Today’s drive was short – only about 3 hours, much of it up a winding hill with nice views of the fortress on the top of the hill, the valley, and the snow-capped mountains in the far distance. Our destination was the town of Signaghi at the top of the hill. It was surrounded by a stone wall with towers and several churches. We’ve been in Muslim countries for so long, it’s strange to now be in a Christian country so close to the middle east. We stayed in a guesthouse in the center in town.
Anna, Barb, Chris and I walked around the town, looking at shops and stopping for nice views. A lady was selling something that is locally known as “Georgian Snickers” – they take walnuts and string them together and then it is dipped in a grape juice and flour concoction that eventually gels around the walnuts. They look like a cross between homemade sausages and candles. To eat them, you pull the string out and then eat the whole thing – there’s no type of skin to peel off. They are mildly sweet.
At the bottom of the wall, we found a restaurant with a view of the valley and mountains. We ordered 3 lemonades for Barb, Chris and I and they brought us three fizzy sweet drinks in three flavors and colors – a lemonade that tasted like Sprite, a pear drink, and a bright green Tarragon flavor drink that tasted a bit like medicine or mouthwash.
We relaxed in Barb and Chris’ huge room in their guesthouse and drank some really nice Georgian wine. We then went to a very fancy local restaurant where I had a carrot/dill/garlic salad, corn bread, and a whole fried trout with 1/4 bottle of wine for about $10.
Anna and I, as well as some others, were staying in Nana’s Guesthouse. She was a nice Georgian lady who speaks English very well. She was excited to hear I am from Washington state – she had gone on a Wine tour to Washington state in the past and as I was on the internet in the chilly common room, she came a wrapped a blanket around me that had “Seattle” embroidered on the side.
Steps: 18,620
Sat, Nov 16
I had a big walk before breakfast. I had originally planned to walk around the city walls for sunrise over the mountains but the mountains were all clouded over. Instead, I ended up walking 3 Km out of town to the Ninos Convent and monastery. They were reconstructing the big church there and there was a fascinating workshop outside.
Recent Comments