Border control asked me zero questions and Oleg spoke no english so it was a quiet middle of the night drive into the city (never had someone standing in the airport with my name on a sign before, saw it and started laughing, confused Oleg).
Oleg let me in, gave me keys and used all his non-verbal skills to show me the water hearter and furnace and such and then I climbed into bed. Gorgeous suite and comfy bed.
Woke up around noon and am sick, all my concern for this trip was around my weak stomach but this is just a boring old cold, I feel awful.
Went out for a few groceries and then back to bed.
Got up around 6pm and went out searching for something to eat and perhaps a human voice.
Walked through the old city and stepped into a random little bistro, Kala. Great place, friendly chatty waitress, helped me with my Georgian (completely impossible language, not part of any other language family, unrelated to anything).
I've blathered for months now to all of you about the history of wine in Georgia, suffice it to say that they have been doing it longer than pretty much anyone and make really unique wines, like this Saperavi. Georgian wines are unique enough that my waitress insisted I try it first as lots of people don't like it. The wine is great, powerful, meaty, tannic.
With the wine she suggested an appitizer that I forget the name of, basically fancy cottage cheese in this amazing unbaked dough.
Main course of a cheesy cornbread that I also really should have written down the name of, so good, heavy and salty and a potato and pork stew, also great and also some traditional dish that I forgot the name of.
My waitress also told me proudly about the local mineral water and brought me a bottle, she was correct, the water is freaking fantastic, really fizzy and minerally.
Back home and back to bed, going on a big countryside tour all day tomorrow and feeling pretty rough and snotty right now.
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