Meine Frau und ich hatten eine tolle Zeit mit Tsotne und seinem Team in Georgien. Alles war erstklassig - das Programm war intensiv, aber wir wurden nie müde, da Tsotne uns nie langweilig werden ließ. Er versorgte uns mit sehr interessanten und informativen Informationen über Georgien, die Weinherstellung, die Küche, die Geschichte und die Politik dieses schönen Landes. Wir planen, dieses Jahr wieder mit einer größeren Gruppe nach Georgien zu reisen, und natürlich danken wir dem wunderbaren Team von Traffic Travel! Ich empfehle dieses Team von Fachleuten und einfach wunderbaren Menschen jedem! Vielen Dank an sie!
Hamburg, Deutschland.
S5735DYkarenr
26 Jul 2021
We, a friend group of four, have just returned home after spending a week in Georgia in the lovely company of Tsotne and driver Jeorgi (if I misspelled, apologies).
One of us had found Tsotne’s company on TripAdvisor; there were only glowing recommendations, so our choice was easily made. Tsotne never disappointed.
We arrived in Tbilisi on Saturday evening after the flight from hell on Georgia airlines ( 1.5 hours delayed, no food offered, only water and a very grumpy flight crew). Tsotne drove us to our hotel (Radisson blu in Tbilisi. Very comfortable, spectacular pool on top floor, great bed and bathroom) and already gave us loads of info on Georgian politics and the buildings we passed. He also advised us on possible restaurants for the evening. We took his advice and had a most amazing dinner at Alubali (6, Giorgi Akhvlediani St). Great food, lovely service and amazing Georgian natural wine selection.
After a blissful night sleep Tsotne came to pick us up with our very capable driver(and those are hard to come by in Georgia, believe me). Tsotne showed us around and took us up to Narikala fortress. We walked the way down, past waterfalls, the bathhouse and other beauties. After we were driven up to Mtatsminde for a lunch of adjaruli khachapuri, bread in the shape of an eye with cheese, a raw egg and butter in the middle. You are supposed to stir this all together and rip bread off the edge to dip in. This was accompanied by a tarragon lemonade which was so tasty!!! (and wine of course). Considering that at that point we found ourselves in a calorie coma, we took the funicular down and were dropped off at the hotel. A nap was very much needed. Feeling ready for more food and alcohol we took another one of Tsotne’s suggestions and headed to Zodiako (6 Gia Chanturia St), home of the best khinkali in Tbilisiand home brewed beer. They did not disappoint…..
The next day we were picked up early by Tsotne and Jeorgi for the drive to Stepantsminda, Kazbegi.
On the way Tsotne showed us beautiful sights like Jivaro monastery and Ananuri church and fortress, and told us all about the history of Georgia, whilst doing interviews for radio and television. Turns out he’s not only a great tour guide, but also a much sought after interviewee…we were traveling with a local celebrity:).
Tsotne and Jeorgi dropped us af at the Rooms hotel in Kazbegi after a wonderful lunch at cafe Kazbegya (hotel Rooms is located in a perfect spot with views for days. We had rooms on the monastery side; makes for a very nice way to wake up and start your day). Needless to say enough wine was consumed, and Jeorgi let us taste his homemade chacha…I don’t remember much of the rest of the day….
The day after we made the hike up to Gergeti church. Very challenging, but definitely worth it. You can either climb up like a mountain goat, or take a road that goes there as well and is somewhat less challenging. While we were there it was closed off, which ensured we would make it up to the monastery alive. After the hike down we were in dire need of refreshments, so cafe Kazbegya it was again.
Tsotne and Jeorgi picked us up the next morning and drove us to Kakheti, the Georgian wine region. It is quite the schlepp, but beautiful vistas,sights and several naps made it very doable. We had the pleasure of staying at Lopota resort; a gorgeous resort and spa situated around a man-made lake. Lots of pools, great spa with excellent massages and several restaurants on the property. There’s lots of stuff to do but we didn’t have much time, since wine was on the agenda. The other great thing about having Tsotne as a tour guide is that he knows his wines. He makes wine in the old way himself, and could tell us lots about how it is made, the different kinds and even sent us off with a bottle of his own good stuff (which our co-travelers immediately confiscated, but we hope will be consumed together…:)). We visited three places, winemaker Lagazi (who we nicknamed Buddha because of his beautiful way of looking at life and the world- and we loved looking at him). The second place was a friend of Tsotne who makes natural wine, but just for own use where the family served us an amazing Supra cooked on coal and wine clippings. The third visit was wine maker Okro. The latter built a tasting room and restaurant in the gorgeous town of Sighnaghi, with the most beautiful views. Another well-spent day.
The next day we headed back to Tbilisi, for two more days of eating and drinking our way through the city. For our last day Tsotne had arranged for us to meet up with a Georgian lady named Katy. She hosts supra at her house, and we were lucky enough to be able to partake. We met her at the market, where we stocked up on the necessities for the typical Georgian meal. We then took off to a wine shop, which happened to be the one owned by John Wurdeman, who was there that day and is, of course, a friend of Tsotne. Guided by his expertise we picked up three amazing bottles of natural wine, one of which was from his own vineyard, Pheasant’s tears. Katie resided over the meal , serving as tamada (toast master), and all the while cooking us a beautiful meal and entertaining us with song and stories. This afternoon was the perfect way to end our week in Georgia. This week would not have been as amazing without our wonderful guide Tsotne and driver Jeorgi. Everything was effortless for us, the only reason we could see all that was planned is because they got us everywhere without a glitch, conserving our energy for what was important to experience, and evening out our path where that was best.
The only point of improvement would be for Tsotne to have his shirts made so we can advertise his company here in the Netherlands….he is an absolute rock star!!!