and 21 at night. The plane was packed and the seats were the smallest I have encountered in all my travels. The term sardine can comes to mind! They served a ‘meal’: salami and cheese sandwiches! The sunset set at 4:20 while we were boarding the plane.
I arrived in Paris and breezed through the passport area. I didn’t check any luggage so was on my way quickly. The hotel had sent me directions so I hopped on a train that took me to the center of Paris and then caught the Metro to an intersection one block from our hotel. Andrea had not arrived so I went to our room and unpacked, waited 30 minutes and decided to go grab something to eat since it was 8:30. The hotel clerk made a recommendation of a nearby restaurant. I was more tired than I realized and missed the street but found it after retracing my steps. I got there and it was closed. The restaurant next door was packed and I didn’t see any seats so went across the street to a Japanese restaurant, one of my least favorite cuisines but thought I could get a hot bowl of noodle soup. No such luck. I was seated at a ‘table’ with two couples who were together and another couple at the other end. I was between the two parties. It was one of those places where they cook at your table as a form of entertainment. After traveling for 18 hours I was in no mood for entertainment! And they didn’t have noodle soup on the menu. I ordered miso soup and pot stickers, ate and went back to the hotel. Andrea had arrived and it was great to be together again. We have known each other for thirty plus years.
We slept in the next day and had missed the breakfast at the hotel. We went across the street and had fabulous coffee and pastries. Those French know butter! We decided to be kind to ourselves and not knock ourselves out trying to see everything. Our goal for Monday was to go to Musee de l’Orangerie to see Impressionist art mainly Monet’s Water Lilies. We decided to walk as the sun was out. We started from the cafe around noon. It was cold, damn cold but we persisted. It never got above freezing the entire week and with the chill factor it was 16 degrees F. Oy! Every time we went out my fingers suffered. Our masseuse in Tbilisi had knitted me a wool hat before I left and I was so thankful to have it. It would slip on my head but without it I would have been miserable. We walked along the Seine River, saw Notre Dame along the way and the Louvre. I had no desire to go inside the Louvre. I had been there 40 years ago and it is just too darn big. You could get lost in there and never emerge. We did duck into Shakespeare and Co. bookstore. It is a famous English bookstore where David, our son, spend his nights in Paris, sleeping on their floor. The place was packed with Americans, mostly people half our age. It felt good to get out of the cold but it was crammed and claustrophobic. We arrived at the museum and lucked out as there was no line to enter. This is a relatively small museum and Monet’s Water Lilies are housed on the main floor. They are huge and occupy two rooms that are round with curved walls which contain four large panels of Monet’s paintings, one to each wall. I was overcome by their beauty and I wept at the sight of them today. I had last seen them in 1970 when I visited every major art museum in Western Europe with Walt Padgett, my first husband who is an artist. We spent a long time in both rooms then headed downstairs to see other Impressionist works. What a thrill! We returned to Monet’s Water Lilies before leaving. Around 3:00 we stopped for lunch and had a delicious omelet with French fries! We skipped dinner since we ate a late breakfast and lunch. On our second day we visited Musee d’Orsay, a huge museum and we had to wait in line outside in the freezing cold for an hour to get in. Andrea was most patient with me as I really was committed to seeing the works here. Once inside we decided to concentrate our viewing on the Impressionist works and skip the rest. I get saturated after viewing works for two hours or so. The museum was a madhouse, frankly. Too many people in some rooms to adequately view the works. But we prevailed. In one room we were looking at a painting and a woman with a small digital camera thrust her arm in front of us to take a photo of the painting. It was rude to say the least. Later I observed her and realized she was not looking at the works, just thrusting herself in front of patrons and snapping photos. What an interesting species we are…I went to the museum shop to buy gifts for Gia’s children who study art in their school in Tbilisi. The night we ate at their home they showed us their texts with lots of photos of famous works of art. Afterwards we found another delightful café with another fun waiter. I have no memory of what I ate but it was good!
