Citizens of the World: A Stoic Podcast for Curious Travelers - Tbilisi, Georgia: What to Eat, Drink, & Do as a Traveler, Expat, or Nomad

Episode Date: September 17, 2021

Lately, I have been obsessed with the country of Georgia, and if you like beaches, mountains, charming old towns, wine regions, and off-the-beaten path places, then you might become obsessed with this former communist state, as well.Emily Lush certainly did. She’s an Australian writer and photographer who moved to Georgia after falling in love with its history, culture, textiles, and architecture, like Armenian merchant houses, opulent mansions, mosques, and Orthodox churches.Emily joins me on the LIVE Without Borders podcast to discuss how to explore and eat your way through Georgia, including the capital Tbilisi and road trips.  Enjoy!Hello! I'm your host, Sarah Mikutel. But the real question is, who are you? Where are you now and where do you want to be? Can I help you get there?Visit sarahmikutel.com to learn how we can work together to help you achieve more peace, happiness, and positive transformation in your life.Book your Enneagram typing session by going to sarahmikutel.com/typingsession🎉To celebrate my 10-year anniversary of living in England, I want to help other women achieve their dreams 🎉 I'm giving away 60 free coaching sessions to 60 women in 60 days. Book your session by going to sarahmikutel.com/2021clarity and using promo code 2021CLARITY at checkout.Do you ever go blank or start rambling when someone puts you on the spot? I created a free Conversation Cheat Sheet with simple formulas you can use so you can respond with clarity, whether you’re in a meeting or just talking with friends.Download it at sarahmikutel.com/blanknomore and start feeling more confident in your conversations today.

Welcome to Live Without Borders, a travel and wellness show for expats, the expat curious, and globally minded citizens of the world. We are the travelers, the culturally curious, the experiences and not things kind of people. And we know that freedom is about more than getting on a plane. It's about becoming the most heroic versions of ourselves, which is why on this podcast you will hear insider travel secrets, inspiring expat stories, and advice on how to live abroad. but you will also hear episodes that will help give you the clarity, focus, and skills you need to create a life that will set your soul on fire. I am your host, Sarah Micatel, a certified clarity coach trained in the Enneagram, and I first moved abroad on my own at age 18, and I have been permanently enjoying life in Europe since 2010. If you are ready to make some big moves in your life

and want my help moving from someday to seize the day, visit live without borderspodcast.com. Hello, hello, and let's get right into it. Today, I am really excited to talk about the country of Georgia. It is my latest obsession. And if you like beaches and mountains and charming old towns and wine regions and off the beaten path places, then I think you are going to become obsessed with this former communist state as well. My guest today is Emily Lush, an Australian writer and photographer, who moved to Georgia after falling in love with its history and culture and textiles and archaical. like Armenian merchant houses and opulent mansions and mosques and Orthodox churches. Emily also says that the food is fantastic for vegetarians and pretty easy, very easy actually, for foreigners to move to Georgia and live and work there. So those are two huge bonuses in my opinion about why we should be going to Georgia this year. In this episode, Emily and I discuss everything you need to know to explore and eat your way through this beautiful country. And we're focusing on the capital of Tbilisi, but we also talk about really awesome road trips to do as well. And who knows,

maybe after listening to this episode, you will be inspired to move to Georgia just like Emily did. There's definitely a lot of expats heading there now. And after you listen to this episode, you will know why. For more information on Georgia, definitely check out Emily's blog, Wander-lush.org. Emily has a ton of great resources for you on Georgia there. And she also creates custom itineraries for people. So definitely check her. out there. All right, now on to Georgia. Welcome, Emily. Thank you so much for joining me today. Thank you, Sarah. It's great to be here. You are an Australian, I believe. How did you end up in Georgia? That's correct. I first came here as a tourist, and that was in 2017. I kind of had an idea that I would

love Georgia before I traveled here. I didn't know anything about the country, but I had listened to podcasts and watched TV shows and read books and I was fascinated in the culture and the landscape and I had an idea that I would like it so I decided to spend three months here initially and yeah it was a great trip I fell in love with Tbilisi the capital city and when it was time to leave I really wanted to stay here for a longer life had other plans and we left and came back in 2019 for another trip and then in 2000 my husband and I decided that we would give it a go finally and spend some time living in Tbilisi. So that was right before the pandemic happened.

We got in just before then. And we've kind of been here ever since on an extended trip. Lacked into Georgia. What did you hear about Georgia before you went that made you think, I know I'm going to like this place? I guess there are a couple of things that Georgia is kind of known for and that I heard about, certainly. So the first one is the food. It's pretty well known now as having a great cuisine, lots of interesting, indulgent dishes.

