Shaping Rock Garden

10 February, 2017 | Home Remodeling | 10 seen

It was on the same day when guys and I demolished walls and poured in concrete for home foundation, while the better part of me, decided to shape a little bit rock garden we recently formed from stones used at cowshed's foundation, during pond excavation works. See: Building a Rock Garden and Pond Digging - Part 3 - The Result

The idea was simple, we are looking to plant some flowers and plants into rock garden, we should make a good soil there, and also we should give some shape and trails inside, so we could enjoy our evening coffee's while sitting on the rocks and watching amazing sunsets, probably playing with cats. See: Red Sunset in our Rock Garden - Cool Evening Mood and Cats on The Rocks

We agreed to lay film on the ground and at some of the parts of rock garden add gravel (the same we are using for concrete) while in other parts (flowers and plants) the soil from pond. It was just a matter of some 50 wheelbarrows (both gravel and soil) and we got something like this:

Gravel for rock garden

Smaller stones are used to shape outer borders of rock garden. For the record, in Spring we still had a large dump here consisting from old TV screens, see: The Big Spring Territory Cleanup

View towards house from rock garden

Yup, someone will need cut grass here, see: Edward The Brushcutter AW-BC620TH Trimmer

Independence Square in Kiev

9 February, 2017 | Tourism objects | 16 seen

Maidan Nezalezhnosti (literally:Independence Square) is the central square of Kiev, the capital city of Ukraine.

One of the city's main squares, it is located on Khreshchatyk Street in the Shevchenko Raion. The square has been known under many different names, but often it is called simply Maidan ("square").

I had a brief chance to visit and make one photography of Kiev's Maidan Square at the end of 2016, during unplanned short Kiev city tour after our flight to NYC was delayed for about 10 hours at Borispol instead of waiting at airport's transit area for our flight we opted to have some Kiev tour. At that included a trip to the heart of Kiev.

So here I was, for the first time in Kiev, standing in front of Maidan Square. Weather was cold and I really didn't wanted to take camera out from my backpack, but after all I made one shot here:

View of Maidan Nezalezhnosti from Khreshchatyk Street

Since the start of Ukraine's independence movement in 1990, the square has been the traditional place for political rallies, including four large-scale radical protest campaigns: the 1989 student "Revolution on Granite", the 2001 "Ukraine without Kuchma", the 2004 Orange Revolution, and the 2013–14 Euromaidan. Maidan is also a regular site for non-political displays and events.

Independence Square is one of three squares located along Khreshchatyk, close to the northeastern end of the street. It is situated close to European Square, which is the terminal end of Khreshchatyk. Besides Khreshchatyk, which splits the square in half, several other streets lead to the square. These include Architect Horodecki Street, Institute Street, Michael Street, Kosciol Street, Minor Zhytomyr Street, Sophia Street, Taras Shevchenko Lane, and Boris Hrinchenko Street.

The square itself is a multi-level location. At ground level is the intersection of Khreshchatyk, which splits Institute Street (vulytsia Instytutska), and Michael Street (vulytsia Mykhailivska). Underneath the square, the Kurenivsko-Chervonoarmiyska Line of the Kiev Metro stretches across with its station Maidan Nezalezhnosti located underground.

Rooms Hotel Kazbegi

8 February, 2017 | Hotel reviews | 52 seen

Located at the base of Kazbek Mountain in Stepantsminda Village, 7 km from the 14th-century Gergeti Trinity Church, Hotel Kazbegi features a lobby bar with a library (I even got local Georgian Forbes magazine in English) and free Wi-Fi.

We booked our stay at Rooms hotel Kazbegi in the middle of December 2016, and were accompanied by friends of us, who luckily had a ground transport and were able to take us there, as speaking of public transport, I have no idea is it actually possible to reach this place (probably by some marshrutka). Anyhow, seems Rooms Hotel is mostly visited by those who have a SUV car and who can afford to spend about USD 120-150 per night in a hotel. 

Although as stated on hotel's booking.com page:

Kazbegi bus stop, offering a link to Tbilisi, is 10 minutes’ walk from Rooms Hotel Kazbegi, and Tbilisi Airport is 185 km away. A shuttle from the airport to the hotel is provided at surcharge. 

For our 2 night stay here we spent about USD 300 + some USD 50-80 at hotels lobby bar. I decided to come here mostly for one reason - to make some photography, which I did:

View towards mount Kazbek and Gergeti trinity church from Rooms Hotel

Many people I have met, or have heard, are saying is there is a reason to stay at Rooms Hotel Kazbegi, then it's because of the view. Here you go - view from Rooms Hotel towards mount Kazbegi and Gergeti Tirinity church with town of Stemantspinda at the bottom.

Made a lovely 25 seconds exposure from a trip. For some reason, this picture got very popular on Georgia Expat Photographer club Facebook page.

Lobby at Rooms Kazbegi hotel

The Rooms Kazbegi’s stylish restaurant, decorated with wooden furnishings, serves international cuisine. Guests can read a book and have a drink in the lobby bar, while meals can be enjoyed on the terrace with the mountain view.