From here we decided to walk to the Eiffel Tower. It was so cold and the sun wasn’t out so it seemed even colder. It turned out to be farther than we had anticipated. Andrea had a fall recently and is still suffering from the fall so walking for long distances is uncomfortable for her. Alas we arrived and discovered another long line to go to the top of the tower. I told her I was unwilling to wait outside in the cold again and she readily agreed. We took our obligatory photos and headed back to a place where we could catch a bus home. Again we skipped dinner since we had eaten lunch so late in the day.
On Wednesday we decided to go our separate ways. Andrea wanted to see a museum with Asian art and I had one more Impressionist museum I wanted to see. The Musee Marmottan Monet has the largest collection of Monet’s in the world. The collection is housed in the former home of the Marmottan family and still contains some of the original furnishings. Given my intent I barely looked at the furnishings and concentrated on the paintings. Other artists’ works were here and as it turned out many of the Monet’s looked more like painting sketches or studies for his master works: The Water Lilies. There was a real bonus downstairs, an exhibit of post Impressionist and Fauvist works. I felt so lucky to have happened upon this exhibit as this is another period I like. Afterwards I made my way back towards our hotel, riding two different bus lines. I was so pleased that I never got lost! I found a café near our hotel and had salad and an omelet. Andrea arrived after me and was thrilled with her adventure as well. We decided we should splurge and have a real French meal in a fancy restaurant and went to the place our hotel recommended. Oh my! It was perfect. It was a short walking distance from the hotel and an intimate setting. Arriving at 7:30 we were the only ones there but the place filled up as the night progressed. We chose the fixed price three course option. I ordered mussels in curry cream sauce as a starter and Andrea had goat cheese in phyllo dough. Oh my god, it was too good to even attempt to describe. We shared bites so we had the best of all possible worlds. I had expected a few mussels and was shocked at the size of our portions. There was just a hint of curry and the mussels are small and so tender. I could have stopped there but had the entrée which was duck breast with a cherry sauce and two potato and apple cakes, something like hash browns only a thousand times better tasting. Andrea had a beef dish I think and we ended the evening with a chocolate mousse to die for. Oy! I would weigh a ton if I lived in France. Given their excellence in baking and my love of carbs I wouldn’t stand a chance!
The next day Andrea needed to take some time in the morning so I headed out to the internet which was about 9 blocks from our hotel. Due to the cold, I didn’t frequent it as often as I normally do. Ron had been calling me using Skype but the connection was never good and we frequently got disconnected. I don’t remember what the heck we did that afternoon. That evening we went out for a seafood dinner but frankly I was tired of restaurant food by then and should have just had a salad. Andrea was wiser than I and ordered a starter and stopped there. Afterwards we took a bus to the Louvre to see I.M. Pei’s much touted glass pyramid entrance and to see the Eiffel Tower all lit up which we could see from the Louvre plaza. I got terribly cold: hands and feet had turned to ice so we grabbed a cab and came home.
Our final day we packed up and took a cab to another hotel where Andrea was spending the night before staying with a friend for the weekend. Her new place was in the heart of Montmarte so we took a little time and walked around and visited the Sacred Heart Church. We lucked out as there was a service going on and the nuns were singing. The acoustics were superb. Afterwards we grabbed a bite to eat and went back to retrieve my bag at her hotel. From there we headed down the hill to the Metro and I took the Metro to the train station where I caught the train to the airport. Slick!
My return trip via Belarus was similar to my initial experience. I was directed to passport control and this time the person instructed me to buy mandatory insurance. I had handed her my boarding pass for the next leg of the trip to demonstrate that I was not staying in Minsk. She told me to step aside and wait. Once again I was escorted to the waiting area and just made it in time for my connecting flight. What’s up with mandatory insurance? I didn’t have time to find out but it sounds like a scam to me.
I arrived in Tbilisi at 4:30 a.m. and crawled into bed to snuggle my warm honey at 5:30. We chatted briefly and I fell asleep to be awakened at 11:40 with soft kisses. How great is that? There’s no place like home even when home is the Republic of Georgia!
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