So that was definitely part of my decision and watching Anthony Bourdain. That's kind of a pre-travel ritual that we used to have. And he did a great episode here in Georgia. And that definitely played a role in my decision. The other thing is the mountains. And although I'm not like a huge hiker or anything like that, I love coming from Australia, you know, I'm from the city.

and just being in those beautiful landscapes was really special for me and something I wanted to experience. And Georgia's also known as like a really hospitable place, really friendly people, and I like the sound of that, as most people would. So those were kind of the three things, but as well, you know, I was interested in the history. I didn't know much about it as a country. I think, you know, when you're doing history class and school,

Georgia often doesn't get mentioned a whole lot. So I was very intrigued to learn more about the history and culture as well. And I love textiles and music and folk art and those kind of traditions. And I knew that there was a really rich and vibrant history of that here in Georgia. And that definitely attracted me as well. I saw on your websites, you've got a great travel blog on Georgia called Wander Lush. And you mentioned that the Caucasus is your happy place. I think a lot of people are not familiar with this region at all. So can you tell us a little bit more about it? You know, it's become as a bit of a cliche to say that the Caucasus, the South Caucasus is kind of where Europe and Asia come together.

And it kind of has influences from both continents as well as every other corner of the globe you can find in this region because it's always been that place where people cross over and ideas cross-pollinate. So it's a bit of a cliche, but it's true. You can find, you know, amazing European style architecture and that kind of. heritage and then there's also Middle Eastern elements and Mediterranean elements and all these different cultural things that kind of cross-pollinated here over a long time but then somehow Georgia are made into something all of its own. If you like traveling, you know, it's you're kind of at the gateway of Turkey, Eastern Europe is all very close by. It's a nice place to be located. And what are the countries that make up that region? So the South

Caucasus is basically this little area of land between two mountain ranges. And the one in the north is the Greater Caucasus. So north of that is Russia. And then in the south you have the lesser Caucasus. And after that, you have Turkey and Iran. So the three countries in the South Caucasus or trans-caucas, it's sometimes called. They're Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan. They make up the region. You've said that the caucuses restored your faith in humanity. So what did you mean by that? So I definitely had that feeling on my first trip, and it's something that lingers even today after having lived here for over a year. It's just a kind of a generosity and a welcoming that you feel in this region. People are famous for being hospitable, but people really are as kind as people say they are.

It's this idea of welcoming guests. They say in Georgia that a guest is a gift from God and people really take this seriously. It's, you know, there's nothing people won't do for you in terms of welcoming you into their homes, sharing food and wine. It's an incredibly generous culture in that way. And as a foreign guest, you really get treated when you're, especially in small towns and remote areas. But also in other things, you know, it's people will always be willing to help. you out. Often there's a bit of a cold or austere front that people put on. But once you crack through that, people are just so helpful. For example, we had a big break from

travelling obviously over the past year or so and I recently went on a little road trip, drove myself, my husband, around the south of the country and kind of rediscovered what that travelling feel was like and the same thing kept happening, people would just help us spontaneously. You know, we'd go and ask for directions to get somewhere and, you know, thinking we'd get pointed in the right direction. And, you know, there was one time when a woman just let us park our car in her yard, and her husband took us to the trail that we wanted to visit.

Then when we came back, they had an amazing spread of coffee and sweets and honey and jam and just everything that they had made from products in their garden. They wanted us to try. And it's just a small example, but things like that, do happen fairly regularly. It just reminds you that people are just so kind. Wow, that's a beautiful story. So how do, you know, visitors communicate with the native Georgians? Yeah, language is, it's one of my shortcomings, definitely. I wish I knew more Georgian. So Georgia has its own language, Georgian, and it's a very old language that's kind of one of these weird ones that no one can really trace

the origins of. So it's got a really beautiful and unique script. And it's quite a tongue twister in a lot of ways. And when you get into the grammar, it's quite complex, which can be a bit daunting. But generally speaking, a lot of people, especially younger generations, speak English. Older generations will usually speak Russian. So if you speak Russian, you can get by. If you speak English, you can get by. Yeah. So you mentioned that the older generation speaks Russian. So Georgia as like a former communist country was occupied by the Soviet Union. You mentioned that you in your travels have learned a little bit more about Georgian history. Is there anything interesting that you want to share that would be useful to know before we go? Yeah, Georgia was

part of the Soviet Union and it's only been independent for a relatively short period of time. And I think this is something we often forget that independence only came in the 90s and that was a really tough time for Georgia coming out of the USSR. And interestingly, like in between being part of the USSR and prior to that being part of imperial Russia, there was only a very small period of time where Georgia was independent. And it's something like a thousand days. So I think knowing that and knowing the history really helps put into perspective the culture today. And just how incredible it is that people have held on to their language, their religion. You know, Georgia is, along with Armenia, they are Orthodox countries in what is otherwise a region that's predominantly

