Blog Archive: August 2020
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.
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Lower Bethlehemi Church
The Lower Bethlemi Church, also known as the Church of Saint Stepanos of the Holy Virgins is a church in Tbilisi, Georgia. Built as an Armenian church, it now operates as a Georgian orthodox church. Discovered by accident while hiking from other, Holy Mother of God Church of Bethlehem, Tbilisi at the end of August 2020. Made some drone photography here Lower Bethlehemi Church
Holy Mother of God Church of Bethlehem, Tbilisi
Holy Mother of God Church of Bethlehem also now known as the Upper Bethlehem Church, is a church in Tbilisi, Georgia. Built as an Armenian church in the 18th century, on the site of an older church, it now operates as a Georgian orthodox church. Discovered by accident while hiking from Mother Georgia monument in mid-August 2020. Returned here a week later to take some aerial photography with a drone. Holy Mother of God Church of Bethlehem,…
Mother of Georgia Monument
The Mother of Georgia or Kartlis Deda monument is located atop of the Sololaki hill in Georgia's capital Tbilisi. The statue was erected on the top of Sololaki hill in 1958, that year Tbilisi celebrated its 1500th anniversary. Prominent Georgian sculptor Elguja Amashukeli designed the twenty-meter aluminum figure of a woman in Georgian national dress. Mother of Georgia monument in Tbilisi It's said that statue symbolizes the Georgian…
Latest Stock Buy: 10 shares of PFE at $34.8 per share
On July 6, 2020, we bought an additional 10 shares of Pfizer (PFE) paying $34.80 per share for our Partnership Fund. With its quarterly dividend payout of 0.38 dollars per share, this latest buy has a dividend yield of 4.36% (before tax) and will pay us an additional $3.80 (before tax) every quarter. Not the biggest dividend, but every bit counts! There are three simple reasons we like this stock - it has a reasonably high dividend yield of …
Restaurant Pepo near Dashbashi Canyon
Restaurant Pepo is located in the village of Dashbashi, some 200-300 meters from the Saint George Church. The cafe is an ideal base camp for exploring the famous Dashabshi Canyon. That's actually how we discovered this place in July 2020, during an unplanned trip to Tsalka, we decided to look for the "famous" Dashbahsi Canyon, where we found this lovely cafe/restaurant Pepo. VIsa accepted and traditional Georgian cuisine served. We ordered…
Batumi Boulevard Dancing Fountains
Batumi Boulevard is the main and most visited sightseeing of the city. One of its central elements is the dancing fountains located just in the heart of the city. Batumi fountain square from a drone's flight It was at the start of August 2020, we visited Batumi once again. I took a drone to make some photos, and one of the aerial shots is from Dancing fountain square. In the summertime, this place can be quite busy. Thanks to the joint…
Djansug Kakhidze Garden
The Djansug Kakhidze Garden is located on Agmashenebeli Avenue (behind the Bank of Georgia building) in Tbilisi. The park is very popular among people living nearby. There is a little kid playground in the park s territory. The park is named after Jansug Kakhidze, the music director of the Georgian State Symphony Orchestra. We have been heading to this park for ages since the times we were living on Tamar Mepe street when discovered this park…
Pheasant’s Tears Restaurant Sighnahghi
Pheasant's Tears is an awesome and authentic restaurant serving authentic Georgian cuisine. The restaurant is located in Sighnaghi, some 120km from the nation's capital Tbilisi. We have heard a lot about this place in the past but actually visited it for the first time in June 2020, while driving around the region of Kakheti. The little yard at Peasant's Tears restaurant in Sighnaghi Pheasant’s Tears was born out of a love of authentic…
Saint George Church in Dashbashi
St. George's Church / Ahalkalaki St. George Church is located close to the Tsalka town in the village of Dashbashi. It was in mid-July 2020, when we discovered this place by accident, during an unplanned trip to Tsalka, we decided to look for the "famous" Dashbahsi Canyon, where we found a little cafe and as I had my DJI mini Mavic drone with I did some flying around the area, just to discover this picturesque church atop of the rock. Awesome…
My First Drone Video / DJI MAVIC MINI
Here comes my first drone video filmed with DJI Mavic Mini drone. DJI Mini Mavic Drone Review Filming locations: our Tbilisi apt, Lisi lake, Rike Park, Dashbashi Canyon. Cinematic music for dramas effect by Scott Holmes / Humanity Quickly made with Adobe Premiere Pro July 2020, Tbilisi
Radisson Blu Hotel Batumi
Located within a 3-minute walk from the Black Sea beach in Batumi, this hotel features indoor and outdoor pools, a rooftop restaurant and free WiFi. We booked one night here at the start of August 2020 and paid about $120 for a family room and breakfasts included. It is fun to note that about 8 years ago we rented an apartment in Batumi, in the backyard of this hotel, and spend about $400/mo. Now time flies, things change, but Batumi…
Rike Park from a DJI Mavic Mini Drone Flight
Rike park is a popular recreational area located in Tbilisi. We have been heading here ever since it was opened to public back in 2012. Park is great for photography, a lot of interesting architectural elements. It was at the end of July 2020. I got DJI Mavic mini shipped to Tbilisi and it was agreed to go and test it out at the Rike park. Air balloon over Rike Park in Tbilisi There is a cable car station connecting Rike park with…
Cows Cooling off in a lake in Georgia
It was in mid-July, we were heading to the Dashabashi canyon near the Tsalka town in Georgia when suddenly on the roadside we noticed a strange view - cows were cooling off in a small mud lake. Such senses are more typical to Africa, it was the first time I have seen something like that in Georgia. Luckily I had a camera to take a few shots. Cows cooling off in a muddy lake
DJI Mini Mavic Drone Review
DJI Mini Mavic drone has been around for a while already (since the end of 2019). It was at the start of July 2020, when I decided to order a drone for me. As I didn't have any idea what's good and what's not, I just headed to Amazon and looked for best-selling drones/ quadcopters. I did order under $100 SnapTain 650 D, but once it was out for shipping and I started to familiarize better with the product from the description, I understood that…
Hotel 'Castello Visconteo' in Cassano dʼAdda, Italy
Castello Visconteo is a 13th-century fortress located in Cassano d'Adda, Italy. We booked a hotel room here for a one night back in November 15, 2019 and paid about EUR 100 for that. We choose to book this hotel as it was pretty close to the Bergamo airport, as on the second day we had a flight back to Tbilisi Stay at this hotel left an authentic medieval time feeling. Our room at Castello Visconteo Rooms at Castello Visconteo are air…