Perambulation therapy

After too many days of feeling a little blue, a little homesick, a little tired of the apartment and each other, C and I went for a four-hour walk around Tbilisi.

I put on my Dad's old Levi's jacket, my army-green carpenter pants, and my black-rimmed geek glasses and left the apartment looking maybe a *little* like a squat Asian freak among the statuesque (or somehow statuesque-seeming) Caucasians of Tbilisi, but comfortable and determined to cover some ground.

The walk took us up Rustaveli Avenue, up through Vake, and eventually into Saburtalo. On our way, we went through Vake Park (a 558 acre public park), 40% of which seems to be taken up by a huge fountain/memorial that includes a Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, a 1976, 92-foot tall "Statue of Victory," and a dramatically tiered (though currently scuzzy and still) fountain. On the way down, C counted 335 steps from top to bottom.

A young man was playing with his Pitbull in Vake Park. There was a branch about 5 feet off the ground, with a short length of rope dangling down. The dog kept jumping up and chomping down on the rope. When it did this, it was suspended in the air, and would sometimes swing back and forth like the pendulum of a clock, or would describe rapid acrobatic parabolas (think chopper blade) in the air. There was a small amusement park with some very old, and some very new rides. We saw a cat napping in the sun by one of the older, closed kiddie-rides.

A busy but pedestrian-accommodating street connects Vake with Saburtalo. On the way there, we passed "Championebi's," reportedly a very good place to come for mtsvadi. There was also a hand-written sign, advertising "khashi dilas 7-saatistan" (Khashi mornings from 7 AM). Khashi is a Georgian hangover remedy that, according to one source, consists of "a thick bouillon made from cow’s hooves and offal that have been rubbed in corn flour and boiled for 12 hours over low heat. The dish is served steaming hot with lavash bread and a carafe of vodka." (Needless to say, C and I will be checking in for khashi early one of these mornings.)

Got lost trying to find an Indian restaurant that may or may not still exist. Our friend Shane gave us good directions, but that was way back in September, and the avenues are wider in Saburtalo & the buildings taller and more generic than in our end of town, plus the street names are unfamiliar. After an hour of fruitless wandering, C and I split a candy-bar (misleadingly labled "nuts" -- it was basically a snickers bar with NO nuts inside - Boo!) and hopped a metro home.

Now my feet hurt, but I don't have depression any more.