Islam or, you know, it was very non-religious in the Soviet days. So that's very impressive and that kind of puts that into perspective. Georgia sounds like it's becoming kind of a hotspot for expats who are moving over. I keep hearing more and more about it. So how are you able to live and work in Georgia as a non-Georgian? Right. So I think one of the reasons it's becoming popular is because that is so easy. So the government here has been very pro-investment, pro-foreign for years now. And they do make it easy for tourists and for people who are working remotely. So as a tourist, there are, I think, 95 nationalities who can travel here for a year, and that's without a visa. So that's the first thing that makes it very appealing. As part of that,

though, you can study, you can work, you can do whatever you want while you're here. You don't need any permit to do that. And that covers, you know, the EU countries, US, Canada, Australia, parts of Asia, you know, a huge chunk of people can just show up and literally stay for a year and then you can just cross the border to renew that. So that's a big plus for a lot of people. And then that carries over as well into things like opening a bank account, registering a business or being an individual entrepreneur, which has become really popular. Those are all really easy processes to accomplish. Could you give us a visual snapshot of what Tbilisi, Georgia looks like? So Tbilisi is, I'm going to, okay, for your snapshot, I'll put you on top of a hill because

Tbilisi is a city in a valley and there are hills on both sides and you can go up these hills. They have cable cars, funiculars, hiking trails. Whatever you're fancy, you can go up and get a beautiful view of the city. That's kind of what I think of when I think of Tbilisi. It's somewhere you look at from afar and then you've got to get down into the nitty-gritty of the city. streets because the old town area is quite a big area with different sections that date back to different periods in history. And the architecture is just stunning, very, very interesting details and just because of that mix of influences that was always coming in and, you know, Armenian merchant

houses and opulent mansions and then you have mosques and fire temples and beautiful Orthodox churches. So a huge diversity in the way the city looks. And that's kind of in the old town area, then you have the more modern or Soviet era side to Tbilisi, which is beautiful in its own way. You have these huge, vast apartment buildings that are like if you're into brutalist architecture or concrete, they're pretty cool. There's some interesting monuments and mosaics, things like that. And then there's also a lot of green space. You know, there's a river that runs through the middle of the city. There's some really nice parks, a long pedestrian avenue called Rusta Valley, where you have on both sides, areas where you can walk,

and there's sort of the opera house and those classic beautiful buildings, National Museum, things like that. And then, yeah, the old town is kind of where it's at, though. You know, there's a maze of streets and these beautiful courtyards and balconies and just so much happening. Wow. So if you were taking me on a little walking tour of the old, town, I guess. What would be some of our mustsies? So definitely a district called Abano Tibani, and that is the old sulfur bath area. So you have these sort of classic domed bath houses that are sort of semi-underground and you can see the tops and the steam coming out. That's Abanatabani, this area that's traditionally been where people go to bathe. And a lot of the baths are still working.

maybe like half a dozen or so that you can go and visit and have, it's not a typical Turkish Hamam experience. There are some similarities, but it's a very Georgian twist on that. There's a really beautiful and it's a really beautiful area to start walking. Before we move on from the bathhouses, what is this twist and also is there one that you would recommend? Yeah, so there's two sort of, I'll recommend first. There's two places that are kind of quite well known. One, is called the Royal Bath or Treli Abano and that is sort of the beautiful bathhouse. It has this amazing facade that a lot of people mistake for a mosque because it's just this beautiful thing with little niches and it's covered in tile mosaics.

It's gorgeous. Inside the baths are downstairs so there's no domed roofs. It's a little bit more modern, not a traditional as it used to be in the old days, but it's still like a very luxe experience. one is called gulose and it's more traditional it's got sort of the older interiors with mosaics and the domed roofs but both offer you can buy book a private room which is a really nice thing to do you can do public baths as well but that's kind of a bit more adventurous it's really nice to book a private room and you have like your hot pool and your cold pool and maybe a sauna and then the georgian twist is

to have something called a kisi which is kind of like what they do in Istanbul with the scrub and the massage treatment, but it's a little bit more rough, I guess, and a little bit less luxurious. Yeah, I had the most agonizing massage, I guess, when I was in Jordan, and we all walked out of there, like, oh my God, was that legal? That just happened there. So you mentioned that the public. You mentioned that the public ones, we're a little more adventurous. Does this mean that like nobody's wearing clothes is what I'm imagining? Yes, that's correct. Yeah, I think I would prefer a private as well. All right, so we take a luxurious bath and then what's next on the agenda? From that area, you can lead sort of straight up

into a really interesting area of the old town, which is a little bit higher. And you have these streets just with beautiful houses and beautiful views down to the river. So you can just wander around there and sort of get lost down those streets. And then eventually you come out at the bottom, you have sort of the proper old town where there's, you know, a very old church and popular cafes and there's a little square with a clock tower and some really cute little things that are very a bit touristy, but very cute. And that's a really nice area to walk as well. From there, you can kind of continue into a different part of the city. And I mentioned about this long avenue that kind of goes from Freedom Square,

which is sort of the main square. You have Ristavelle Avenue, which kind of grows all the way up into another neighborhood called Vera. That area is really nice as well. It's different because it's more sort of hip and modern, and there's lots of cafes and wine bars and really nice shopping in that area. But I think my favorite part of Tbilisi is called Solilaki, and this is like the oldest neighborhood. It's different to the old town, or what they call old Tbilisi, because it was built it in