Dinning hall at Rooms Hotel Kazbegi

Had a chance to make a decent HDR photography properly exposing both interior and exterior (mountains through the window)

Breakfast at Rooms Hotel Kazbegi

Let's Keep Demolishing Walls, Construct Foundation From Ceramsite Blocks And Pour In Some Concrete

7 February, 2017 | Home Remodeling | 8 seen

Yeah, let's do that - another day on steroids from my home remodeling adventures during late Summer 2016 (August)

Frankly speaking, by now, browsing through the images from last Summer works I'm getting a little bit dizzy - it looks way too dramatic.

On the other hand, we already had experience and knowledge about demolishing walls, see: Remove a Wall to Finish Foundation Concreting, also constructing missing foundation from fibo blocks, not to speak about pouring concrete footing. 

Today I had two guys helping me out Uldis and Guntars. We did a lot today.

Demolishing log wall

Just look how enthusiastic this guy seems.

Now the bad thing, at this part of house we were missing foundation completely,so it was tricky to demolish walls without having some ground support, but we still had to pour in concrete footing, on which later to add fibo ceramsite blocks. We did a footing thing a few days ago for the part were log wall is hanging in the air. See: Fall Through The Ceiling, Dig a Trench Around Foundations, Stone Wall Concreting. 

Idea for today's works were simple, we will demolish a wall, but before that we will add supporting beam to store roof in place. Unfortunately the old flooring (if we can call it so) started to crack and we had a few minor landslides, making our further works a little bit complicated, as we had to avoid any landslides while pouring in concrete for foundation.. 

Constructing foundation from fibo blocks

As you can see, foundation footing is already there, all is leveled and we will construct foundation just for this part today. While for the other part, we still need to pour in footing.

In the background, guys are finishing mortar thing ot the other wall we completed few days ago. See: The Last Row of Aerated Concrete Blocks Masonry 

Overall scene

Did I had a good sleep tonight? Definitely no - I was too worried about that one supporting beam and its ability to hold roof on place. It turned out better than I thought, and soon we will actually start constructing walls from aac blocks here as well. Doesn't it look just amazing?

Hiking trails near Turtle lake, Tbilisi in Winter

6 February, 2017 | Outdoor Activities | 14 seen

I'm fond of hiking/trekking trails near Turtle lake in Tbilisi, I have done several routes, with my favorite being unaccessible anymore after the Tbilisi flooding in June 2015.

See: Failed attempt to complete Tskneti - Turtle lake hiking route

Now, since it was about a year since our latest hiking activities in Georgia, on a lovely's Sunday morning (February 5, 2017) we decided to catch a taxi (see: How to Get around in Tbilisi by Taxify (Taxi Mobile Application) ) and head to the Turtle lake and let's see. I was into a photography mood, so I packed a new backpack I ordered recently from Amazon to store gear and of course a tripod. I decided to go with a HDR and panoramic photography today, also made few short video clips.

Hiking trails in Tbilisi in Winter

God's path is untraceable! Today I met an American teenage girl in the middle of nowhere (trails around Turtle lake in Tbilisi) being able to speak 6 languages (English, French, Russian, Hebrew, Georgian and even Megrelian). About two years ago I met on the same trails a Russian American speaking Georgian. Holy trails.

Some outpost from the past

There are many interesting buildings down the path, back from the Soviet days, I keep wondering what has been in this are back in these days. See military heritage

View towards Tbilisi

A TV tower and the city - another great angle with a huge rock in the foreground.

Some concrete installation

I still keep wondering, it seems it should be used for military means.

Frozen Turtle lake in Tbilisi

Quite unique scene

Snowy and steep trails

Yes, it was fun to climb here with a tripod and camera installed on it, some parts of the trails were really slippery, and I have no choice but took the snow covered, thus puffy, rock road.

Tasty Ukrainian Cuisine on Khreshchatyk street in Kiev

5 February, 2017 | Restaurant reviews | 19 seen

Wow, my first (yet, only one) Kiev restaurant review and I can't remember name of this place.

Shame on me. On the other hand it was not planned to make any Kiev restaurant reviews this time, as we were having just a layover flight in Kiev before departing to NYC. See: About Tbilisi - Kiev - New York Flight by Ukrainian Airlines

Unfortunately our flight was delayed for 10 hours and instead of waiting at Borispol's airport transit area we opted to have some Kiev tour. At that included a trip to the heart of Kiev (at least I think so)

As Wikipedia have helped me to learn more now, we were wondering somewhere around Khreshchatyk (central street) in Kiev. And it was just that time to start looking for authentic Ukrainian cuisine, quickly we found ourselves in one of the backyards of beautiful Khreshchatyk street and noticed following entrance (at that stage I thought there is written name of this place)

Restaurant in Kiev

Seemed very Ukrainian for us and we decided to enter. This was a good choice.

Ukrainian traditional cuisine

Mmm, the stuff I like and often feature at food blogger series - pancakes, dumplings, mashed potatoes. Yummy.

