Kutaisi, Part 3: Doing Lovely Nothing

Kutaisi, Georgia. Full moon.

Kathy, Marie, Sandy, and I arose from our hostel beds Sunday morning, and at various stages, made our respective ways out to the shady courtyard. We drank coffee or tea and munched on nuts or cookies and chatted. We did this for most of the morning.

Kutaisi, Georgia.

We pulled ourselves away from this idyllic doing-nothingness to pack up and go to the old city center, where our plan was to find breakfast and ride on the tram. George dropped us off at one of the refurbished areas in old town, in front of a cafe that served fare other than Georgian. I had two eggs, ham, and toast. Very ordinary and plain in a good way. We sat around and talked some more. Presently, we stepped outside and ran into an Iowan couple, Tony and Alicia, who're taking a year to check out the planet. Their website here.

Kutaisi, Georgia.

Kutaisi, Georgia.

The four of us ambled toward the tram area, through a charming pocket park, only to see an irresistable tableau: shady trees by the river with tables and chairs just waiting for us to gather round for more doing-of-nothing. We didn't even make an attempt to resist. The breeze within the shade was cool and sweet.

















Seeing as how we had a three-hour marshrutka ride back to Tbilisi (with Sandy jumping off at Gori), we knew we couldn't sit here all day. We reluctantly left this spot for our tram ride.

Kutaisi, Georgia.

I liked how the red and yellow tram cars looked old, with pleasing curved lines.















The tram operators aren't shy about packing people in. Yikes.

BTW, the cost of the tram ride is 50 tetri each way.

Kutaisi, Georgia.

We got up to the top and wow! Another pretty park - bustling with families enjoying the rides or just walking about, singles sitting with a cold beer in the plentiful shade. We didn't intend to stay long, but we found ourselves again seduced into just .... being there. Marie and Kathy especially loved the diversity of trees here (and in the Kutaisi area in general). I loved the Spanish music piped through the park, a nice change from the pop one often hears. 

Kutaisi, Georgia.

   
The clock was ticking and we had to think about that ride back go Gori and Kutaisi, so we pulled ourselves away and went back down on the tram.

Kutaisi, Georgia.

 
The river level was much higher today than it was when Sandy and I visited Kutaisi in March.

Upon landing, I asked a Georgian where to catch the #1 bus back to the new part of Kutaisi, where we'd catch our marshrutka. He personally escorted us to the precise spot. This is what Georgians do for guests in their country.

We selected a marshrutka and after a little kerfluffle about the fare (we were charged 12 lari, which differed from the 10 lari it cost to get there from Tbilisi), we were on our way.

Loved the WCs at our pit stop.  A Georgian woman and girl, sitting nearby, burst into laughter when I took a photo of the WC. This pleased me. I don't mind at all when, as a tourist, I provide good-natured entertainment to the local folks, whether it be due to my pronunciation, performing drama queen street theater, or taking photos of what they believe to be the mundane.

Pit stop between Kutaisi and Tbilisi. The WC.

A good weekend.