different period, and it's very gritted and kind of more organized. But the facades, the buildings in Solilaki are really, really beautiful, and you'll find a lot of places that are just kind of crumbling away, like there's a lot of water running under to Blysee and some of these buildings have water damage. They'll have like a big crack down the middle. But you get these really beautiful like plaster work and stained glass and just this amazing stuff combined with this kind of aesthetic of deterioration. It's really, it's really special. It sounds like there's so much to see just on the exterior of things. Are there any walking tours you would recommend to check out all of these sites? Is that even a thing in Georgia?

Yeah, there's actually a lot of walking tours. There's one in particular called Hidden Tablisi, and that is a free walking tour. I believe it's twice a week on specific days. And it kind of, if you're interested in this sort of thing, it focuses on those, you know, beautiful buildings and entryways because a lot of them you can pop into and see, like, the frescoes and the tile work inside the foyers of these buildings.

So Hidden Tablisi is a really good one. It partially focuses on an area on the other side of the river, which is a really interesting area with German heritage and a lot of really stunning architecture. Tell me more about the tiles and the textiles of Georgia. What is that culture about? Yeah, I guess there's a lot to it, but one of the most famous textiles is called the Lergy Supra. and it's basically like a tablecloth that is used during a supra which is like a feast and a feast that has special social and cultural significance it's not just about eating it's about you know the formality and the tradition and the toasting and the wine and this tablecloth is kind of laid out as part of that and it's a beautiful thing that they were traditionally done with a block prints or

screen printing and they are blue and white traditionally and they have these like gorgeous little motifs on them in patterns that you know like tiny fish and knives and forks that kind of represent the food so those are a really beautiful souvenir only a few people are still doing them on cotton but you can find new labels that are doing like synthetic ones or in all different colors and those are really cool but then there's also like carpets you'll see in the old town a couple of carpet shops that are just like, you know, beautiful covered in rugs from head to toe. And that's definitely part of Georgian culture, especially in the mountains. You have groups that have been weaving carpets for a really long time.

And then, you know, the whole corpus region, that's kind of a shared thing is carpet weaving and kilens and those beautiful textiles that are used to make a place warm when you're up in the mountains. Georgia gets quite cold in the winter, I would imagine. Yes. And as somebody from Australia, I guess you didn't grow up with these kinds of seasons. Exactly. I had two seasons, hot and maybe like six weeks of cool weather where I grew up. So I love the seasons. I love being in a country where you can see the colors change and feel the weather change.

Tbilisi is actually pretty mild. Like the winters, I mean, it's probably around 10 degrees most days in the daytime. So Celsius. Selsius. Sorry. It does snow maybe a couple of days a year, but it doesn't last very long, so it's actually pretty mild. Sounds like here in England where I am. Just going back to those tablecloths for a minute. So those sound like such a beautiful reminder of like your time in Georgia. Are there any places that you recommend that are selling like the traditional cotton ones or any like local markets that you would recommend going to for shopping? There's a great shop called Gallery 27, and it's run by a woman, you know, who is an artist and has, you know, she kind of knows everyone in the community, and she knows women who are still making these tablecloths the traditional way. They also sell the more modern ones as well. So that's a really great place to find them. And if you Google about Tbilisi, you'll often see selfies and photos at this beautiful greenhouse with mosaic windows.

and this is where her shop is located. It's upstairs at that famous photo spot. So that's a great one to visit. There's also the dry bridge market, which is a flea market that happens every one on a bridge and adjacent to the river. And you can sometimes find nice, it's more like antiques and knickknacks.

Sometimes you can find a tablecloth or a nice rug, but that's a lot of fun to browse around as well. Is Tivisi or is it Georgia in general an expensive place? How would you compare it to other places? in Europe, I guess. Yeah, it's very affordable with the caveat that, you know, that's because the economy is kind of not great, especially at the moment. But as a travel destination of somewhere to live, it's very affordable. You know, people can comfortably get by on a budget of, I don't know, maybe $50 a day if you're traveling. You know, you can find a nice guesthouse

with breakfast for $15, something like that. There's a big hostel culture in Tbilisi as well, so plenty of budget rooms. Food is not only affordable, but very, very generous in portions, if you know where to go. It definitely won't break the bank. There are, of course, more expensive places to eat, but you can definitely get by on a budget. Transportation is also really affordable. Let's talk more about food. So what are the foods that we need to try in Georgia? So there are two dishes that Georgia has become famous for, and these are Kinkali, which are They're kind of a little bit like a Chinese dumpling in appearance, but they're unique because, you know, they have a different filling, obviously. And they're also, like, quite big.

