HOME AGAIN IN TBILISI

You might imagine that we were a bit apprehensive about our return home. It had snowed in the mountains again (maybe up to 3 inches), but the salt trucks had melted the snow, so the road was passable. But, the authorities were holding back the trucks - we were most thankful that we did not have to follow them.

The trip was made without incident; we praise God for the safety that led us across the pass.  Cheryl, often skeptical about such hair-raising experiences, even made it without any serious trauma.

Above the village of Kazbegi, you will see (on the top of the mountain on the left) the shadow of a church and fortress. The church is a 2.5 hour walk up the mountain from the valley village. The church is Sameba church (Trinity).

Looking toward Russia, you can see the only road snake alongside the mountainside.

The view from the deck of Rooms Hotel.

We're returning to Tbilisi.

We followed the valley all the way.

The sights of our return were no match for the sights we had yesterday.

On our return we stopped at the Paulaner Tower restaurant for lunch. Left is the Georgian bread, above is peasant salad (Karol loves it), below are khinkali.

 

There's a story behind this photo. Sometimes when ordering, because none of us is fluent in Georgian, there are misunderstandings. Cheryl ordered hot chocolate and this is what was served. Well, we enjoyed it anyway ( all of us).

The owner was so pleased to have Jon (a member of the diplomatic corps) as a guest in the restaurant, that, instead of giving him the diplomatic discount, he provided him with this fruit plate.

Karol wanted to make the waitress feel good about her service (some of the English was very hard for her to grasp), so she asked to have her picture taken with the waitress.