Day 5 April 25, 2026 Tbilisi
Connie is under the weather today and chose to remain at the hotel. She coughed a lot during the night so not much rest. It is a real bummer to be sick on a trip.
Rob did go on the tour. First stop Jvari Monastery. It’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site. According to traditional accounts, on this location in the early 4th century Saint Nino, a female evangelist credited with converting King Mirian III of Iberia to Christianity, erected a large wooden (or vine) cross on the site of a pagan temple. The cross was reportedly able to work miracles and therefore drew pilgrims from all over the Caucasus. This may be why there were a large number of opportunities to do some souvenir shopping. Lots of shops. However, the merchants were not out bothering people. Many of our group bought items to take home.
Then down into Mtskheta, one of the oldest cities in Georgia and a sacred pilgrimage site. We toured the 11th-century Svetitskhoveli Cathedral. Tradition says Christ’s mantle is buried here. The cathedral is recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. It is currently the second-largest church building in Georgia, after the Holy Trinity Cathedral. There was a traditional baptism in progress which included a traditional crying baby. It was a very long service. Several of our group watched for at least 30 minutes and had to leave before the service was completed. We felt sorry for the baby who was ready to leave after about 5 minutes.
For our farewell dinner we went to Barbarestan. Connie did manage to join the group. The dishes are from a 19th-century recipe book by Duchess Barbara Jorjadze. Every dish was artfully presented and served to us by the waiters. We had almost as many waiters as guests. Some of the dishes were small portions on a large plate. For the first time we did not have tomato and cucumber salad. We had a choice for main course of beef tenderloin, pork, sturgeon, rabbit or vegetarian. We both chose the beef. That was really tender steak but undercooked. Rob ordered medium well and it was well rare. Dessert was birthday cake for one of the group. We all sang Happy Birthday. We were also entertained by folk music played on a guitar and accordion.
Spoffords Travel 