You can get quite big ones. And they're sometimes called soup dumplings because they have, you know, they're traditionally made with meat and you have like this really nice dew inside that you are supposed to swipe out before you eat the dumpling. So Kankali, very famous. And Kachapuri, which is like a cheese. bread, cheese pie. It's also very famous. And a lot of people come to Georgia and they want to eat those two things and, you know, there's only so much of that you can eat. And you pretty soon realize that Georgian cuisine is just incredible, like incredibly vast in terms of the ingredients used. It's incredibly like vegetarian-friendly. Of so many dishes that are traditional are made with

vegetables. And the produce here is phenomenal. It's such a small country that, the way the climate and the geography is, you know, anything grows here. So you can have like kiwi fruit and, I don't know, leeks and spinach and berries growing at the same time of year in different altitudes. So the access to produce is awesome. And, you know, the cooking reflects that. It's just a lot of diversity, a lot of spice, a lot of like fragrant herbs, like marigold and fenegreak and things that have come in from all different parts of the world and have been

sort of adopted and incorporated into the cuisine. So you pretty soon realize that there's a hell of a lot of dishes to try, stews, soups, you know, something as simple as if you're meat-eater, barbecue meat is done really well here. And fresh bread is just great and served with every meal. And you can find, you know, whether you want something heavy and indulgent or, you know, a salad or, you know, they do this great dish called Picali, which is just like, different leaves like spinach or beetroot leaf blended with walnuts and so there's kind of dip and that is a really easy thing to eat especially when it's hot in summer like this and then of course there's like all different seasonal foods as well that they're made in spring or autumn

I love the sound of all of us especially that you said this was a vegetarian friendly place because that was going to be my next question for you so what's the dining culture like you know how in Spain, they eat for me so late. What's it like in Georgia when it comes to like lunch and dinner, are there any like breaks where nothing's open? Definitely in the morning there's nothing open. So it's quite a late to rise country generally speaking, of course not for everyone, but to Blyssi in particular, you're not going to find a cafe open very rarely before 9 a.m. so that's why it's good to have breakfast at your guest house if they offer it. So breakfast is not really a thing.

There aren't a lot of traditional breakfast dishes. There are more and more cafes now that are offering like brunch type meals. But if you're going to skip a meal in favour of eating more later, then you can pretty safely skip breakfast. But yeah, lunch and dinner, I think, you know, maybe a bit of a later lunch and then a later dinner, especially in summer. But it's pretty fluid. You'll find most places are open.

from midday until late and you can kind of eat whenever you like and you'll always see people out eating at various times a day and you know wine is a huge part of the culture i don't think i've mentioned wine yet wine yet incredibly but wine is you know a huge part of georgian culture and so if you're going to be eating and drinking it's good good to keep that in mind maybe a later lunch is more suitable so let's say we're having like a leisurely day hanging out during the day. What are some like hidden gems you would take me to? Oh, um, on the food side, there's a really nice place inside. There's a building called the Riders House of Georgia and a cafe litura. And that's a really nice place to hang out. And when you say leisurely, I think of that

immediately because they have this beautiful courtyard with these like big leafy trees and tables sort of set around the perimeter. And it's just really, really gorgeous in the afternoon, especially when you can sit in the shade and just order a glass of wine or acrosprits or something and have, you know, in your little nibbleys. That's a really nice place to chill out. And that's in Solilaki, the area that I really love.

So, yeah, that's what springs to mind when you say that. So I'm going to stick with that as a definite thing to do. But then I think just wandering around is really nice, really relaxing. You can cafe hop, like, especially around Solilaki. There's a lot of little cafes that you can try. Yeah, I'm trying to think. There's some great museums as well. If you get into that, museums and galleries, there's a little photography gallery back off Ristivelli Avenue.

It's nice. The name escapes me right now. But there are so many little things like that that you just have to discover by walking around on foot. I love exploring castles and palaces. Are there anything, is there anything there anything there that you think I should definitely visit? Ah, yes. So there is a castle or fortress that overlooks the city. And although there's not a lot of it left, it's still got its walls and there's a church inside that was added in fairly recently.

But you can either walk or take a cable car to this fortress. It's called Narakala. and it has a really stunning view, as I was mentioning earlier, there's lots of viewpoints, but the view from the fortress is really nice, and the fortress itself is interesting. There are other things up near there as well. There's a big statue for the mother of Georgia.

It was a Soviet thing. Georgians loved it and wanted to keep it, and they replaced it, and it's kind of the icon of the city. It's a big statue of a woman holding a sword and a glass of wine or a little cup of wine. So that's up near the fortress. Then there's also on the other side of the river, there's a palace.

And this is kind of a lesser-known thing, I think. I didn't go here until fairly recently, but it's called Queen Darajan's Palace. And there's a nunnery inside the grounds now. So you're still welcome to walk around. You just have to be so quiet and respectful because there are nuns living in the complex. But there's some really cool buildings in there and this beautiful balcony. and it's a round balcony with these blue, green, the railings are painted blue and green, and it just looks out over the river and it's really stunning.

