Tbilisi: Dry Bridge and Dining

Sandy and I visited Dry Bridge awhile back, but it's such a unique place, I knew Kate would like it.

I told one of my English-language students that I found Dry Bridge to be poignant; she told me she liked how a Georgian news reporter described it: That Dry Bridge isn't so much about history, but about Georgians selling their own past. This fits.

Kate was in the market for some art, and almost immediately fell in love with an oil of an old building.

The artist hadn't even finished hanging all of her work. Kate's object of affection is on the artist's left. Taupe and white hues. Blue doors.

Tbilisi - Dry Bridge.

Kate asked the price. It was enough to give one pause; to mull over while drinking a mug of beer.  We looked around a bit more, then crossed over to the cafe adjacent to The Old House restaurant. The cafe has outside seating along the river. Shady, cool, a sense of privacy and country within the city. We both ordered a pot of lobio, Kate getting lobio "straight" and me getting the lobio with Rachuli ham (for which Racha is famous).

Delicious. Kate and I liked the earthenware dishware. In the interest of transparency, I must confess that we felt the tableau needed a splash of color, so we borrowed the luscious pitcher of irises from another table for a more proper stage.  

Tbilisi - Dry Bridge. Cafe adjacent to Old House restaurant, along river. 

 

We had intended to connect with Sandy here, but because of a misunderstanding about which bridge we'd meet at, Kate and I resumed our visit at Dry Bridge, while Sandy began a pleasant walk toward Rustaveli Street, where we agreed to hook up later.

I bought some earrings to complement to a red-glass ring I bought at Missouri Bluestem in Columbia a number of years ago.

Tbilisi - Dry Bridge. Earrings purchase. Ring from Missouri Bluestem in Columbia, MO.

 I also bought a blue and green silk scarf.

Tbilisi - Dry Bridge. Scarf purchase.

Finally, I bought a sports medal that I wear on a silver chain:

 

Tbilisi - Dry Bridge. Sports medal.

I was on a shopping binge.

Some other Dry Bridge sights on this day.

Tbilisi - Dry Bridge. A mace?!

Tbilisi - Dry Bridge.

Tbilisi - Dry Bridge.

 
Kate continued to consider the painting, but we moved on up to Rustaveli Street and met with Sandy at Entree, a favorite eatery and wifi place. We sat outside at one of Entree's cafe tables.

Sandy discovered she'd lost her jacket somewhere on her walk up to Rustaveli, and despite her retracing her steps, it was not to be found. This, however, didn't stop us from catching a bus up to Mtatsminda for the afternoon.

That night, after Sandy left for Gori, Kate and I dined at the Old House restaurant by Dry Bridge.

The barbecue we shared (among some other things) was quite good.

Out on the patio was the fire for barbecue and also the tone (toh-nay) oven for bread.  

A foursome of men sang. At first we were underwhelmed. We felt as if we were present at the Georgian version of the Lawrence Welk show, with too-perfect, white-bread pop songs (presumably). It wouldn't have surprised me to see bubbles appear in the dining room. A staid group of tourists dined quietly in a corner. Kate and I conjectured about their nationality - some place known for sedate people. Maybe Scandinavian.

Periodically, a woman and two men burst out from the kitchen swing doors to engage in traditional dance. Later, the singing men swung into some traditional songs, a cappella, eschewing the electronic keyboard. That's when it got good.