Cafe at Hotel Mate in Khulo

4 February, 2017 | Restaurant reviews | 5 seen

I just love those small roadside cafeterias and cafe at Hotel Mate in Khulo (region of Adjara in Georgia) is just another great discovery. 

Hotel Mate is located in the center of Khulo in front of the hospital up the hill from central road. Address: 1 Davit Aghmashenebeli st, Khulo

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Hotel cafe in Khulo

The food served at this cafe is just delicious, let's say made with countryside love.

Traditional Georgian meal - Ostri

Ostri is a hot, spicy beef stew that is very popular in Georgia, both as a home prepared meal and as a dish in restaurants.

A Perfect Harmony

3 February, 2017 | | 6 seen

It was on a still and tranquil evening after a hard work day on home remodeling - for the record, today was one of the toughest days in my constructors career as we faced some really though obstacles to overcome.

More about that, learn in this article: Fall Through The Ceiling, Dig a Trench Around Foundations, Stone Wall Concreting

In the evening, during sunset, I took camera and decided to document overall progress both of house and surrounding territory. I made just some random shots, not thinking much of scene or composition, when suddenly realized objects been captured to the SD card for some reason forms harmony - they duplicates and reflects. An idea for Piece of Life article born - A Perfect harmony

Overall scene in the front of house

Summer dinning table outdoors placed in the meadow, grass just mowed, some aac blocks in the background, a grill, pond and a veggie garden.

A pair of shovels

For no reason they were propped against wall each to other. 

Two hay forks

Seriously? I didn't even know we have these.

Mowed grass

Almost ideal line. 

Back view of house

One part already been replaced with aac block, while second still waiting

veggie garden after strong wind and rain

Kyiv-Passazhyrskiy Railway station

2 February, 2017 | Railway / Bus / Ferry | 20 seen

Kyiv-Passazhyrsky, also called just as Vokzalna, is a railway station in the capital of Ukraine, Kiyv (Kiev)

The Kiev Metro station Vokzalna is adjoining the complex, constituting the station's main intersection with city transport. The Kiev tram terminal Starovokzal'na  (the terminal for Kiev's High-Speed Tram line) is also adjacent via a passageway.

I had a chance to spend here some 5 minutes, during our latest flight Tbilisi - Kiev - New York city, as our flight was delayed for about 10 hours at Kiev - Borispol airport we decided to use these hours by exploring Kiev, instead of waiting at airport's transit area.

Out of the airport terminal at Borispol, there are buses taking passengers either to Kharkivksya or Vokzalnaya. The ticket prices are really cheap price. Since we didn't had any clue which station should we go, we asked just a bus going to the city center. Bus driver told, we must then go to the Vokzalnaya. Latter turned out that this railway station is not at all located in city center, but some 7 km from it, though from here it is possible to take a metro ride to the city center, we took a taxi instead, but before that I spent my five minutes photographing this place, making my first photography in Kiev.

Railway station in Kiev

Officially, Kyiv-Pasazhyrskyi Railway Station is regarded as the whole huge complex of passenger terminals, railways, depots etc. with respective personnel. Practically, such installations in post-Soviet countries are widely known as railroad vokzals, which means the building(s) and services immediately serving passengers for various types of transport. The official name Kyiv-Pasazhyrskyi is not used colloquially, appearing only in tickets, schedules etc. By the same token, the locally popular terms "Central Station" and "Southern Station" do not appear in such technical literature, as for internal purposes they are treated as the same location.

The name Kyiv-Pasazhyrskyi (literally Kiev Passenger) is also used to differentiate it from other railway stations across the city such as Kyiv-Volynsky, Kyiv-Moskovsky, Kyiv-Tovarny, others.

Buses serving Borispol airport

Although this railway station is located some 30 km from Borpispol airport, it took us about an hour ride.

McDonald's building near railway station

I wonder is that some central office space for McDonald's or what? Anyhow we didn't try to get answer on this question, as weather was really bad. We took a taxi and headed to the city center.

Postcards from Khulo

1 February, 2017 | | 5 seen

It was in middle of November 18, we booked a train ticket to Batumi, leaving Tbilisi. Prior to that we booked a really lavish hotel with bath tube next to king size bed for a really cheap money, see Hotel Sputnik in Batumi. After spending lazy first days in Batumi, see: 16 things to do in Batumi I decided to get to the place I had heard so much before, to the Khulo.

Khulo is a townlet in Adjara, an autonomous republic in southwest Georgia, 88 km east of the regional capital Batumi, in the upper valley of Adjaris-tsqali. The town and adjoining 78 villages form the mountainous Khulo District.

We hired a taxi driver in Batumi and agreed for a 100 lari price (about USD 37) he will takes us to Khulo and back. Wow, that was one of the best trips I've had that year. That part of Adjara is just spectacle, waterfalls, arched bridges, mountains, rivers... you name it. A true inspiration for Piece of Life.

Khulo

Although I didn't made my best shot here, I'm still pretty happy with result. For those of you who have been to the Sighnaghi, don't you find some similarities from this distance shot? 

