Tremezzina near Como Lake, Italy
Tremezzina is located on the western banks of Lake Como, right in front of Bellagio, and is the result of a recent merger of the comunes of Lenno, Mezzegra, Ossuccio, and Tremezzo.We discovered this picturesque Italian town during our about a week-long trip in Italy during the mid-November 2019. According to Lake Como Travel website a scene from Star Wars were shot here:Visiting Tremezzina means having the chance to enjoy a place that is rich in atmosphere, history, and attractions. For example… did you know that some Star Wars’ scenes were shot here?TremezzinaActually we didn't even visit the town of Tremezzina, instead, we made a stop to make a…
Semarah Lielupe Hotel & SPA
Lielupe Hotel SPA & Conferences by Semarah is located in a calm area of Jurmala, surrounded by forest and 400 m from the Baltic Sea. It features a spacious kids club with different games and toys.We booked this hotel in mid-December 2019, for a two-night stay and paid in total $257 for two separate rooms (as my mom was traveling with us)Elegant rooms at Lielupe Hotel SPA & Conferences feature a safety deposit box and a balcony. Private bathrooms come with a hairdryer and toiletries.Room at Hotel Lielupe The room size could be bigger, but except that everything was good. We even got a free baby crib, which our baby girl is not even thinking to use anymore.The view from the…
Guest House 'Rivendell' in Borjomi
Rivendell, Eco-friendly hotel with wooden rooms and organic garden, is located in Borjomi.After discovering that we spend more and more time at luxury hotels across Georgia, we decided to return to the roots and instead of fancy 5-star hotels to choose a home away felling by choosing stay at guest houses/ family-run hotels.At guest house Rivendell we stayed for one night at the end of June 2019 for that we paid just $40. Free parking and breakfast included. For a luxury stay in Borjomi see: Top 10 Luxury Hotels in BorjomiRoom at Guesthouse RivendellSimple, nothing special, our room came with a balcony and bathroom. From the downsides staying at guesthouses I should note - lack of…
Mintos.com Review 2020 (36 Month of Investing in Peer to Peer Lending)
I've been investing in the Mintos.com peer to peer lending marketplace since the beginning of 2017, or it has been already 36 months or three years since I've been exposing my funds to this Latvian fintech platform. In the past three years, I've made a nice revenue of EUR 1,477.86 (before tax) and in today's article, I decided to share a quick overview for the past three years and also make a quick glimpse for my plans for 2020Disclosure: This article contains affiliate links to mintos.com peer to peer lending website, by clicking on links on this page and by making investment on mintos.com, I might earn affiliate income…
Fabrika Tbilisi
Fabrika Tbilisi is a stylish hipster place located on Egnate Ninoshvili street 8 in a renovated Soviet Era factory building, Fabrika is the space for rebellious minds to create and share.Once a Soviet sewing factory has been revived and transformed into a multi-functional urban space bringing together enthusiastic individuals ready to stretch their minds with new exhilarating experiences.First discovered back in 2016, this place has been on our radar ever since - I wouldn't call myself as often guest here, but I find this place chill. Fabrika TbilisiSpace now continues its life as the popular hotspot that unites urban style cafes and bars, artist studios and shops,…
December 2019 Dividend Income Report - $235.94
Welcome to the thirty-second (#32) dividend income report, covering earnings I've made from dividend-paying stocks and peer to peer lending in December 2019.Last December we spent some 10 days in Latvia, unfortunately, global warming has hit Latvia too and instead of snowy meadows and white fir trees, all we got was some gray haze and green grass.Christmas tree 2019Every citizen is allowed to cut one fir tree from Latvian State Forests (Latvijas Valsts meži), there are rules that apply, but here we got our Latvian tree (we have another live tree in Tbilisi)The last December was quite OK in terms of dividend income. Also, I almost recovered from my bad option trades I was…
2019 in Review and Financial Goals for 2020
I'm 34 years old now and I have a goal to save one million dollars by the time I will turn 60. Just 26 years to go. I've been documenting my journey towards financial independence for the last three years already.In today's article, I will review the past year of 2019 and take a quick glimpse at the New Year of 2020.Make sure to check out previous yearly review articles here:2018 in Review and Financial Goals for 20192017 in Review and Financial Goals for 2018In 2019 I made a huge shift from a focus on peer to peer lending and cryptocurrencies to option trades..For now, I can surely tell - options trading is the best thing I have discovered in 2019.…