So Queen Derogyn's Palace and Narakoucesters are the main things there. And is it easy to get around to these different sites? Is there public transport? How do people generally get around the city? All this area that I'm talking about is very walkable. There are some steep uphill bits, so you have to have good shoes and kind of be prepared for that. But otherwise, it's pretty walkable. There are pretty good footpaths in most of the city.

There are underpasses that you can use to cross busy streets. Just, you know, be careful of traffic and all that. But it's a very walkable city in the centre. If you want to go further out to the outer suburbs where there are some more sort of expat areas, I guess, in student areas and other things to see, then you can use the metro. So Sibley got its metro in the Soviet era, and it has two lines that will pretty much take you any way you need to go, especially the main line, which runs north-south, I believe.

Yeah, north-south. And you can just hop on and off that. It's 50 tetrae, which is like 20 cents or something to ride. So you mentioned getting out of this city, and also you've talked about the wine culture in Georgia. So I know there's a wine region. How far away is that from Tbilisi? And I guess if you want to just give sort of like a broad stroke of if we're going to spend, you know, maybe two weeks in Georgia, how would we split that time, do you think? Yeah.

So the wine region is very close to Tbilisi. And if you have two weeks or two days, it's kind of a place you can visit no matter how long or how short your trip is. And they're actually improving the road out to that part of the country as well. So I think the travel time just got a lot shorter, which is good news as well. But maybe like an hour and a half, two hours, you can be in wine country, which is to the east of Tbilisi. It's not the only wine region, but it's the biggest wine region. It's kind of the well-known area for vineyards and cellars. It's called Karkheti.

So there are two towns or cities where you can base yourself in Karkheti or do as a day trip. One is called Signagi, and it's really kind of a charming old medieval walled town with lots of beautiful churches. And then the other is Tel Avie, which is a bigger city, and it has its big, big market and a really big fortress and museum. But in between those two, there are just, you know, more wineries than you could ever hope to visit in a lifetime, ranging from small family places where, you know, they're doing a couple of thousand bottles a year to, like quite big, big commercial wineries that are an interesting experience as well. So doing kind of a mix is a good idea. So that's a really popular day trip from Tbilisi. From there, it's nice to head north. So the mountains are kind of always on the horizon no matter where you are in Georgia. And, you know, you have to get up into the mountains at some point. So the greater Caucasus are about

three hours-ish north of Tbilisi. And you can take this road called the Georgian Military Highway, so that connects Sibley Sea with Russia. And part of this road is like extremely scenic. It can be hair-raising in parts. You know, it's a mountainous road, but there are some awesome things to see along the way, fortresses and castles and churches and beautiful mosaics and viewpoints.

There's also a ski resort where you can ride the chairlift. But that will take you to Kazbegi, which is kind of the most popular mountain area, are very accessible from Tbilisi. And it's just kind of a cute little town where you can do some easy hikes, there's lots of valleys around, and a beautiful church up on top of a mountain

that you can hike to as well. So that's really nice if you're kind of short on time or you want to stay around Tbilisi. If you're there for sort of a week or less, I would stay in that area. If you have two weeks, then you can head to the west of the country, which is different, you know,

order of ways and extremely diverse. As soon as you leave Tbilisi, you kind of cross this mountain range and you enter into the west of the country and the environment changes almost immediately to like a really thick forest and it kind of gets more humid the further you get towards the black sea. So yeah, that's that's really, really interesting. You can spend some time in Kutaisi, which is the second city in Georgia and that's in the west. And there are mountain regions around Kutaisi, there's one called Racha, which is really nice. And then Spanetti, which is kind of another famous mountain area, especially for hiking. That's quite accessible from Kutaisi.

And then, of course, you have the Black Sea coast, which is Batumi and the smaller beaches up and down the coast. And in two weeks, you can do that. You can see what there is to see around Tupisi. Maybe spend a few nights in Batumi to explore that area. and then there's a high-speed train that links to Blyssi and Batumi, so you can easily get back to the city. Wow. Well, now I want to move there. It sounds amazing. So are there any weekly, monthly, annual special events that we might want to plan our trip around? There are lots and lots of events in Georgia. The thing is that you can never quite pinpoint the date until a week or two in advance. So you can get an idea of a ballpark figure, but it's sometimes a little bit tricky to plan around.

But one time of year that is always amazing and always fairly consistent is the wine vintage in Karketi. So when everyone's picking their grapes and crushing their grapes, that's a really nice time to be in eastern Georgia, especially. So that happens around the end of September. It changes a bit depending on the weather and what's the time. happening with the climate. But around the end of September is a really nice time to be here. There's also a big festival in Tbilisi at that time called Tibley Sober, which is kind of a partially a wine festival, but also it just kind of celebrates the city and has lots of food and music and markets and cool things like that. So hopefully it will be on this year again.