A typical day in Khulo

The town, formerly known as Khula and Hulo, was a merchant place located on a medieval road that linked Samtskhe-Javakheti to the Black Sea coast. During Ottoman times, Khulo was a chief settlement of Upper Adjara governed by the Khimshiashvili family. In 1829, it was briefly occupied by the Russian force of General Osten-Sacken who sacked the Khimshiashvili residence before withdrawal. Khulo's population, largely Islamized under the Ottomans, diminished dramatically under the Russian oppression of Islam in the 1870s. A series of floods and avalanches in the 1990s-2000s induced another wave of migration from the mountainous villages of the rayon.

Khulo townlet

In the district are medieval historical monuments - Khikhani Fortress (10th century) where rebel against Ottoman Empire Selim Beg Khimshiashvili was defending himself until he was captured and beheaded in 1785. On the way to Khikhani fortress there is an active Monastery of Skhalta cathedral (13th century).

Besides historical monuments there are many other interesting tourist sights in Khulo district such as Beshumi Resort and Green Lake located near Goderdzi pass as well as Khulo Cable Cars which is used for daily means of transportation by the locals from Khulo to Tago village.

Blog Traffic and Income Report 2016 - 635,048 Users / $18,586.41

31 January, 2017 | Blogging | 47 seen

It is just that time of the year  when I'm looking back on previous 2016 year in my blogger's career.

In today's article I will reveal some data behind the blog scenes - both traffic and income for the whole year of 2016.

This blog now is more than three years old, and for the last three years it has gone a long way, I have developed my writer skills from so so to average, there is still a long way to make them good and polish to perfect. The good news - I have enjoyed blogging process a lot, it have helped me to make new connections, make new friendships and grow me as a personality. 

If you have been following my blog for a while, you have already probably noticed that I publish quarterly reports (In fact for the years of 2014 and 2015 I made monthly income reports, but I decided to go with quarter reports since, as I think they illustrates better overall scene about blog growth)  Make sure you check them out: Online Income reports. This article is a round up posts for previous four quarterly reports. 

See previous yearly reports:

• Blog Income Report 2014 - $3,334.20
• Blog Traffic and Income Report for 2015 - 347,035 users / $9,819.71

About blog traffic in 2016

Blog has gone a long way in 2016 and has increased it's monthly visitor count from  about 45,000 in January to more than 70,000 users in December. 

• In total blog have reached 635,058 users in 2016
• In average it is 52,921 monthly users or
• 1,739 daily visitors

Blog traffic report (monthly view). Data source: Google Analytics

As it happened back in 2015 and 2014, the biggest traffic gains happened in the last two quarters of the year (Q3 and Q4), with December making all times best. Blog  generated a little bit more than 900,000 pageviews in 2016. Would love to see cracking 1 million page views. See: How I grew my blog to 1 million Pageviews in 34 months

2016 VS 2015

I can proudly report that in 2016 blog have experienced 83% traffic gain if compared to 2015

Blog traffic 2016 vs 2015 (monthly view). Data source: Google Analytics

Both sessions and unique users are up by more than 70%, page views are up by more than 77%, but pages per session have decreased by -3.74% from 1.30 in 2015 to 1.25 in 2015.

This is the position makes me worried the most - low pages per session ration isn't good, and I really need to figure out how to increase pages per session in 2017. On the other hand Bounce rate ration is down by -4.31% from 67.95% in 2015 to 65.02% in 2016. Average session duration has been the same both in 2015 and 2016: 01.30 minutes. 

Top 10 most popular articles

In total I have written 469 articles in 2016, on average that is 1.28 article per day. Back in 2015 I have written 479 articles and Back in 2014 I have written in total 428 articles. More or less I have pretty stable schedule.

Top 10 articles (according to Google Analytics) generated 50.93% from total page views on blog. Ten articles generated more than half of the page views. 5 articles in this top have been written back in 2015, 2 articles are from 2014 and 3 articles are from 2016.

Pretty similar scene I observed last year, when most of the content was from previous years. I believe it's normal, of course I would love to see more fresh content being the most viewed, but on the other hand having a massive archive really helps on getting more traffic.

Desktop VS Mobile VS Tablet

For the third year I'm including data about devices users are accessing this blog

Mobile device users (Data Source: Google Analytics)

Nope, desktop still dominated in 2016. 

As you can see from image above - Desktop users still accounts for most of the visits at this blog making in total 57.43%, followed by mobile devices (36.59%) and tablets (5.97%).

On the other hand the percentage of desktop users are decreasing, back in 2015, there were 63.51% desktop users and just 29.46% mobile users. In 2016 users from desktop have lost it position for about 6%, while increased for mobiles (6%) and decreased for tablets (-1%)

One thing I have noticed here - bounce rates from mobile and tablets are lower than from desktop, and pretty significant lower, the same applies for average time spent on blog.

Demographics: Age and Gender

Using Google Analytics Display features I was able to track down demographics for my blog. Learn How To Enable Google Analytics Display Features

Demographics: Age & Gender (Data source: Google Analytics)

According to the Google Analytics primary audience for this blog are males (68.7%) in age between 25-34 (37.35% from total sessions). I'm a male and I fell into this age category as well, so probably it's not a surprise seeing we have some common interests?