Keti's Bistro
Keti's Bistro is another stylish Tbilisi restaurant located on Tamar Chovelidze street 3 (opposite to hotel Stamba)My better part took me here just before the New Year 2020, and I found this place quite a chill. We agreed to order here some steaks before going to the Christmas market opposite the Radisson hotel. As we were out with our almost 18-month baby girl, we wanted to make sure we will go to a place with a lot of space and few people. During our time at Keti's bistro we were the only guests and that helped. Baby girl was happily running throughout the bistro, while we enjoyed the food. Win-WinSteak in mushroom sauce in Keti's BistroThe…
Hotel Lenno (Italy)
4-star hotel Lenno is set in an elegant building just off the main road, and right on the shore of Lake Como, in the fantastic Gulf of Venus. There is free Wi-Fi.We booked this hotel in mid-November 2019, during our week-long trip to Italy/Switzerland and paid about $110 per night. We arrived here from the lovely town of LeccoWe were lucky and managed to get a baby crib for our 16-month old daughter:Hotel Room at Lenno hotelThe room was spacious, we even managed to order some food to our room and paid just some EUR 30 extra for some pizzas and salads:Ordering dinner at Lenno hotelAt Hotel Lenno you can taste typical Italian dishes and prestigious wines,…
Tbilisi Christmas Market 2020
In today's Piece of Life series, a brief photo story from the Christmas market held near Radisson Blue hotel Tbilisi. To get here we took a taxi from our apartment to Keti's bistro. After finish steaks and Cokes we were ready to explore the market. The little one was excited the most.Christmas market in Tbilisi 2019/2020From traditional Georgian souvenirs to hot wine. All the classical Christmas market stuff.People at Christmas marketI did find this picture funny - smoking is still very popular in Georgia, especially among young people. I wonder what it will be like in 10, 20 years?The main Christmas tree in TbilisiChristmas decorations in TbilisiChristmas decorations in…
New Year's Eve Fireworks 2020 Tbilisi
As every year I contribute to fireworks photography, 2020 was no exception, from our Tbilisi apartments balcony I made dozens of long exposure night photography.A sturdy tripod, ISO 400-3200, f stop 3,5 up to f11 and exposure from 4 sec up to 10 seconds. The magical beauty of night photography.Tbilisi fireworks 2020With SPX still trading I found myself running from the balcony to inside the room to check if SPX has reached 3224 levels (at the end it closed above 3230)Long exposure to fireworks photographyFireworks from Tbilisi 2020That said, have a very prosperous 2020. Trade safe
Georgian Museum of Fine Arts
Georgian Museum of Fine arts is located on Rustaveli avenue just opposite to Tbilisi parliament building. The museum has been opened for public just recently at the end of 2018. It is interesting to note that currently, it is the only building in Georgia built purposely to house art exhibitions.The museum houses over 3500 artworks, created by over 80 artists during the last 70 years. The museum exhibits private art collection of the family of Dr. George (Gia) Jokhtaberidze and Manana Shevardadze, founders of Magticom, the largest telecommunications company in Georgia.There is an entrance fee of GEL 15 (2019), we paid a half-day long visit here in early November 2019. There…
Lecco town in Italy
Lecco is a small city in northern Italy, some 50 kilometers (31 mi) north of Milan. The city lies at the end of the south-eastern branch of Lake Como.The Bergamo Alps rise to the north and east, cut through by the Valsassina of which Lecco marks the southern end.We visited the town of Lecco for a couple of hours in mid-November 2019, during a week trip to Italy/Switzerland. Really stunning.Como lake near LeccoThe lake narrows to form the river Adda, so bridges were built to improve road communications with Como and Milan.There are four bridges crossing the river Adda in Lecco: the Azzone Visconti Bridge (1336–…
Grand Hotel Del Parco - Bergamo Airport
The Grand Hotel is a modern, peaceful hotel set in parkland just 6 km from Bergamo.It offers air-conditioned rooms and suites, a fitness centre and free parking. A scheduled shuttle service to/from Bergamo Train Station and Orio Al Serio Airport is available on request.We booked this hotel in early November 2019, for a night after landed at Bergamo airport. Nothing fancy, but a decent 4-star hotel for budget money near Bergamo. We paid about USD 68 for a one night stay here.Grand Hotel Del Parco - Bergamo AirportEach elegant room has parquet floors, a flat-screen TV with satellite channels, a minibar, and a modern bathroom.The Hotel Grand Del Parco offers a large buffet …
Weekend trip to Baku, Azerbaijan
At the start of August 2019, we traveled to Baku Azerbaijan.
For me, this was my first time in Azerbaijan. Our trip here was in the frames celebrate a birthday in one of the former Soviet Union member country capital cities, so far we have been to Yerevan, Tallinn, Vilnius, Kyiv, and now Baku
To get here, we booked a train ticket from Tbilisi and traveled from Tbilisi central station. Before entering Azerbaijan we had to apply for an e-visa online (which has to be done some 5 days before departure).
Now, huge was our surprise arriving in Baku and trying to buy return trains tickets to Tbilisi - it turned out every ticket was sold out. We were left with no other option…
Mushtaidi Park in Tbilisi
Mushtaidi park and garden in Tbilisi is great for activities with kids - it features a Ferris Wheel, choo-choo train, carousels and more. The entrance in the park is free, but there is a fee for carrousels. Park is well maintained and quite popular among locals. I first discovered this park a couple of years ago while cycling around Dinamo arena. Sculptures at Mushtaidi parkThe Mushtaidi is one of the oldest parks in Tbilisi and was founded in the 1930s. The first garden on the site of 5 hectares was opened by Mir Fetekh-Agha Seyed Tavrizi, who arrived in Georgia from Iran in 1828. He was a religious leader of the Shiites in Azerbaijan in Iran. The name of…
Azcot Hotel in Baku
Set in a 19th century building on Fountain Square, Azcot Hotel is located in the heart of Baku and offers air-conditioned rooms with a flat-screen satellite TV. It features a 24-hour front desk and free parking on site.We booked Azcot Hotel for a one night stay (actually paid for two nights) in early August 2019, and paid for our stay about USD 120. We booked two nights because we had a plane back to Tbilisi in seconds night evening, not willing to spend the whole day on legs we booked two days.The building and location where hotel is located is great. The service is OK, the interior is old and asks for renovation.The stay at Azcot hotel partially reminded me a stay a couple of years…
Georgian Parliament Building in Tbilisi
The Parliament of Georgia Building is located in Tbilisi on Rustaveli Avenue, close to the foothills of Mount Mtatsminda.The building complex was constructed as the House of Government of Georgian SSR on the site of the demolished 19th-century Alexander Nevsky Cathedral.For those of you interested in Soviet Architecture, here you go another cool object of interest in Tbilisi. See: Brutal Tours - Explore Soviet Georgian Architecture in TbilisiThe complex consists of two buildings; the "upper" building was designed by Viktor Kokorin and Giorgi Lezhava and built from 1933 to 1938. The "lower" building, along Rustaveli Avenue, was constructed by the same…
How To Enable Google Adsense ads.txt file for Drupal on Nginx
Around early September 2019, in my Google AdSense dashboard, I noticed a warning informing me to create a separate ads.txt file.
I followed the on-screen instruction and did what was asked.
After two months (at the start of November) I noticed my earnings from Google AdSense have dipped more than half and the warning was still there.
Earnings at risk - You need to fix some ads.txt file issues to avoid severe impact to your revenue.
Authorized Digital Sellers, or ads.txt is an IAB initiative that helps ensure that your digital ad inventory is only sold through sellers (such as AdSense) who you've identified as authorized. Creating your own ads.txt file gives you more…
Tavada Restaurant in Baku
Tavada restaurant is another fine example fo great Azerbaijani cuisine and service. Located on Mardanov Brothers street this place serves fine Azerbaijani and European cuisine.Discovered in early August 2019, during a weekend trip to Baku.Kid friendly - got a baby chair for our 13-month old daughter + asked to make mashed potatoes for herMashed potatoes especially for babiesLovelyDolma with a yogurt sauceIf there is a reason to visit Azerbaijan, then it' s because of DolmaChicken and veal kebabs at Tavada restaurant in Baku