But then, you know, do some research and ask around because at every city in town, or a lot of them have their own mini festivals to celebrate the area and to celebrate regional culture. And these are kind of held throughout the year. So you can always ask your guesthouse or, you know, ask someone in advance if anything's happening. And all of the time you'll find something happening. Of course, there's Orthodox Easter and Orthodox Christmas as well,

which happened sort of a week roughly after the Roman calendar celebrates their holidays. And there's a really interesting if you've never experienced an orthodox celebration. This can be really interesting as well to see the differences and the contrast. Well, so much to do and see. And yeah, I definitely want to come and visit you at some point. Any time. Emily, before I let you go, can we do a little lightning round of your favorite things in Tbilisi? Sounds good.

Okay. Favorite tour? Okay, I have two. I'm sorry. Great. One is to the wine region, sure. And there's a great company. They're called Eat This and they work with those small family vineyards where maybe people don't speak the best English or they're not really on the map. They work with these people and they find the best of the best. So eat this wine tour of Kakheti that you can do from Tbilisi is a really great way to explore the wine region.

And I also recommend a tour of Mitskeptor, which is. Georgia's old capital, and it's just north of Tbilisi, like a 20-minute drive. And doing a tour there, you can tour the UNESCO sites, which are really beautiful. Favorite Cafe? So my favorite cafe is coffee lab, and it's seen a part of the city that's not super popular tourists. It's a little bit out, but it has amazing coffee that they roast there, and it's also a really good place to work. They have fast internet and individual power plugs and all those fun things. So, coffee lab. And what is the coffee culture like in Georgia? Yeah, I think it's changing. It's getting better. Like there are more and more specialty cafe is opening up. There's definitely a coffee

drinking culture. It's just not like artisan coffee. So if that's not your thing, then it's nothing to worry about. But you're going to struggle to find like drip coffee, etc. Coffee Lab does that, but they're kind of one of the few. But otherwise, you know, Turkish coffee is quite popular. in parts of the country. So if you like strong coffee, then that's good. But yeah, it's definitely changing. What's your favorite restaurant? That is so hard.

You can name more than one. I have a blog about my 35 favorite restaurants. I won't go through them all, of course. But one place I love and that I'll always go back to is called Shimomachama. And Shimomachama is a Georgian word, and it means like I ate too much or I ate everything, something like that. It's one of these funny words. And the restaurant is just, you know, it's nothing too fancy. They just do things really, really well.

Like amazing kinkali, amazing salads. The cucumber and tomato salad is kind of a thing that's done everywhere here. And it sounds terribly boring. But wow, they just do an amazing job. The produce is awesome and the salts and spices in this very simple salad. I just phenomenal. So Shimomachama is definitely. one that I'll always keep going back to. Definitely a must try. Very cool. So how about place to hang out at night?

Yeah, there's definitely a nightlife culture. So there's a big clubbing, electronic music culture into Blici. So if you're interested in that, that's, you know, there's heaps to choose from. I'm not so much interested in that. But there's also, you know, a lot of wine bars, a lot of just cool places where you can go. I guess one of the more famous ones is Fabrica, which is, you know, a hostel and a hotel and a creative space, multi-purpose space that is set in this old factory and they have a bunch of cafes and bars and a big courtyard that they open up, just filled with tables. And in the evening, that's a really easy place to go grab a drink, have something to eat, and you'll find heaps of expats and, like, young people who are creative and students, etc., hanging out there. Favorite market? My favourite market is definitely the dessert surface, which is the sort of big produce market in Tbilisi.

And it's quite close to the centre. And it's just a classic produce market where you can go and see how people eat. Basically, you can see what's in season, fresh produce, but also things like handmade cheese and spices and herbs and all that kind of thing. It's just a really vibrant, interesting place to go and learn more about the food culture. And where do you like to go when you're in the mood for other kinds of culture, whether it's like theater or music or whatever? There are so many theatres in Tbilisi. Like anything you're interested in, you can find performances happening. One really beautiful theatre is the opera theatre on Ristavale Avenue.

and they do music, ballet. I recently saw the Georgian National Ballet doing Don Quiriti. They did an outdoor, special outdoor performance. But normally they'll be inside, and the interior of this building is just stunning, like beautiful miniature paintings, like mosaics and just gorgeous. So definitely the opera theatre is one to try and get in and see something while you're in town. What about museums? Are you a museum goer?

Yes, for sure. There's a couple of good ones, actually. One that maybe not everyone thinks to visit is the Silk Museum. And it's kind of a Soviet leftover thing. In Soviet times, a lot of silk was grown in Georgia because the climate was suitable. And this museum was kind of like a place where they gathered specimens and, you know, they researched and developed that industry. But the museum itself is really cool.