The next biggest audience are persons in age group 18-24, making 24.05% from total session, followed by age group 35-44 with 18.44% from total sessions.

Persons in age group 18-44 makes about 79.84% from all sessions. So if you are wondering who is actually reading blogs, now you have some basic idea.

Demographics: Location

There are no huge changes in TOP 5, with except that India have switched places with United Kingdom, climbing to the second place. And Georgia have switched ranks with Canada. Georgia (country I have been living for the past 5+ years now ranks 4th, that is not a surprise for me not at all, as I cover many articles on Georgia. See All About Georgia. 

Demographics: Location (Data source: Google Analytics)

• Around 1/5 of blog traffic are coming from the US (21.18%), followed by India (10.02%) and United Kingdom (7.88%). Traffic from the US if compared to previous year of 2015 has decreased from about 22.73%, while UK has decreased from 10.22% and India increased from 7.80%.
• Georgia ranks 4th with 5.24% (increase from 4.14% in 2015) and Canada ranks 5th with 3.29% (decrease from 4.26% in 2015)
• United Arab Emirates (2.63%), Philippines (2.25%) and Indonesia (1.77%) are newcomers to top.
• Germany (2.05%) and Australia (1.72%) also have made to the top 10 in 2016.

Now I believe in future traffic from countries like India, UAE, Philippines and Indonesia will only increase

Traffic sources:

Google dominates for the third year in a row

Traffic Sources 2016 (Data Source: Google Analytics)

• Google sent majority of visitors (83.66%)
• Direct traffic, which I believe is a repeat visitors from Google, counts for 8.80%
• Facebook turned out to be the most successful social media site to drive traffic in 2016, desktop and mobile combined sent  2.61% of traffic
• Reddit - 1.17%
• Yahoo - 0.41%
• Bing: 0.28%

I wouldn't say I have developed some good social media strategy I was looking to do back at the 2015. Social media actually is tough to compete in - I have been spending on Facebook ads but don't consider them important right now. 

About Blog Income

Combined income streams from affiliate marketing and display ads in 2016 made  $18,586,41, which is almost double I made with blog in 2015.

See complete list of tools, resources, affiliate partner programs and display ads I'm using: Resources

• $18,586.41 is around $1,548.86 per month or
• $50.92 per day

Combined RPM from all revenue channels stands at $20.50 for in 2016.

RPM (Reach per Mile) - stands for earnings for 1000 page views/impression

RPM 2016

Throughout the year RMP values have varied from about $13 at the start of year to $26.05 at the last quarter in 2016.

Actually after having average RPM for about $20 makes me feel very good, as I think it's a good value. I wonder will I manage to increase RPM in 2017? As speaking for the previous year (2015) RPM was at $19.27. A slight increase or decrease can make a lot difference at the final earnings. 

About Expenses in 2016

Now this is the tricky part - as I've a simple philosophy regarding to spending, I like to keep it short - to earn some money, you should spend some money.

In 2016 I spent in following positions:

• Facebook Ads: $164.54
• KeyCDN: $58
• Linode VPS: $412.50
• Godaddy: $17.17
• Google AdWords: $58.4
• Other: $156

Total: $866.61

Goals / Forecasts for 2017

As usually I will end report with some thoughts about future plans and forecast. But before that, let's see what I was forecasting a year ago:

In 2016 I'm looking to reach 650,000 unique visitors, which makes about 54K in month (I think very doable) and $12,000 in income ($1,000 per month) - hard but doable.

Now, I've missed about 15,000 users in 2016 from my initial goal, though I would love to count in this goal as achieved. Speaking of financial goals I set for 2016, I have completed and even exceeded it for more than $6,000. Excellent.

Speaking about goals for 2017: I'm looking to cross 1 million user milestone, which makes about 83,3K users monthly. My financial goal is more humble - $22,000 income. 

Fall Through The Ceiling, Dig a Trench Around Foundations, Stone Wall Concreting

29 January, 2017 | Home Remodeling | 7 seen

Think I have written about all topics mentioned in title already?

You are right, I indeed have, see: Digging a trench around existing foundation, Stone Wall Concreting. But that's just for the other part of house, now we are mowing to other side and repeating most of the works we did on opposite side - we will remove old log walls and replace them with aac blocks, but before that there is still some need to perform preparation works.

So what about falling through the ceiling? Yes, indeed, this was one of the scariest days in my life as for the second, while removing some boards from loft, I accidently put my foot, where I knew I shouldn't, at one part of house, there were just a fake ceiling made from cardboard. Once I accidentally stepped on it, it went all dark along my eyes and for that short milliseconds I was failing, I made a lot of thinking, what I was thinking about? Not to broke anything and how to re-group my body to fall safely. It's just wonders what our mind can do to us in critical moments, I indeed regrouped my body and landed safely without any trauma or something just some scratch on hands and legs and a huge startle. 

Ceiling through which I fell out

I landed safely not hitting that large canister or any other traumatic element down there. I landed perfectly not hitting anything. The total height here, not so high after all, maybe just some 2 meters.

