Finally getting around to tackling this post... anything less than a week old is still news, right? :)
Well, a week ago today, Mark, Julie, and I marshrutkaed into Kobuleti again to see Dani and her family. Quick round of Hellos, quick burger at the burger place (YAY!), and then it was time to head into Batumi for an afternoon, evening, and night of revelry and shenanigans of the purest form.
The first thing we did was play "ping-pong" on Batumi's lovely pedestrian Boulevard near the Sea. Ping-Pong is in quotes because we did not bother using any sort of pesky rules or scoring system that would in any way interfere with the enjoyment of our game. Think... ping-pong meets tennis meets wally-ball. Good times. When it began to rain we took shelter on the roof deck of a nearby cafe, and splurged on cocktails beecause, well, there were cocktails available to be splurged on. And hell, Mark and Julie didn't even have my week in Tbilisi to scratch that itch recently.
The Dolphin Show was very cool and the dolphins seemed really quite happy with their situation in life. But the best part of the show was that we ran into Lika, our language teacher from Tbilisi! She was in town with a friend, and later met us at Press Cafe for some catching up.
Press Cafe did not disapoint once again on a cool atmosphere and yummy western food. Plus they had wine by the glass (this almost never happens in Georgia) for only 2.50 lari. Win. Press Cafe is popular with the expat crowd, and we randomly ran into two new folks in our Program -- Anna and Chris. Very cool people.
After Press Cafe it was time to find some dancing... so we walked to Club Sublime. Girls got in free (thanks Georgia!) but poor Mark had to pay a 10 lari entrance fee! We tried to make him feel better about that.
It was techno night at Sublime... and none of us are particularly into that kind of music, so after dancing for a while (and paying their ridiculous prices for drinks!), Anna said goodnight and the four of us cabbed it back to Kobuleti.
Now, the cab had a sunroof, which the driver opened for us. I stared at that thing for a good minute, thinking "I bet this guy won't be pissed if I stand up and put my head out of the sunroof while he's going 50 miles an hour on a twisty Georgian highway." So I did. And it was awesome! So much fun. I have always wanted to do that but have never gotten the chance. All four of us had a chance to experience the wind tunnel, and too soon we were back in Kobuleti.
And by literally following the dulcet strains of a bass beat, we found exactly the kind of beachfront dance bar we'd been looking for all night! This place was packed and the music was good. We had a ball.
Called it a night around 3:30, and crashed in the Guesthouse room that Dani's mom had arranged for us. Did I mention her family is fantastic?
The next day, everyone was up for the beach, but Julie and I wanted to get a quick bite to eat first. We found a great cafe called Bob Marley. The bar band was there rehearsing, and we met Levon, the band's guitarist and frontman... who just got back after living all over in the US for eleven years. He even had a southern drawl he picked up during his time in Tennessee and Mississippi! He helped us order from the Georgian menu, and later on, surprised us with these...
Aren't they beautiful!? I asked what they were called and got told "screwdriver." Well, I've definitely never had a screwdriver this pretty, but I'll totally take it. Just as we were thinking of leaving, Mark and Dani joined us. I showed Dani the picture of my screwdriver, and she was hooked. More cocktails, food, and a manly beer for Mark!
After THAT, everyone ordered a round of Long Islands. And the tone for the afternoon had pretty much been set.
A few years ago, during college football season, the guy I was dating at the time wanted to see a game at a fab local sports bar in Old Town, Bugsy's. This was before I became a die-hard Caps fan, and have never liked football, but I've always had a soft spot in my heart for good pizza and beer. I agreed to go, and before I knew it we had been sitting at the bar in Bugsy's, drinking beer and munching when we got hungry, for eight hours.
That was the longest time I'd ever spent in one bar at a stretch. Until last Sunday, that is.
We kind of just hung out in Bob Marley, chatting and drinking and occasionally ordering another pizza, for something like eleven hours, all told.
Dani's host family joined us around 9:00 to see Levon's band play. Dani got up and sang with the band.
And then... I got up and sang with the band too. Be afraid. :)
Finally, Levon helped us negotiate a decent cab fare back to Poti, and we said goodbye to Dani and her awesome host family, and to Bob Marley which had started to feel like home.
