One of the major reasons we had included on our itinerary the western Georgia city of Batumi, located on the shores of the Black Sea, was just to relax for a couple of days after having a pretty jam packed schedule for the previous few weeks. Spending time on the beach in the resort city, especially popular with Russians, sounded ideal.
On almost every street corner were small fruit and vegetable stands. That huge bucket of raspberries cost less than $4!
At the beach, we rented two chaises and an umbrella for just a few bucks. As you can see, the beach was perfect for rock collectors but not the most comfortable place to lay on for hours as there was no sand at all, just the smoothest of rocks you're likely to find that stretched for miles.
Nobody would ever starve or die of thirst or lack for toys to play with on the beach as there was a constant parade of vendors hawking their wares.
We got sort of used to these flying jet skis or whatever they were called even though they made a dreadful din as they flew past. I bet the views would have been great and feeling the gusts of winds around you would be thrilling for the participants as long as they landed safely on the water!
What an incredibly peaceful time it was at the beach being entertained by the aerial show, the occasional boats that passed by, and listening to children having fun in the water.
I felt and know I must have looked about 80 years old as I very gingerly made my way over the rocks to the water after a couple of hours of just admiring it from a few feet away!
One would never need to go far without finding a place to sit and dawdle for a wile as there were seemed like hundreds of these same benches throughout the city.
What a shame there was that visual pollution of the McDonald's signs along one of the major streets.
That evening we headed out to see Batumi's other set of what were billed as Dancing Fountains. On the way, we walked past this glass-domed McDonald's which looked like it should have been a fancy museum rather than a fast food eatery!
Zachary: Dad and I took about 20 pictures at least of the stunning arched Courtyard by Marriott Hotel all for you! It reminded us of all the arched buildings we had admired so much while in Dubai a couple of years ago.
There were some lights but few and far between, more, I felt, as an afterthought.
We walked back toward our hotel along the Batumi Boardwalk we had come to enjoy so much in our brief time in Georgia's western city. The sideways heart in the shape of a 'B' appeared to be the symbol for Batumi and also for Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, our next stop.
Solo singers or bands entertained passersby on the Boulevard.
We got the very luxurious double decker Georgia Railways Stadler train back to Tbilisi, Georgia's capital city, at 5 that afternoon.
On almost every street corner were small fruit and vegetable stands. That huge bucket of raspberries cost less than $4!
The water temperature was very mild so I had no excuse not to do some of the exercises I remembered from my thrice weekly water aerobics classes I take when we're at home. Judy: I have sure missed your helping me stave off unwanted pounds and having fun while doing so!
I wasn't the only one who had difficulty getting to the water as you can see!
As we walked back along the Batumi Boulevard, we saw the city's attractive university.
The Fountains were fun to watch as the other ones had been the previous night but again there was no music dedicated to the fountains as there had been in Yerevan which had helped make those so special. The fountains were near lots of restaurants which all had music blaring so the atmosphere wasn't as conducive to entice us to stay for long.
The following day we spent a few more glorious hours at the beach since we didn't know when we'd have that opportunity again.
Next post: Onto Baku, Azerbaijan on the Caspian Sea. I won't be able to get to that post for several days as, in the morning, we're heading out on a three day horse trek in and around Song-Kol Lake here in Kyrgyzstan! Wish us dry weather, tame horses and comfortable yurts to sleep in.
Posted on September 11th, 2018, from Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
Nice swimming suit!! Also, nice looking train companion. Lil Red
ReplyDeleteI love the Lands' End swimsuits, especially for water aerobics. They aren't eh most glamorous but are comfortable and come in fun colors!
ReplyDeleteWasn't my train companion the bees' knees, Lil Red! Annie
The courtyard reminds me of marriotts in China
ReplyDelete