I believe in mystic things, my life have taught to believe. After this fall out, I started to think something bad is happening somewhere else, with somebody probably, with somebody close to me. I called all my relatives and asked is everything is fine, when my mom told, that a sister of my grandfather is being buried today (I never had chance to know here) - and I understood, this fall was related to my distant relative, probably she was angry I haven't remembered her or something. 

Think I'm joking? I'm not! Last time when I almost got hit by a car in Tbilisi while ridding a bicycle my dear uncle (brother of my grandmother died). I take things like this seriously. Later in evening we lighted some candles and paid respect to deceased one.

Anyway home remodeling is a tough one, probably not meant for everyone, a year ago my brother almost fall of from the roof, while taking chimney down. See: Replacing Roof - Part 3: Removing the old roofing (Losing Chimney)

Gosh, sounds like some cursed house we have, which is not true actually. Yes, there are some formations probably living in house ( the house is more than 120 years old), but here is the thing I did in Spring when we left Tbilisi - I took our Georgian home spirit and we traveled together to this house - I introduced the old spirits with the new Georgian guy, and Georgian spirit did the trick. We are safe and blessed. Gaumarjos and Didi Madloba!

Now back to the remodeling stuff:

Preparing stone wall for concreting

We will need to install bearing beams here and we will need to fix old and ruined wall. I had a great assistant, a hired worker, who did most of the work, I just photographed and prepared mortar.

Digging a trench around existing foundation

Now, this was a total disaster, it turned out that there is no foundation at all, just rubble in two rows above ground. And I thought a tragedy is just a missing foundation. No -  a tragedy is no foundation at all.

Work scene

At this stage we started our prays again, praying that the corner without foundation wouldn't just fall as I did in the morning, as we still had to dig a trench and start pouring in concrete.

Stone wall concreted

At least we managed to concrete this stone wall. With a concrete mixer it's actually pretty easy work to do.

The loft

See how we took a chimney down here, earlier this Summer.

So what we are building here? We are building an auxiliary room to store water pumps and stuff like that, it's planned that there will be a nice entrance to the bath, but that's a story for another year.

Georgia in Winter (Photos from Tbilisi)

29 January, 2017 | | 14 seen

There is a good reason to visit Georgian skiing resorts in Gudauri, Bakuriani or Mestia if you are up to a winter holidays in Georgia.

See: Gudauri - Georgian Winter Capital for skiing, snowboarding, paragliding and heli-skiing

On the other hand, here at Piece of Life series, we love to feature and document photo stories happening around us. A simple thing like a snow in Tbilisi (which is rare, actually) or Total Lunar Eclipse makes us to leave our cozy apartment and go out and document. 

A year ago (January 24, 2016) we featured our first story on snow in Tbilisi See: Tbilisi - Fairyland in Winter

A year later, on Saturday's morning, January 28, 2017 snow in Tbilisi surprised us again

Snow in Tbilisi

We started our story on recently reconstructed David Aghmanasgebeli street, see: New Life for Agmashenebeli avenue, Tbilisi

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Metal cat overlooking David Aghmeneshabeli street in Tbilisi

There are many cool sculptures/ installations on Aghmeneshabeli street

Still waiting for customers

Embankment near Dry Bridge

Actually a very good place for photography, see: 6 Tips For taking awesome night photography or read article about: Flea Market Near Dry Bridge In Tbilisi

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Dancing sculptures near Shardeni

Rike park in snow

See article about Rike Park In Tbilisi

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View from our apartment's balcony

I would say a historic photo, as during our more than 3 years lease here, it was the first time I've seen snow, the tree in front is a laurel (Laurus nobilis)

Kiev Boryspil International Airport

28 January, 2017 | Airports | 51 seen

Boryspil International Airport  is an international airport in Boryspil, 29 km  east of Kiev, the capital of Ukraine.

It is the country's largest airport, serving 65% of its passenger air traffic, including all its intercontinental flights and a majority of international flights. It is one of two passenger airports that serve Kiev along with the smaller Zhulyany Airport.

Kiev's Borispol airport marks my first entrance to the Ukrainian land (at the end of December 2016) during connecting flight Tbilisi - Kiev - New York by Ukrainian airlines.

Unfortunately our connecting flight to New York was delayed for 10 hours and I had plenty of time to explore this airport.

Photo exhibit at Borispol airport's transit zone

As a reminder for travelers like me - that Ukraine is having really hard times right now - Photo exhibit dedicated to the Ukrainian soldiers.

Speaking of airport itself - cozy and very good. There are smoking rooms available plenty of cafeterias and of course Tax Free shopping. For my surprise, goods at Borispol airport weren't expensive at all. The best there is a Free Wi-Fi with high speed internet available throughout the airport terminal.

Waiting lounge at Borispol airport in Kiev

Boryspil International Airport handles most of Ukraine's international traffic. Terminal B, with only eleven gates, two of which were air bridges, was not enough to handle all international flights. This was the reason for the expansion of that terminal, which started in 2005. The first-stage expansion of Terminal B was opened on 27 January 2006. In 2008, passport control within Terminal B Departures was moved further east (along with the entrance to the main duty-free shop so that it remains airside).

There are plans to expand the airport further by building several new terminals. The government has been having meetings with the owners of nearby land, trying to buy more land for expansion. The construction of Terminal D was approved on 28 July 2008 and was completed in 2012 at a cost of UAH 1.661 billion (USD 208 million). The terminal will have a capacity of 1,500 passengers per hour and cover an area of 44.9 hectares.

By 2020, if all plans proceed, the airport should have a capacity of 18 million passengers per year.

A railway connection to Kyiv is still projected, however, realization seems to be very uncertain due to lack of funds.

Top 10 Plovdiv Hotels in Bulgaria

27 January, 2017 | Hotel reviews | 6 seen

For today's article I've decided to take a look on average hotel price in Bulgaria's Plovdiv and also list TOP 10 hotels there based on Booking.com recommendations.

Now, just recently I booked my first flight to Sofia (capital of Bulgaria), after that I made some "investigation" what to expect in Bulgaria and crafted an article: Planing a Trip to Bulgaria - Hotels, Car Rental, Things to Do, Places to visit and Let's Buy a House There.

In that article I talking about many topics, but one of the first I'm looking to have a nice hotel room both in Sofia and Plovdiv (hopefully with a nice view). 

See: Top 10 Hotels in Sofia (Bulgaria)

I don't find 5-star or luxury hotels in neither in Sofia or Plovdiv being out of my league, seems there are nice hotels in Plovdiv (even in 4 and 5 star category) for a really affordable prices, with the highest price being set at 136 USD per night , average USD 70-80 and lower class, but still really good and decent hotels even starting at ~ USD 35 

In this article I have listed TOP 10 Plovdiv hotels, based on Booking.com recommendations in Plovdiv.

Hotel Evmolpia

Boutique Hotel Evmolpia is set in a traditional Bulgarian Rennaissance house in the heart of Plovdiv Old Town, and just a 2-minute walk from Kapana District. Guests can enjoy the on-site bar, as well as some free wine and the cheese bar.

The rooms are furnished with authentic antique beds and wardrobes and have a flat-screen TV with satellite channels. Certain rooms feature a seating area where you can relax. You will find a kettle in the room. All rooms are equipped with a private bathroom. For your comfort, you will find free toiletries and a hairdryer.

Evmolpia Hotel features free WiFi throughout the property. You will find a 24-hour front desk at the property.

The hotel also offers car hire. Roman Theatre Plovdiv is 600 m from Evmolpia Hotel, while International Fair Plovdiv is 900 m from the property. Free parking is provided. 

Price: ~ USD 45 Book this hotel on Booking.com

Hotel Ego

Hotel Ego is a newly built hotel furnished to the highest standards, situated in the centre of Plovdiv in the immediate vicinity of the main street and the old town.

The International Fairground and the train station are only a 10-minute drive or a 15-minute walk away, and the historic centre can be easily reached in just a few minutes.

Most rooms are situated on higher floors to provide a quiet stay. In addition, the hotel also features a Finnish sauna, a hairdresser and a dentist, as well as a conference hall with multimedia equipment that can accommodate 25 to 30 people. 

Price: ~ USD 55 Book this hotel on Booking.com

Landmark Creek Hotel & Spa 

Located in the Park of the Rowing Channel in Plovdiv, Landmark Creek Hotel & Spa features a free outdoor pool, a free fitness centre, as well as a spa and wellness centre, including a sauna, for a surcharge. All of the rooms are air conditioned and feature free WiFi.

A flat-screen TV with cable channels and a minibar are offered in each of the rooms. There is also a seating area. A balcony is available as well. The en-suite bathroom comes with a shower, free toiletries and a hairdryer. The rooms open to mountain or creek views.

At guests' disposal, there is a restaurant with a summer garden on site. Services at a surcharge, offered at the Landmark Creek Hotel & Spa include shuttle transfers and car hire. Massages are offered upon request.

The centre of Plovidv and the Old Town can be reached in a 7-minute drive. The building of the International Fair of Plovdiv can be found 6.5 km away. Plovdiv Airport is located 23 km away. 

Price: ~ USD 54 Book this hotel on Booking.com

Hotel Residence Hebros

Situated in the heart of Plovdiv’s Old Town, the elegant Hebros is housed in a 200-year old Renaissance building. It features lavish interiors, an award-winning restaurant, and a sauna. The rustic patio is ideal for outdoor dining.

Hotel Residence Hebros offers luxurious guest rooms complete with antique furniture. The modern amenities include free Wi-Fi and a flat-screen TV. Some rooms have a claw-foot bathtub in the bedroom.

The restaurant serves Bulgarian gourmet dishes and international cuisine. The extensive wine list includes over 400 labels, and the restaurant’s sommeliers can recommend suitable wines for each meal.

The closest bus stop lies 150 m from the hotel, while the train station is 2 km away. A popular local attractions is the Balabanov House, just 50 m away. The reception can arrange a pick-up at Plovdiv Airport, 20 km, or Sofia Airport, 120 km away. 

Price: ~ USD 71 Book this hotel on Booking.com

Ramada Plovdiv Trimontium

 Located in the city centre, Ramada Plovdiv Trimontium is 15 km away from Plovdiv Charter Airport and 500 m from the bus station.

The property enjoys an ideal location near the main shopping and business district as well as the old town of this second largest Bulgarian city. It is also next to city garden, with beautiful green scenery and a pleasant, calming atmosphere.

Ramada Plovdiv Trimontium faces the ancient amphitheatre and it is close to the railway station. The elegant rooms with state-of-the-art equipment and a free internet access add to your comfortable stay.

The hotel offers diverse restaurants and bars as well as many great facilities, including swimming pools, a beauty salon, a sauna, a fitness centre and massage services. 

Price: ~ USD 136 Book this hotel on Booking.com

Grand Hotel Plovdiv

Situated at the heart of Plovdiv, on the side of river Maritsa, Grand Hotel Plovdiv looks out towards Plovdiv Old Town and the picturesque Rhodope Mountains. The International Fair is a 5-minute walk away, while Plovdiv's Old Town is a 15-minute walk away.

The spacious, contemporarily designed rooms offer any possible comfort and all those who have to keep in touch can enjoy the convenience of the free Wi-Fi in the entire hotel.

Grand Hotel Plovdiv houses 3 different restaurants, a café and 2 bars, where you can taste delicious delicious local and international meals from the à la carte menu in a friendly and stylish setting.

The hotel also offers at a surcharge a heated indoor swimming pool, hot tub, sauna, steam bath, hair studio, fitness and relax center with a variety of massages. Facilities include 8 conference halls, with different hosting capacity.

Price: ~ USD 81 Book this hotel on Booking.com

Hotel Leipzig

Hotel Leipzig boasts a central location at the foot of one of the Seven Hills of Plovdiv, offering sophisticated and state-of-the-art interior with impeccable services. The biggest mall in the city is only 30 m away.

Set within the centre of the administrative, business and commercial area of the city, Hotel Leipzig is 650 m from the Central Railway Station.

The stylish accommodation units feature individual decorations and modern amenities.

Plovdiv International Fair is a 10-minute drive away. The Ancient Plovdiv, the historical, well-preserved part of the city, is also nearby. 

Price: ~ USD 43 Book this hotel on Booking.com

Old Plovdiv House in Kapana Area

Located in the centre of Plovdiv, 600 m from the Roman Theatre, Old Plovdiv House in Kapana Area offers air-conditioned accommodations with free access to a sauna, a Turkish bath and a fitness centre. Complimentary WiFi is available in all areas.

The units come with flat-screen cable TVs and each features a private bathroom with a shower. The apartments enjoy private terraces with city views and come with well-appointed kitchens.

Guests of Old Plovdiv House in Kapana Area can enjoy traditional Bulgarian dishes in the on-site restaurant, which is set in a historic building. Further dining and shopping options are available in the surroundings and the Plovdiv old town can be reached in a 3-minute walk.

Private parking is available on site, at a surcharge. The guest house is 700 m from the International Fair and 14 km from the Plovdiv Airport. 

Price: ~ USD 38 Book this hotel on Booking.com

Alliance Hotel

Alliance Hotel is situated in the centre of Plovdiv, only a 3-minute walk from the Railway Station and a 10-minute drive from the Plovdiv International Fair. It offers spacious, air-conditioned rooms and free secured underground parking.

All of the rooms, bathrooms and restaurants were renovated in November 2010, adding a modern touch to the Alliance.

The old town of Plovdiv is just a 15-minute walk from the hotel. You can visit the Roman Stadium and the ancient Roman Theatre, which is still active as a cultural centre.

The air-conditioned restaurant Kopcheto serves international cuisine and local dishes. The restaurant is equipped with a fireplace. It also has professional DJ-equipment and a large TV screen. Private transfers from/to Sofia and Plovdiv Airports, are provided upon request at surcharge. 

Price: ~ USD 54 Book this hotel on Booking.com

Apartments Plovdiv

Featuring air conditioning, Plovdiv Apartments are situated in Plovdiv, 900 m from International Fair Plovdiv. Roman Theatre Plovdiv is 900 m away. Free private parking is available and the building has a lift. Free WiFi is also provided.

The accommodation is fitted with a flat-screen TV with a variety of international channels. All units have a dining area, a terrace with panoramic views of the city, a kitchenette filled with a stove, a toaster, an electric kettle and a fridge. Mosquito nets and anti mosquito devices are available. Some units have a washing machine and devices for preparing healthy food. There is a private bathroom with towels, slippers, a hairdryer and free toiletries in each unit. Towels and bed linen are provided.

Continental breakfast and packed food are available upon request. An iron and storage are featured and all beds are equipped with anti allergy, ergonomic mattresses and pillows. There are chess,backgammon, cards, dominoes, mikado and other games on site. Upon request and at a surcharge the property can also arrange car hire, bike hire, horse riding, shuttle services, massage services, cosmetic services, hairdressing, DVD, computer.

Price: ~ USD 45 Book this hotel on Booking.com