Thursday Thoughts – A Walk with Aleksandr in Old Tbilisi

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!

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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.

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.

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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!

Thursday Thoughts – A Story of …Love

In Vilnius I saw this young couple coming out of a church. They did not hold hands. The young lady was holding her dress instead. He was walking casually right behind her.

In one of the old city’s most famous spots, they were photographed.

They looked so young…yet I believe they had known each other for a while. No infatuation shining, no signs of being ”in love”. I watched them silently walking down the street – no sign of guests or friends. Still not holding hands. Half an hour later we saw them sitting on a bench in the square, munching some fast food and watching the air balloons sailing across the sky.

I wonder what they were thinking. I wonder about their lives and their future. I would have liked to listen to their story.