My third day in Georgia was filled with beauty and peace. The beauty appeared before the tour itself even began. While driving to Garedji we stopped just to look at the view.
Sometimes Georgia is so beautiful that it looks unreal. There are few places that are so breathtakingly glorious that they beg to be put on canvas. I wanted to lie down and touch the ground because absorbing it with my eyes wasn't enough.
The next place that we went to invoked another intense feeling, but it was an intense feeling of serenity,which might be an oxymoron. It was a monastery in Garedji which was carved from stone. I'm fairly skeptical at times but when I came there, I felt a wave of serenity hit me. I wanted to cry from the immense feeling of purity that the monastery evoked.
The only thing that disturbed the serenity was a cat that insistently meowed at us. We have yet to figure out why.
After the monastery we set out for lunch and I found the staple of my diet in Georgia.
Coming from America, I'm very wary of street vendor food, but in Georgia, street vendor food is just as or even better than food in restaurants. This bread is the best bread I had ever eaten and it is like a mix between naan and French baguette. We bought a few loaves from women who made it in front of us, bought some tomatoes and cheese from a few other street sellers and created a fantastic feast. I will miss this bread in America.
We went to several other monasteries afterwards
The monastery for Saint Nina in Bode.
And saw a beautiful view from Signahi- the city of love. It's called the city of love because its wedding registry is open 24 hours a day.
After that we went to Velistsihe where people tried wines and I befriended a dog.
At the end of the day, we stayed at the home of a wonderful woman by the name of Nelly. She taught grammar and literature at a local school and was one of the kindest people I had ever met. This is the meal that she prepared for us.
Not only did she let us stay in her house and gave us food, but she also scolded us good naturedly when we were unable to finish all of it.
I really hope we'll be able to visit her again some day.
It was a fantastic ending to the day of beauty and serenity.
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