Fun overload for a weekend... and all this may have something to do with how I'm on a 5-lari-a-day budget for the rest of the month. So worth it!
Well, a week ago today, Mark, Julie, and I marshrutkaed into Kobuleti again to see Dani and her family. Quick round of Hellos, quick burger at the burger place (YAY!), and then it was time to head into Batumi for an afternoon, evening, and night of revelry and shenanigans of the purest form.
The first thing we did was play "ping-pong" on Batumi's lovely pedestrian Boulevard near the Sea. Ping-Pong is in quotes because we did not bother using any sort of pesky rules or scoring system that would in any way interfere with the enjoyment of our game. Think... ping-pong meets tennis meets wally-ball. Good times. When it began to rain we took shelter on the roof deck of a nearby cafe, and splurged on cocktails beecause, well, there were cocktails available to be splurged on. And hell, Mark and Julie didn't even have my week in Tbilisi to scratch that itch recently.
 |
| My GnT was kind of crappy, actually. Oh well. |
Then it was time for a quick trek through the rain to see the Dolphin Show!
Press Cafe did not disapoint once again on a cool atmosphere and yummy western food. Plus they had wine by the glass (this almost never happens in Georgia) for only 2.50 lari. Win. Press Cafe is popular with the expat crowd, and we randomly ran into two new folks in our Program -- Anna and Chris. Very cool people.
 |
| Anna with Julie, Dani, and Mark |
It was techno night at Sublime... and none of us are particularly into that kind of music, so after dancing for a while (and paying their ridiculous prices for drinks!), Anna said goodnight and the four of us cabbed it back to Kobuleti.
Now, the cab had a sunroof, which the driver opened for us. I stared at that thing for a good minute, thinking "I bet this guy won't be pissed if I stand up and put my head out of the sunroof while he's going 50 miles an hour on a twisty Georgian highway." So I did. And it was awesome! So much fun. I have always wanted to do that but have never gotten the chance. All four of us had a chance to experience the wind tunnel, and too soon we were back in Kobuleti.
And by literally following the dulcet strains of a bass beat, we found exactly the kind of beachfront dance bar we'd been looking for all night! This place was packed and the music was good. We had a ball.
Called it a night around 3:30, and crashed in the Guesthouse room that Dani's mom had arranged for us. Did I mention her family is fantastic?
The next day, everyone was up for the beach, but Julie and I wanted to get a quick bite to eat first. We found a great cafe called Bob Marley. The bar band was there rehearsing, and we met Levon, the band's guitarist and frontman... who just got back after living all over in the US for eleven years. He even had a southern drawl he picked up during his time in Tennessee and Mississippi! He helped us order from the Georgian menu, and later on, surprised us with these...
Aren't they beautiful!? I asked what they were called and got told "screwdriver." Well, I've definitely never had a screwdriver this pretty, but I'll totally take it. Just as we were thinking of leaving, Mark and Dani joined us. I showed Dani the picture of my screwdriver, and she was hooked. More cocktails, food, and a manly beer for Mark!
After THAT, everyone ordered a round of Long Islands. And the tone for the afternoon had pretty much been set.
A few years ago, during college football season, the guy I was dating at the time wanted to see a game at a fab local sports bar in Old Town, Bugsy's. This was before I became a die-hard Caps fan, and have never liked football, but I've always had a soft spot in my heart for good pizza and beer. I agreed to go, and before I knew it we had been sitting at the bar in Bugsy's, drinking beer and munching when we got hungry, for eight hours.
That was the longest time I'd ever spent in one bar at a stretch. Until last Sunday, that is.
We kind of just hung out in Bob Marley, chatting and drinking and occasionally ordering another pizza, for something like eleven hours, all told.
Dani's host family joined us around 9:00 to see Levon's band play. Dani got up and sang with the band.
And then... I got up and sang with the band too. Be afraid. :)
Finally, Levon helped us negotiate a decent cab fare back to Poti, and we said goodbye to Dani and her awesome host family, and to Bob Marley which had started to feel like home.
Fun overload for a weekend... and all this may have something to do with how I'm on a 5-lari-a-day budget for the rest of the month. So worth it!
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