After the long ride on the train it was nice to sleep late in a comfortable hotel room. It felt luxurious to lounge until sunlight hit the curtains, and to take a long, slow shower after that.
We went downstairs for breakfast, and we were directed to the breakfast area behind the lobby. There was a small buffet set up with a good mix of European and Georgian breakfast foods. The most surprising thing was a big bottle of cha-cha on the table with some small glasses nearby. Apparently some people liked to get their morning started with a bang.
Above the bar counter was a TV playing Georgian music videos, and between the music and the low budget production I was enthralled. I could have watched those all day, but we had other things we wanted to do. We ate big at breakfast, since we hadn’t really eaten much the previous evening.
This was the tail end of our trip, and during our previous stay in Tbilisi we had covered all the sightseeing that we wanted to do. These last two days were just for relaxation, eating whatever we wanted, and to decompress and enjoy some slow time. With a totally open schedule and a great hotel it was an easy couple of days.
Since we were in Tbilisi we wanted to take another crack at finding really good “authentic” khinkali. After researching the internet we went back out to try and find the restaurant that we couldn’t find on our first day at the beginning of the trip, Pasanauri. According to Google and some reviews they were still in business, so we would just have to search harder.
After doing some supermarket shopping at a “Smart Super”, we found Pasanauri, but unfortunately they didn’t open till 1 pm. We had about an hour to kill, so we went to a cafe with seating outside on the sidewalk, and we ordered a couple glasses of local white wine to help pass the time. The glasses arrived and they were filled to the brim – we ordered a glass and received almost half a bottle. We’d have to be careful here.
While we worked on our wine a couple of young guys wearing hip-hop clothes and crooked hats came and sat at the tables. The waiter didn’t look happy and kept commenting to them, and eventually we figured out that they were waiting to smoke water pipes inside the restaurant. We saw so many bars with water pipes set up outside – it must be an Arabian thing.
Finally it was time for Pasanauri. By the time we got into the restaurant it was our fourth attempt to eat there, so I felt a little satisfaction as we sat in a booth and ordered up two kinds of khinkali – cheese filled and traditional. The place was very popular and it took about half an hour for the food to come, but it was worth the wait. I can’t say I was a big fan of the cheese khinkali – most cheese in Georgia was pretty salty – but the regular ones were great. We were getting better at eating them with just our hands, too.
Completely stuffed we went back to the hotel to take a break from the oncoming heat, taking naps, writing in the journal, and making shopping lists for last minute souvenirs. These breaks were essential to keep up our stamina in the heat.
In the evening we went back to our favorite street to try another cafe. At first we went to a place that advertised a free wine tasting, and they led us underground to their muggy, humid cellar. The guy who poured for us wasn’t as confident with his English and just poured fast and furiously through four wines. We thanked him and moved on – the vibe of the place wasn’t quite what we were looking for for dinner.
However, down the street we found a better restaurant. The name of the place was “Alcoholic”, which seemed a good fit for us, and there we had some wine while sitting outside in the cooling evening. Kuniko ordered some khachapuri and a beef stew, and I did my best to help. To be honest I was still full from our khinkali feast and couldn’t do the dinner justice, but Kuniko stepped up and really powered through. The khachapuri was a different style than what we had last time, and I think we both preferred this version without the buttery egg and the dry bread edges. The stew was perfectly flavored and had big chunks of rich tender beef. I’m sure it would be a popular dish in winter as well.
We took a slow stroll back to our hotel, stopping at a convenience store for a little light shopping to stock our hotel fridge with water and yogurt. Thanks to all our experience previously walking around Tbilisi it was easy to find our way without a map. We were feeling more and more like locals. We went to bed planning a similarly light schedule for the next day.
