Travelguide for Georgia, the Country

David Rich's article on Georgia, the country, seems more like the perfect travelguide, recommending certain aspects of the country and giving tips on airlines as well as hotels. is a detailed article on the wonders of the country Georgia, from the wine, to caves, to weather, to museums.

The entire van, including the diminutive granny next to me, was uncorking bottles and my poor little cup was inundated, which meant the next two hours passed with a blur. I vaguely remember stops every half hour to purchase additional bottles, whole roast chickens, and fabulous Georgian bread hot from the kiln, shaped like a pig with two tails. We arrived in Tbilisi, I seem to recall, exceedingly happy.


Its tree-lined boulevards converged on an ancient town crammed with old churches and pointy towers bisected by a great river, the name of which I could never remember how to spell or pronounce: Mtkvari. This was typical of Georgia, which has a language similar to no other country on earth and uses an alphabet that looks faintly Thai, which is to say cursive lower case and incomprehensible to Westerners.


I’d suggest skipping the Stalin Museum in his hometown of Gori, Georgia, which chronicles his earliest roots from the rustic house he was born in to photos from a religious education at the Gori Seminary to the excellent railroad car he rode to Yalta to shape modern Europe along with Churchill and Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The museum was a sickening eulogy to the rosy side of brutality, concealing the beast. The most satisfying exhibit was Stalin’s Death Mask.


Gori was partially redeemed by an ancient cave city ten miles (16 kilometers) east at Uplistsikhe, founded in 1000 B.C.E. and the residence of Georgian kings when the Arabs invaded, 150 caves remaining of an original 700.

In its heyday Vardzia housed 50,000 people, naturally centered on a church, that of the Assumption. Georgia’s most impressive and spiritual church is located at its ancient capital a few miles north of Tbilisi at Mkskheta, the grand Sveti Tskhoveli Cathedral built in 1010 on the site of the first Georgian Church founded in a very early century.

Bring on Bordeaux

Ahhh Bordeaux... a magical place, with excellent cuisine, beautiful people, and of course their wine. During my backpacking trip my friends and I made an extra effort to make it to the city as well as the country. When I was there I enjoyed taking wine tours in only a few of the many wineries throughout. My friends and I stayed in the cheapest hostel of our entire trip - at just $8 and night, we were in heaven. TravelLady Magazine wrote a great introductory article Welcome to Bordeaux:

The wines of Bordeaux inspire descriptions like "extraordinary balance" and "gorgeous showstopper," but many people do not know there is actually a city of Bordeaux.

Bordeaux is one of France's largest cities and has some of the country's finest 18th century architecture. Adventuresome chefs, hoteliers and winemakers are infusing both the city and its surrounding countryside with a welcome new energy. And an ultramodern new tram system provides service to most of Bordeaux’s neighborhoods. Nestled along the western coast of France, Bordeaux is lush with 2.3 million acres of vineyards. There are about 40 different wine regions, the four major ones are: Pomerol, Graves, Pessac-Leognan, St-Emilion and Medoc. Visitors to this region can stop at a chateau to taste young wines from the barrel and then, to complete the experience, enjoy a mature vintage of the same wine with dinner.

Like most wine capitals, Bordeaux has always been a good eating town, and its inhabitants are fond of its oysters with little sausages, foie gras, and roasted chicken, duck, and lamb.

For more information, visit TravelLady Magazine