Blog Archive: February 2016
An ex-pat living in Georgia since 2011, I trade stocks, take photographs, work out at the gym, and many more. Here I write about travel, finance, and other things that might interest me.
Latest articles
Replacing Roof - Part 1: Removing the old roofing
In today's home remodeling series I'll share some epic experience on roof replacement works. If you have been following my blog for a while, you probably have noticed that in Spring 2015 we inherited an old and very bad managed rural house. That Summer taught me a lot - I learnt how to use a scythe to move a grass, and also excelled as a construction worker (Room One - Wall and Ceiling Painting with Water Based Paint, How to Patch and Plaster…
House Of Food / Fontaine Palace in Liepāja
House Of Food is a place to eat good, quick international food from all corners of the world. Louie Fontaine, the owner and rock musician, has designed the place with a feel similar to a 50’s American diner, with an open kitchen and restaurant booths so high you’ll sit cosy and private in your own restaurant. Located at the canal front downtown in an old factory building - this place absolutely rocks! Hotel Fontaine Royal in Liepāja…
Cafe bar Gradus in Gudauri
Cafe bar Gradus is located in Georgian ski resort town in Gudauri. Located just between the first and second ski lifts, this place offers great cuisine, drinks and lovely view to Caucasus mountains. It's outdoor terrace is great for sun bathing. The prices here are in - it depends category, although not high compared to Western standards, there are some items with higher price attached and some for very reasonable price. So for a 5 years old…
Postcards from Gudauri
Gudauri is a popular ski resort located on the southern slopes of The Greater Caucasus Mountain Range in Georgia. The resort is situated in the Stepantsminda District, along the Georgian Military Highway near the Cross Pass, at an elevation of 2,196 meters (7,200 ft.) above sea level. We have been heading to Gudauri at least once in a year. There are few great reviews about Gudauri on my blog, Gudauri - Georgian Winter Capital for skiing,…
Turtle lake in Tbilisi
Turtle lake is a direct English translation of Kus Tba (Georgian: კუს ტბა), a small lake at the outskirts of Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, so named due to the perceived abundance of turtles living in these places. Those of you who have been following my blog, probably have noticed I have mentioned Turtle lake a lot on my blog, I have been heading here in hot summer days to breath a fresh air and done some Drupal development from here, also I…
Linode: How To Secure Nginx with Let's Encrypt on Ubuntu 12.04
Encrypted HTTPS websites are pretty much a hot topic nowadays. I have seen a lot noncommercial websites and blogs using HTTPS protocol lately. I believe cheap prices for certificates and possible SEO boost from Google are pushing more and more to add HTTPS. Including me! In fact this article is first since my blog is HTTPS, to celebrate that I decided to write shot tutorial how you too can enable HTTPS on Ubuntu 12.04 running Nginx and…
Loft cleaning - Preparation works for replacing that leaky roof
It was already last weeks of July, and we had bought already our return tickets back to Tbilisi, Georgia, and there was still one urgent task to complete if we wanted our rural house to survive upcoming rain and winter season - we had to replace roofing. Oh, boy - back then I had no idea how frustrating, yet fun experience it will be. After finishing temporary repair works at home's first floor - I went upstairs and decided it's time to clean…
How to open a bottle of wine with a hand drill
There are many options to open a bottle of wine without using a cork screwer, last summer I tried a new method - using an old school hand drill. f you have been following my blog and especially home remodeling series you have probably noticed I have been trying out a lot of interesting tools lately, how about mowing a grass with a scythe? Tools you will need: A bottle of Badagoni, semisweet Khvanchkara wine (produced in Republic of Georgia…
Stacking firewood in barn
Last summer taught me a lot of new things. I tried mowing grass with a scythe after which I "upgraded" to a trimmer. After all I was doing a new thing for me - home remodeling. In today's Piece of Life photo series I will share with you another great outdoor activity I did last summer - stacking firewood in barn. Firewood waiting to be stacked in barn Stacking firewood in barn Stacking firewood in barn Stacking firewood in barn…
How to prepare traditional Solyanka soup
In today's food blogger series I'll share a photo recipe on how to prepare traditional Solyanka soup. Solyanka is among my favorite soups and I prepare this some 3-4 times in a year. Pictures in this article are back from summer 2015 when I boiled a large pot with this delicious soup. Solyanka is a thick, spicy and sour Russian soup that is common in Russia and other states of the former Soviet Union. There are three basic types of solyanka,…
Michelangelo Square in Florence, Italy
Michelangelo Square is one of the best place in Florence to take picturesque panoramic views of Florence. We found this place thanks to suggestions on some travel guide and indeed, the pictures taken here are amazing. We were lucky enough to find this place quickly as it was located in just some 3 minute drive from our hotel. Read more: Villa Carlota hotel review. We parked our car at Michelangelo Square, I installed a tripod and took some…
How To Take and Post-Process Night HDR Images
In today's digital school photography project I'll show how to take night HDR images and post-process them in Adobe Lightroom and Postmatix. A year ago - taking a decent night photo sounded mission impossible for me, since I have acquired a DSLR camera a lot has changed, and I'm starting to feel being capable of creating even night HDR's now. Take a look on this tutorial: Practicing Photography: Doing Night Shots - Tbilisi By Night. Although…
Hotel Villa Carlota in Florence, Italy
Villa Carlota hotel in Florence is a 4-star hotel. We stayed here overnight just day before New Year in 2015. We arrived here after paid a visit to the leaning tower of Pisa and short wanderings around Tuscany vineyards. Previous night we spent at another 4-star hotel in Lucca. Read more: Albergo Celide Hotel Review in Lucca, Italy. Villa Carlota compared to Albergo Celide is a truly a 4-star hotel and I will definitely return to this hotel…
Vineyards in Tuscany, Italy
If there are a thousands things to see before we die - I believe to see vineyards in Tuscany are among them. At the end of December 2015, we traveled around region of Tuscany in Italy and to memorize those fascinating places I created a few panorama photos. Vineyards in Tuscany - Piece of Life. Vineyards in Tuscany It is amazing to observe how using a simple DSLR camera with kit lens I figured out to create a panorama photo here (stitching…
'I Fossi' Restaurant in San Gimignano, Italy
I Fossi is a small roadside restaurant located in San Gimignano town in Italy. We arrived here just shortly we paid a visit to the Leaning tower of Pisa. We made a stop here by chance, just because noticed there is one free parking spot available. Unfortunately we managed to order just two cappuccinos and noticed there is a queue with cars on the nearby street, some lady had arrived to the hotel (turns out there is a hotel as well at this place…