Beachside in Batumi

Batumi. Georgia. Days 74 – 76  July 12th to 14th 2019

Lifelong learning – that is what we intend to continue, as we nudge into older age. And being a nomad is the perfect way for us to do it (no, not everyone but it is for us). So many lessons to learn. These past weeks in Georgia have seen lessons learned about ourselves and our travel.

Getting rid of guilt is a big lesson and one I am slow to learn, and to leave behind. Guilt that you cannot see it all, nor do everything, in every place. Working on learning to choose what is important to us.

Guilt and feeling wasteful taking lay days – yet lay days seem necessary when your brain is fizzing on all the history and culture you cram into it. Relax into those lay days instead of wasting them feeling you should be doing something else.

Guilt about eating too much of a good thing especially here. They even have a word –  Supra – a Georgian term for a feast and Georgian food is delicious. Georgian people are very hospitable and enjoy plying you with food. Georgian wine and mouthwatering and leave you wanting more. Too much of a good thing could be detrimental to your health. Katchapuri I am looking at you!

Guilt Guilt time-wasting Guilt.

Getting over guilt was helped by practical stuff this week. Sometimes life on the road collides with life back home – read Tax, Bills, Banking, Legal stuff. Best to find a nice place and get it done. Thankyou Batumi and Naira apartment – the perfect place for getting stuff done.

 

A days travel from the mountains to the sea – the Black Sea and the ballooning beachside town of Batumi. Higher-than-high-rise rub shoulders with traditional homes and Soviet apartment blocks. Architects seem to have made sport of outdoing each other with building design and decorative features.

Reaching Batumi after our amazing road trip through the Georgian mountains we were ready for some lay days. Our wonderful apartment and 4 days proved the perfect combination. No guilt … well maybe a little hanging around.

We have not got to the highly recommended Botanic Gardens – but we fixed our Financial management App. We did not ride the cable car across Batumi and up the mountain – but we prepared our tax. And so it goes – not guilt free but getting better.

Our apartment is one in a large block of older style –  possibly converted Soviet apartments – that stand in tired but lively rows across Batumi. A patchwork of styles, colours and additives front the blocks – shining silver corrugated iron panels, lacy wrought iron screens, concrete pillars, concertina shutters.

The bonus for us is that once inside we overlook the sea and beachy boulevard below us – a guilt reducing view given all of life wanders or drives noisily below our balcony.

Sitting on the balcony we watch the weather come across the sea towards us. One day a grey, thick clouded sky, and empty beach. The next day a bright blue cloudless sky with the sand covered in multicoloured beach umbrellas and stark white reclining chairs for hire.

Between us and the sea is the road filled with vocal cars and even more vocal police – sirens and loudspeaker at frequent intervals. Beyond this, the boulevard for walkers and another for bikes, trikes, peddaloes and many other forms aimed at entertaining and moving humans and their children. The bright red boulevard is lined with entertainment and eating possibilities for all ages and appetites.

A long daily walk is a commitment we have made and this is the perfect place. We might not be sightseeing but we can join in local street life.

Walking the streets you see life lived in the apartment blocks and courtyards. Children play on the streets, in the carparks, in apartment block entrances – looked over by mothers, grandmothers, and neighbours from above. Men playing backgammon in small cafes.  Women winching washing along aerial lines, calling out to children playing below. Men gather to tinker with recalcitrant cars in the carparks and streets. Small ground level windows become tiny shops selling Shoti – warm loaves of boat shaped bread – squeezed in between daily life and supermarkets.

 

Walking towards the old district large treed avenues begin. Apartment blocks become more evenly painted and kept. Shops more Americana, restaurants more Instagram friendly. Yet still older buildings wedge between the new. At the centre are dressed up old buildings, stained glass windows, gold leaf.

Wandering the old streets we bumped into the old Bank of Georgia building decorated with an Astronomical clock  showing time, sunrise, sunset, zodiac signs and more on a large clock face of Roman numerals – shades of blues and gold highlighting each function

A regular stop at our local supermarket demonstrates a new efficiency in shopping for groceries. Gone are the hours standing looking at rows of groceries, the dithering about is that chicken stock or something unknown. We are helped by a shopping list, the help from friendly fellow customers, Google Translate, and in this supermarket – an array of marvellous helpers that seem to be responsible for various food stuffs – Dairy, Wine, Delicatessen etc.

“Yoghurt or Matsoni?” I ask and immediately a recommended brand is in my shopping basket. “  Do you want sparkling wine?” another asks and magically it is in my shopping basket – and quite delicious it was too.

Most of our stay we prepared meals in the miniature kitchen. Two meals out were memorable – one was lunch at Retro on our last day – with Adjaruli Khachapuri. And yes the photo above got forgotten until the centre was already mixed together – picture a whole golden egg and knob of butter atop melting Georgian cheese!

The other was dinner at Uolli – described to us as good food and instagrammable décor! I had barbecued sea bass – white soft flesh, crispy skin whole little fish. For starters we shared our last Khinkali – both trying hard to eat as taught but spilling meaty juice on our plate,

 

https://youtu.be/Mh2XK-_U_Zw

And it would not be possible for me to leave Batumi and Georgia without a couple more balconies: