Tbilisi Aerial Tram

20 April, 2015 | Tourism objects | 23 seen

Tbilisi aerial tram is just in recent years built cable cars in Tbilisi connecting Rike Park (or more precisely Europe Square) to the fortress of Narikala. It eases your travel up to the  Narikala fortress in huge. Prior to this cable car the one and only way to get to Narikala fortress was just by climbing up in the hill. For some that climb can make a lot of troubles.

View from Narikala footsteps to Tbilisi city

You can get a nice and lovely access for views like in above picture taking aerial tram up to the Narikala Fortress. In above image: The Bridge of Peace, Rike Park and Presidential Office.

Cable car station at Narikala

Tbilisi aerial tram

You can see the church of Sameba in background.

The cost for a drive is relatively cheap: 2GEL ($0.89/ EUR 0.83) for a single ride - you should have to buy a Tbilisi Metro Card before you can use this cable car. It's not a problem to get one on site at cable car station. The price for metro card is again around GEL 2.00. You can deposit on your metro card some more money and you can use it for as many passengers you wish for (just make sure there is money on it). Using this metro card you can use Tbilisi Public transport, like Metro, Bus and even marshrutka as well.

The bottom line:

Tbilisi Aerial tram is a nice alternative for tired ones how cheap and effectively get up to the Narikala fortress and start your exploration of Tbilisi city from up there. You are not obligated to visit Narikala fortress,you can go around mountainous hikes as far as you wish. I would highly recommend to use hikes to climb down from the Narikala instead of using Aerial tram, but that's up to you.

Flea Market Near Dry Bridge In Tbilisi

19 April, 2015 | Shopping Venues | 70 seen

The Flea market near Dry Bridge in Tbilisi is an interesting place to visit,  just to look on old Soviet time relict's, starting medals, belt buckles from Soviet military, ending movie posters of famous Soviet day films.

As well you can find here a lot of old tableware (some might be even antique). Most of the items you will find here is pretty much useless but they still can give you some fun if bought as an souvenir. Well that's why we call it a flea market right?

On the lovely afternoon at the start of April I went to Saarbrucken square to buy a minced meat (they have one of the best meat in the town on a small shop some 100 meters from restaurant Tiflisi) I decided to make a detour and visited Dry Bridge's flea market to practice more my photography skills and to show you, how this place looks like. The result you can see bellow: 

Saarbrucken Square in Tbilisi

The Dry Bridge is located close to Saarbrucken Square, you will notice first merchants just right on the bridge

At Flea market

A horn, miniature clay pot or some surgical equipment? Sure, you will find that on Dry Bridge's flea market

Crystal chandeliers

Those one probably are from Soviet times, when a "Czech" crystal chandelier was among the best a proletariat could have

Sell your stuff at Flea market

Poster in Georgian and Russian saying: I will buy: medals, cards, coins, photos and else.

Lens and photo cameras at Dry Bridge market

As well some other interesting optometric tools

Soviet medals for sale at Dry Bridge market

I believe if you try you can find some older medals (like from times of Imperial Russia) as well

Records for sale at Dry Bridge market

If you have a record player you definitely will enjoy something from here

Old Soviet Roubles for sale at Tbilisi Dry Bridge's flea market

If they are real - I have just one question - did they robbed a bank back in those days?

Art and craft at Flea market

Souvenirs from Georgia

Sewn figures

Oh, I really like this photo

Traditional Georgian musical instruments

Porcelain tableware for sale at Tbilisi Dry Bridge's Flea market

Georgian horns and knives

Paintings for sale at Dry Bridge's Flea market

Painted plates

Wool made accessories at Dry Bridge's Flea market

Matryoshka dolls at Tbilisi Flea market

I would actually like to buy that doll with Pirosmani's fisherman on it.

Present meets Past

Georgian born Joseph Stalin with hammer and sickle (in middle) meets present day Georgian national flag (Up left)

The bottom line

Dry bridge's flea market in Tbilisi is a nice place to visit and spend some money if you are into some Soviet style attributes, old records or modern Georgian paintings (most of them are reproductions). 

Tbilisi By Night - Cycling Old Town To Didube

18 April, 2015 | Outdoor Activities | 7 seen

The other day we took again our bikes and made a pretty lovely night ride in Tbilisi. From Old Tbilisi to Didube and back. For some reason my GPS tracker (MapMyRide) didn't worked properly, it missed at least first 2 km from this route. Another thing to mention -  I have a pretty bad camera for night vision shots back at the time I didn't know how to shoot night photography the right way, please don't judge too hard my shots of nightly Tbilisi.

Speaking from cycling's view of point - this route is pretty easy and it's hard to call it a real workout, speaking from Tbilisi by night view of point - this route offers really spectacular views - and if you are into cycling or at least walking I can just suggest you to take this route.

You can take shorter versions of this route as well. Read: Cycling Tbilisi Embankment - evening ride - Dinamo Arena - Didube or Cycling Tbilisi - Night Ride - Tbilisi Old Town

This is a 14.74 km route in Tbilisi, Georgia. The route has a total ascent of 61.76 m and has a maximum elevation of 418.56 m.

Tbilisi bridge in night

Illuminated building on Tbilisi Embankment

Public Service Hall in Tbilisi by night

Bridge of Peace in Tbilisi by Night

Want to see really cool pictures of Bridge of Peace?

Lantern on Mtkvari embankment

GPS tracker on Action

Boulevard near Didube in Tbilisi

Rike Park In Tbilisi

17 April, 2015 | Tourism objects | 33 seen

Rike park is a landscaped territory located close to the Tbilisi Old Town.

You can enter Rike park either crossing the pedestrian bridge of Peace or from the opposite side using stairways from the Avlabari district. There is an aerial tram in the territory of the park which will bring you up to the fortress of Narikala. 

The Bridge of Peace

The Bridge of Peace is a pedestrian bridge used to enter Rike park from Tbilisi old town, in the opposite side at the park you can climb down or up stairways to or from Avlabari district of Tbilisi

Aerial tram station at Rike Park

You can take an aerial ride from Rike Park (tram station is actually located near Europe Square) up to Narikala fortress. 

The building that was meant to become a Tbilisi Philharmonic and Presidential Office at top

I'm not sure regarding future development plans of this Philharmonic Building - the rumor has it... well there is always some rumor...But you should agree - it looks just amazing.

The bridge of Peace from parkside

Tbilisi Philharmonic building

Dwelling house at top of the rock

Girls eating Sugar wool

In the background is the Tbilisi Old town with those nice looking rooftops.

The Bottom Line

Rike park is a really nice recreational zone in the heart of Tbilisi. Be sure to take your camera with yourself to make amazing photos here. Also, you can use Rike park as your starting point to go up to the Narikala fortress by aerial tram.

Coffee Bar 'Entree' Review In Tbilisi (Agmashenebeli Avenue 86)

16 April, 2015 | Restaurant reviews | 21 seen

Entrée is a popular chain of coffee bars located in Tbilisi which serves great coffee, pastry, sweets and even bakes a bread. Today I will write about Entrée located on Agmashenebeli Avenue 86 (close to Marjanishvili square) in Tbilisi. 

As usual for taking photographs I'm using my Samsung phone and using Instagram (then taking them from Instagram and adding to posts - you can read a blog post on how I turned my Instagram account into a photo blog 

Sandwich bar at Entrée

Salad bar at Entrée

Desert bar at Entrée

Macaroon at Entrée

Mmm, really delicious macaroni here, though they have named them as Pasta 

Éclair at Entrée coffee bar

Now - I definitely prefer éclair over some macaroon

Coffee a latte at Entrée

Table at this coffee bar

Certificate of Excellence from TripAdvisor

The Bottom Line

Coffee bar Entrée is one of the rare places in Tbilisi were smoking is not permitted and that's huge if you aren't into smoking. Pastry, sweets and coffee here is just delicious. Stuff speaks English very well. Go try it for yourself!

About Entree

On December 2nd 2008 we created a new network of coffee bars and the “ENTRÉE” in Tbilisi was born. Currently we have 6 locations of our Café: On Rusataveli Avenue, in Vake on the corner of Taktakishvili Street and Abashidze Street as well as in bagebi – chavchavadze avenue #78 on Ts. Petriashvili Street on Pekini Street and Agmashenebeli Avenue #86. 
The coffee bars of Entrée are an original concept having a solid image of a smoke and alcohol free establishment for the whole family to enjoy and drawing attention due to our high international standards.
Together with our French partner we are focused on turning the Entrée brands into the “islands” of French cookery and fine cuisine, according to the wide assortment of products, diverse menu, ambiance and exemplary customer service. 
All Entrée products are cooked under the direct supervision of our staff of highly trained French Chefs and Cooks.
In addition to French bakery products, pastries, croissants, soups, salads and our home made Italian ice creams, we offer European, American, British and other breakfast classics every morning from 8:00am-11:00am. 
Entrée also has our own take out packaging for all of our products including hot drinks, soups and salads which allows you to taste all of our delicious and healthy products anywhere…..at home, on a picnic, in the office as well as our coffee bar a smoke and alcohol free environment.
When the Entrée network was under development consideration of the human factor was our primary focus. From the elaborate selection of our products to the ambiance of our smoke and alcohol free café, every feature was taken into consideration. Our principal is that every element of our baked goods, our fresh baguettes, croissants and pastries has certain significance along with the traditional symbols associated with France such as the vineyards of Bordeaux, “Gitanes” smokes, perfumeries and the Eiffel Tower.

We are open everyday from 8:00AM till 10:00PM

Visit www.entree.ge

How To Protect Drupal Content (Articles and Photos) From Being Copied

15 April, 2015 | Drupal Development | 4 seen

How To Schedule Drupal Posts (Future Date And Time)

14 April, 2015 | Drupal Development | 18 seen

Chashnagiri Restaurant Review in Natakhtari

13 April, 2015 | Restaurant reviews | 37 seen

For many hearing a name of Natakhtari first associations might be related to those tasty Georgian lemonades branded under 'Natakhtari' name. Well, turns out Natakhtari actually is village located in Georgia's region of Mtskheta-Mtianeti, pretty close to nations capital Tbilisi. This village is advanced enough to have pretty sold restaurants located here, and today I will wrote about one of them - Chashnagiri Restaurant.

This restaurant was recommended by a friend of mine, and recently by doing together a short Jvari monastery - Château Mukhrani tour (Be sure to check those posts and learn how with help of friend of mine I tried to became a better photographer) we decided to head here to have a meal.

Chashnagiri Natakhtari restaurant view from Gudauri - Pasanauri highway

You can park your car in front of this restaurant

Opposite side of Chashnagiri Natakhtari restaurant

I was pretty eagger to test my brand new DSLR camera and I couldn't resist to photograph this fog

Chashnagiri Natakhtari restaurant

They have a nice patio / outdoor terrace here, best enjoyed in summertime

Table at Chashnagiri Natakhtari restaurant

Pretty typical interior for typical Georgian cuisine restaurant

Tap beer at Chashnagiri Natakhtari restaurant

Interior at Chashnagiri Natakhtari restaurant

Again, just playing with camera

Cosy fireplace at Chashnagiri Natakhtari restaurant

Keeps you warm in rainy or cold Spring/Autumn/Winter days

Menu at Chashnagiri Natakhtari restaurant

Menu is available in Georgian, English and Russian languages, price are a bit lower compared than those in Tbilisi

Turkish coffee at Chashnagiri Natakhtari restaurant

My standard "welcome drink" at Georgian restaurants

Chicken salad at Chashnagiri Natakhtari restaurant

Tomato and Cucumber Chashnagiri Natakhtari restaurant

Puri - a typical Georgian bread

Lobiani - Hachapuri with beans

Fried Chicken livers

Nadugi - typical for Georgian cuisine

One of mine fauvorite Georgian starters / appetizers. Nadugi is kinda cottage cheese with mint wrapped into thin sulguni cheese plate.

Hachapuri on spit

Another version of Georgian hachapuri filled with sulguni cheese. My favourite; if beacon is added.

Chicken barbecue accompanied with pomegranate sauce

Pork barbecue served with sliced onions

The Bottom Line

This restaurant which name is really hard to pronounce for foreigners is really good, food is tasty, stuff here speaks Georgian, English and Russian. Prices here are really good - a little bit lower than in Tbilisi restaurants. Fol all above seen food we paid around 90 GEL ($40.00 / EUR 36.50)

If you are nearby - please stop by and have a delicious meal in this spacious Georgian cuisine restaurant.

How To Add a Default Image For Drupal Open Graph When Picture Is Not Provided

12 April, 2015 | Drupal Development | 5 seen

Once upon a Time in Odessa

11 April, 2015 | Worth to Watch | 27 seen

Once upon a Time in Odessa is a biographic TV series about Mishka Yaponichik a Jewish gangster from Odessa.

This film is made by Star Media. Babich design. Film is spoken in Russian, English subtitles are provided.

From creators

Mishka Yaponchik was an Ukrainian gangster, Jewish revolutionary and Soviet military leader. Artistic and witty, his bold crimes played out like mini dramas but Yaponchik, always calculating his next move, also had a generous nature. He held huge feasts for the whole population of Odessa, giving money and food to orphans, the homeless, the unemployed, newlyweds as well as families who had fallen victim to gangster crime. Yaponchik was in power for only three years from 1917 to 1919, but these were the most dramatic years of his life, filled with more action than most people experience in an entire lifetime - his rise to power, his daring crimes, his idealism and generosity and his love of two women - his beautiful wife, Tsilia and anarchist Lisa, his loyal accomplice who remained by his side until the end. 

Château Mukhrani Winery

10 April, 2015 | Tourism objects | 33 seen

Château Mukhrani is a winery located in Mukhrani village, Mtskheta-Mtianeti region (somewhere between Mtskheta town and Natakhtari village), Georgia . Idea to head here first arise to friend of mine (another expat)  living here in Georgia.  Friend of me pre-booked a guided wine tasting tour at this place.

On a rainy Saturday morning, after a short visit of Jvari monastery we straight headed to Château Mukhrani. During this tour I learned a few interesting things and facts about Georgian wine making, but most of the time I was practicing my DSLR photography (again with help of my friend).

Although we had agreed our tour will start at 10:00 A.M. arriving on site some 10 minutes late we were informed that our guide will be here just after another 40 minutes, we were invited to a wine tasting room to have a free coffee or tea. So the story can be told now:

Wine storing devices at Château Mukhrani

Our self guided tour started in front of these aggregates / machines

Wine tasting room at Château Mukhrani

We were invited to this lovely wine tasting room to have a cup of coffee or tea while waiting our guide arriving

Wine tasting room at Château Mukhrani

I was so caught up with a new camera I just couldn't to stop taking pictures

Our guide arrived and we started our tour passing by another wine making devices / containers

Wine cellars at Château Mukhrani

We entered a kind of wine cellar labyrinths, listening history of this place. 

The tour guide told that Château Mukhrani produces around 500, 000 bottles of wine per year. 60% of wine goes for export while the rest 40% stays for domestic Georgian market

Wine cellars with oak barrels at Château Mukhrani

Outdoor terrace at Château Mukhrani

We were allowed to enter on the rooftop outdoor terrace here

Grass covering rooftop for wine cellars at Château Mukhrani 

At first when I noticed this I thought - what a strange soccer field - turns out under this grass covered roof are located those wine cellars we just walked through.

Château Mukhrani

The above picture reminds me some scenes from English made movies

Road to vineyards

Since the weather were bad our guide asked do we really would like to see vineyards. I thought what a strange questions, if you are at winery you definitely should visit a vineyards. Latter it turned out that the road heading to vineyards is heavily muddy.

Vineyards at Château Mukhrani

Horse stables at Château Mukhrani

Unfortunately I didn't managed to take any good quality photos of horses and stable inside here, so I'm jut adding this brick wall of stable to let you know - they have a horse stables here as well, and if you are interested you can pre book a horse riding here as well.

Wine tasting Château Mukhrani

Our tour ended at the same place it started at the wine tasting roam, those of you willing to taste wines made at this winery can pay additional money and ... taste wine.​

Georgian cheese and churchela 

Château Mukhrani front view

I actually almost missed this shot but my friend Johann kindly invited me to this standing point, put my camera on tripod, regulated settings on camera and allowed  me to press a shutter button. I'm calling it a teamwork! 

About costs:

A guided tour at Château Mukhrani will cost you around 10 GEL ($4.45 / EUR 4.08) per person. Guided tour with wine tasting will cost you around GEL 35 ($15.50 / EUR 14.30)

About Château Mukhrani

Château Mukhrani is based on the historical tradition of wine-making in Mukhrani region. This is the first and the only true Georgian Royal Chateau, which unites four key components: vineyards, winery, castle and history. In 1512 Mukhrani became the prince’s estate, governed by the Bagrationi royal family. Mukhranian wine production was established by Ivane Mukhranbatoni a famous representative of royal family, political and public figure of the 19th century. In 1876, Ivane Mukhranbatoni returned from France with Chateau concept knowledge and since then the history of Château Mukhani’s winemaking starts.

During the Soviet time Château Mukhrani was abandoned and almost destroyed. In 2003, International Group Marussia Beverages with Georgian partners founded the Château Mukhrani Company. Group intended to revive the estate to its former glory and re-establish production at Mukhrani, combining modern and traditional technologies. New investment group aims to create strong international brands, which will serve as a profound representative of Georgian wine on international market.

In 2007, major investment was made in new winery of Château Mukhrani. Now it is equipped with ultra-modern technology and corresponds with ISO 9001:2005 Food Safety and ISO 9001:2008 Quality Management standards.

Along with modern winery, Château Mukhrani Cellar was also reconstructed, returning to unique origin, which has great historical value. Today the cellar is fully reconstructed and stores 60 000 barrels of wine at constant temperature of 15C.

Since 2007, Château Mukhrani is making wine from grapes harvested in its own vineyards. To make the wine more exquisite and truly unique, winery receives grapes for processing maximum in 15 minutes from harvesting.

Visit www.chateaumukhrani.com to learn more

Blog Monthly Online Income Report - March 2015 - $552.27

9 April, 2015 | Blogging | 41 seen

Welcome to my monthly blog income report. This is the 15th report so far.

I'm doing those report since start of 2014 and they (reports) help me track my online success or failures. I hope they can inspire others as well.

About Online Income in March 2015

In total I earned $619.17 what is a decrease by -34.13% if compared to previous month (February) when I earned $940.05

$619.17 in a month equals to $19.97 per day

Now - a 34% drop in online income is a huge, there are two simple patterns I have found to explain why this drop happened: People have less money to spend online; I'm sending a wrong audience to affiliate programs. Read more about this bellow.

About Blog Traffic in March 2015

Blog traffic March 2015 (Data source: Google Analytics)

March was great month in terms of overall traffic coming to my blog, it did setup a new record, my blog first time cracked a 20,000 user milestone and totalled in 20,499 users.

About Income streams

There were 3 streams which generated some money last month - I prefer to divide them into two subgroups - Affiliate marketing and Display Ads:

Affiliate marketing

Amazon Associates -  $588.98

Display ADs

Amazon CPM - $11.67

Google Adsense - $18.52

Earnings from display ads went up a little bit last month and that's a good sign. While the earnings from my top performing channel (Amazon Associates) dropped sharply from more than $900 in month of February to $588.98 in March.

Well this is a really interesting trend to observe. I'm not 100% sure but I find that March together with month of October are really slow months for Amazon Associates (at least for me). The interesting trend to observe here - CTR dropped below 2%, while it was steady above 3% both in January and February.

There are two patterns I find to explain this - either I'm sending a wrong traffic to Amazon either people have less money to spend and buy new items. I believe the truth is somewhere in the middle.

I believe the coming months of this Spring and Summer season will show lower CTR % for Amazon earnings.

Actually I did have one more affiliate marketing channel - Booking.com.

I have tried to earn some dime with it for already two years but no success yet, though last month I noticed from booking partner central I will probably get around EUR 150.00 commission in month of August. Some person has booked apartments paying more than EUR 2,000. A pretty good commission right? Well I cannot include this booking commission to this report, because I have to wait until month of August. Probably I will have a nice income report in month of August.

About expenses in March:

Linode VPS: $50.00

Facebook ADS: $17.00

Total: $67.00

March 2015 VS March 2014

A year ago my blog was just six months old, back then in March I created my third online income report and earned very modest $5.51

So what has changed a year latter?

My traffic is up from 542 to 20,499, and affiliate marketing is my top earning channel, simple.

Goals/ Forecasts for April 2015

Well - I feel that this spring/summer season won't make me to crack $1,000 milestone. It's hard to tell. I would be happy with anything above $500 this month. But in reality I fear that it could drop somewhere between $250-$400. I have decided to give a free flow for my blog this month. I have no plans of using any promotion or to write some reviews with affiliate links included. I would like to test how my blog performs on a free run this April.

Anchiskhati Basilica in Tbilisi

9 April, 2015 | Churches and Monasteries | 33 seen

Anchiskhati Basilica is one of the oldest (if not the eldest) Georgian Orthodox church's located in Old Town of Tbilisi. The history of this church dates back to the 6 th century AD. Though I have visited it so many times, I haven't yet effectively photographed it. Recently I acquired a new DSLR camera and soon I decided to improve my photographer skills. A walk in Tbilisi is a great both for photo - hobbyists and professional photographers. 

Now back on the subject: Anchiskhati Basilica:

Shadow of Anchiskati Bell Tower falling on Basilica

I'm proud of myself that I managed to capture this interesting composition  - shadow from bell tower falling on basilica.

Information of Anchiskhati Bell tower

According to written here (Georgian/Russian)  - Bell tower of Anchiskhati - characteristic monument to Georgian architecture of late feudalism epoch - according to sources built by Cathotlicos (Patriarch) of Kartli Domentius in 1675.

Icon of Jesus Christ above the entrance in Basilica

Information about Anchiskhati 

Again, written in Georgian and English languages

Engraving of Jesus Christ on entrance doors

Inside Anchiskhati Basilica

It was a Palm Sunday according to Georgian Orthodox Church. What's characteristic for Georgian Orthodox church it's rich with many icons which most often are gold-plated, and Anchiskhati Basilica is no exception.

Inside Anchiskhati Basilica

Oh, probably it's not the best photo of inside of Anchiskhati Basilica, but I'm really proud of myself - I managed to take a pretty decent photo in a low light, those gold-plated icons and candles looks amazing. 

Prayer candles at Anchiskhati church

Again - either it's me getting better in photography either it just pa decent DSLR camera

Crucifixion of Jesus

Well, what can I add to this - Just one - once in Tbilisi - be sure to visit Anchiskhati church.

About Anchiskhati Basilica

The Anchiskhati Basilica of St Mary is the oldest surviving church in Tbilisi, Georgia. It belongs to the Georgian Orthodox Church and dates from the sixth century.

According to the old Georgian annals, the church was built by the King Dachi of Iberia (circa 522-534) who had made Tbilisi his capital. Originally dedicated to the Virgin Mary, it was renamed Anchiskhati (i.e., icon of Ancha) in 1675 when the treasured icon of the Savior created by the twelfth-century goldsmith Beka Opizari at the Ancha monastery in Klarjeti (in what is now part of northeast Turkey) was moved to Tbilisi so preserve it from an Ottoman invasion. The icon was preserved at the Basilica of St Mary for centuries (it is now on display at the Art Museum of Georgia).

The basilica was damaged and rebuilt on several occasions from the 15th through 17th centuries due to wars between Georgia and the Persians and Turks. The brick belfry near the Anchiskhati Basilica was built by Catholicos Domenti in 1675.

The look of the structure was drastically changed in the 1870s, when a dome was added. During the Soviet period, all religious ceremonies at Anchiskhati Basilica were halted, and the building transformed into a museum for handicrafts. It was later used as an art studio. From 1958 to 1964 restoration works took place in celebration of the 1500th Jubilee of the founding of Tbilisi, which changed the view of the church back to the seventeenth-century version, however, it was not until 1991, after the independence of Georgia was restored, that the basilica reverted to religious use.

The Anchiskhati Choir based out of the Anchiskhati Basilica is the world's leading exponent of Georgian polyphonic choral music.

Anchiskhati Basilica is a three-span basilica, divided by two abutments forming horseshoe shaped conches, which indicates the antiquity of its construction. Originally constructed of blocks of yellow tuff stone, the 1958-1964 restoration made extensive use of brick. The structure has entrances on three sides, but today only the western entrance is in use. Aside from the altarpiece, which was painted in 1683 by order of Catholicos Nikoloz Amilakhvari, all of the remaining paintings in the church date from the 19th century.

The Bridge Of Peace In Tbilisi

8 April, 2015 | Tourism objects | 122 seen

The Bridge of Peace in Tbilisi is a pedestrian bridge and one of the most famous tourist spots in the city. It connects district of Tbilisi Old Town with Rike Park over a river of Mtkvari. This bridge is relatively young, it was opened for public just in 2010.

I first discovered this bridge back in 2011, when I first arrived to Georgia. Back then I rented a spacious room in unusual hostel in district of Avlabari, and my first days in Tbilisi I spent there. Just in my third day I decided to find where is that city centre located (I didn't done any planing back then, so I had even not a clue of existence of  places like Liberty square, Rustaveli avenue or whatever).

Back in those days I headed near Residency of President down to the city using Baratashvilli bridge and then I noticed this bridge  -  The Bridge of Piece - I thought - what an interesting bridge they have there, but I first approached it just a few months latter. Don't be as I was - go straight to the Peace of Bridge instead of wondering. 

In a lovely days both tourists and locals pass the Bridge of Peace to enter Rike Park

The Bridge of Peace in Tbilisi

This bridge connects Tbilisi Old town with Rike park, from were you can take an aerial tram to have a drive up to Fortress of Narikala

Bridge is constructed in a bow form. There are added zillions of LED lights on the bridge and in the evening you can enjoy a really spectacular views.

View to Tbilisi Old Town

Just stand at the middle of this bridge and take your best pictures of Tbilisi city. Speaking of photography make sure you have your lens attached. Unfortunately with my KIT lenses I couldn't get any closer shot. Kit lenses are fine.

About Bridge of Peace in Tbilisi

The Bridge of Peace is a bow-shaped pedestrian bridge over the Kura River in Tbilisi, capital of Georgia.

The bridge which stretches 150 metres (490 ft) over the Kura River was ordered by the City Hall of Tbilisi to create a contemporary design feature connecting Old Tbilisi with the new district. The official opening took place on May 6, 2010. The bridge stretches over Kura River providing a unique view of Metekhi Church, Narikala Fortress and statue of city's founder Vakhtang Gorgasali on one side, and Baratashvili Bridge and Presidential Office on the other.

The bridge a design of which reminds of a marine animal has a curvy steel and glass canopy top which shimmers with an interactive light display at night, generated by thousands of white LEDs. The roof is fitted with 1,208 custom LED fixtures designed and installed by the Dutch Primo Exposures and RENA Electronica companies, using 6,040 high-power LUXEON Rebel LEDs with 4,200K color temperature, supplied by Future Lighting Solutions. The handrail glass panels which run along the whole length of the walkway are equipped with embedded linear low-power LED arrays, a product called powerglass, supplied by Glas-Platz from Germany. The lighting is switched on 90 minutes before sunset illuminating Kura River below and buildings on both banks of the river.

The bridge was designed by the Italian architect Michele De Lucchi, who had also designed the buildings of the Presidential Administration of Georgia and Ministry of Internal Affairs; the lighting design was created by French lighting designer Philippe Martinaud. The structure of the bridge was built in Italy and transported to Tbilisi in 200 trucks while the lighting was installed on site during the assembly of the structures.

Art Studio 'Kon-Tiki' In Tbilisi

7 April, 2015 | Entertainment | 14 seen

The other day taking a walking tour around Tbilisi and by in-liking a new camera, after visiting Ancshikhati church (and taking marvellous photos there) my next photo stop arrived unexpected - meet Art Studio - Kon Tiki.

A lovely and narrow street in Old Tbilisi (Ioane Shavteli street)

On this street in distance of some 100-150 meters from Anchiskhati church is located art studio Kon-Tiki

Welcome sign at Art Studio Kon - Tiki

Here is the fun fact - We would probably have missed this charming place if owners of this studio wouldn't kindly and kinda in funny manner invited us inside. We were like just blazing inside though studios street windows, when owners through the window invited us inside.

Georgian style paintings at the front doors before entering Kon-Tiki art studio

Inside Kon-Tiki Workshop

You can buy those small paintings for 30 GEL ($13.35/EUR 12.15) a piece.

Kon-Tiki Workshop in Tbilisi

Paintings and dresses at Kon - Tiki Art Studio

Owners of this art studio not only paints, but sew dresses as well

Daffodils at Kon-Tiki art studio

Couldn't resist to attach this image as well. Seems a macros of flowers are best to learn SLR photography. Looking on this picture I would say I could probably take it in much better resolution, like with more contrasts a bit sharper e.t.c. But hey... I like it anyway.

Dresses at Kon Tiki art studio

Another interesting picture I managed to capture - I like how bulb light plays with the dresses here

If you are into Georgian art and are willing to spend some little amount for buying something fancy from Georgia as souvenir - Art Studio Kon -Tiki in Tbilisi might be one of your choices.