First of all, I want to thank Viveka of myguiltypleasures for inspiring us to go to Georgia. She went there over Christmas and totally fell in love with the city.

The unmistakable charm of the Old Town, the history, the people, the food and wine, brought us here. We stayed for a week, but could easily have stayed longer. I know Viveka is going again this Easter. A bit envious…I am!

We decided to have a guide for one day – a real gentleman, recommended by Viveka, who had accidentally met Aleksandr at the end of her stay. And what he doesn’t know about Old Tblisi (Old Tiflis), its history and architecture – is not worth knowing. Let’s follow him along his favorite streets!

Open any door, and you will either find a staircase or a cat or two…

An old factory yard

The old Caravanseraj from the Silk Road days – imagine the caravan of camels and merchants entering here!

Havana vibes

Tuning

Aleksandr is a well known face in Old Town, and knows every street and every house. He is a former architect – which explains his faiblesse for the Old part of the city.

On the left hand side, according to Alexandr, you see the most beautiful balcony in town. The whole street is very beautiful – but what they are building at the end of this lovely row of balconies – I don’t know…

Around midday it was time to sit down for a glass of wine – resting in the shade. It was an unusually hot day for October, 27 degrees C.

In the streets, children were playing

And more laundry hanging…

…and carpentry

Finally… we were approaching his own favorite, Alexandre Dumas Street. Here the balconies and bay windows seem, if possible, even bigger than in other streets.

The old, cobbled Dumas is rather short and narrow. A document of times gone by – nothing yet demolished, reconstructed or changed. A short glance at Aleksandr, and the light in his eyes revealed just how much he loves his city.

On reaching the end though, we could see newly constructed buildings – and machines working – when the street took a left turn, and changed names.

Somewhere here we found a peaceful place to sit down and rest. Aleksandr’s tour is not over yet, but maybe next Thursday? I hope you enjoyed walking with us – you are very welcome back!