It's actually undergoing renovations right now. You can still go if you make an appointment, I believe. But it's just a really old, beautiful building with these kind of, you know, it's a little bit dusty, but in a cool way, you can just see how people were collecting cocoons and pieces of fabric from all over the world and bringing it to Georgia to research how to develop the silk industry. So that's kind of niche, but it's a really cool museum. The other one is the National Museum, which is more of a classic, and that has two exhibitions that are really cool. One is of like artifacts from medieval back much, much, much, much, much, much, much further to like the Caucasus kingdom and, you know, beautiful gold was kind of the thing that this territory was known for.

So that's one. And then they have a Soviet exhibition hall where, they kind of go through that period of history in Georgia and kind of explain what happened. And it's really good if you don't have a lot of background on that period or you don't know how things played out in this particular part of the Soviet Union. So it's quite like emotional and quite intense, but it's a really, really good learning experience. What area of the city would you recommend that we stay in? So I would stay more in that old town area just for convenience just so you can be walking distance for the best restaurant.

etc. Either Solilaki, which I mentioned in the old neighbourhood, there are some really cute boutique hotels and apartments that you can rent through Airbnb or there's the area on the other side of the river, which is also, you know, part of Old Tbilisi, but it's more around Fabrica that I mentioned, the kind of bar hangout place. And that area is called Marjan Ashuli or Plekhanovie is another name and it's kind of more of an up-and-coming area. in terms of cafes and bars and restaurants. And both have options for any budget and our walking distance from anywhere you want to go. And when it comes to like services, like going out to restaurants, bars, taxis, what's the tipping culture like?

Right. So there's not like a strict tipping expectation here like there is in some other countries, but I think it's polite to tip. You might find in restaurants that there's a service charge added to your bill. of 10% and that doesn't always go to the staff. So if the service is good and like to be honest, it's not always good. So in this case, you don't have to tip. You tip where appropriate when you're happy with you when you're happy with the service of course. But you know, if you if you are happy, you can add another 10% onto that. And look, it's so affordable. It's really nothing to leave a couple of extra larry. And I wouldn't tip at a bar necessarily if you're buying drinks over the bar,

but in a restaurant, yes, if you're taking a taxi, you can only want to use an app. There's no Uber here, but there's one called Bolt. And Bolt gives you the option to just add on a one or two Lari tip. It's really easy. And otherwise, if it's a small purchase, you can just round up to the nearest lorry. And although it might not be a strict rule, I think people really, really appreciate it. Well, I love that there's an app you can use to hire a car or like rent or, you know, a taxi. Yes, yeah. That makes life a lot less stressful.

Yes, that's one of my biggest tips is to buy a SIM card when you get here. So it's really easy to do that as well. And then just use the app. Final question, what advice would you give to somebody who's interested in moving to Georgia? I would say definitely come here first and travel a bit and make sure it's for you. Because it's not for everyone, of course. No way it is. You do need to get a feel for it and make sure it's the kind of place you want to live because it's not a perfect point. place nowhere is. It's very easy to fall in love with Tbilisi, but travel around the country and make sure you really get a feel for it before you make a decision. Don't make a decision

based on the affordable cost of living or the tax breaks, basically. Make sure you're interested in the language and the culture and the people and the food. That would be my biggest tip, but also to look beyond Tbilisi. Like I've lived in a few other cities and there are even some larger towns that would be really nice places to live, especially if you don't mind being a little bit out of the loop, I guess, with bars and things like that. The nightlife certainly and the expat community is very centred in Tbilisi, but if you don't mind being a little bit apart from that, places like Batumi on the Black Sea, Kutai Sea, which is why I live now, and even city like Zediti, Tel Lavi, they have so much to offer. So look beyond Sibley and be open. And be

open to other options. Well, thank you so much, Emily. Where can we find out more about you? So I recommend you head to my blog. It's called Wanderlosh. And if you Google Wanderlosh, Georgia, you'll find your way. I've written a lot about Georgia and the region, mostly about traveling here, but also a little bit about living here. And then I'm on Instagram, just under my regular name, my plain old name, Emily Lush, and on Facebook, it's all linked from the site. So, yeah, that's where you can find me. Well, thank you so much, Emily. Thank you so much.

I don't know about you, but I am searching for flights to Tbilisi right now. It is currently September. Don't know when you're listening to this, but as I'm recording, this is actually one of the perfect times to go. And as Emily said, this is like when they're harvesting all the wine. So who wouldn't want to be there for that? And now a little update from a previous guest. So Ivy Summer was on an episode on Greece, and she talked to us all about like the cool things to do in Thessaloniki. and she actually moved to that city since our interview. Well, one of my podcast listeners

heard that interview and she was moving to that region as well. So she connected with Ivy. They met up, hung out, had a great time, and now they are friends. And I just think that is the coolest thing and the reason why I do this podcast to foster more exploration and connection in this world. So if you've got any stories like that, then send them my way. It makes me really happy. That's all for now. Go ahead and follow the show or hit subscribe so you can hear more episodes like this. And if you would like my help taking bold action on your own dreams, like living abroad, changing careers and other life transitions, visit live without borderspodcast.com. Thanks for listening and have a beautiful week wherever you are.

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