Trip to Uzbekistan Part 4 - Tashkent

Our taxi's picked us up at 6:00 a.m. to take us to the train station.  We got there and through security and waited for about thirty minutes until we boarded the train to Tashkent.  We were on a train from Russia that looked like it was full of workers coming back to visit home.  The train was old and soviet style, so we felt right at home.  Our trip was about five hours, so we laid down and rested and had snacks  while we traveled. 

Waiting for the train.

When we got to Tashkent, we unloaded our bags.  Our rolling bag's wheels were broken.  We think the taxi driver broke the wheels when he was loading it.  The bag has been with us since our first year in Kazakhstan.  We've taken it back and forth to the US at least once a year, to southeast Asia a number of times, to Europe (multiple times), to Russia three times, and to Georgia and Uzbekistan. I also used it on most of my conference trips to the US.  That bag has some miles on it!

It meant that it had to be carried, which was a job.  We took the subway and then walked to our hotel.  It was about a mile worth of walking, so it was plenty of exercise.  Our hotel was on a side street and was very nice.  It was the most like a real hotel of all the places we stayed.

We needed to get money to pay for food and stuff, but had a devil of a time finding an ATM that worked to dispense money.  Bukhara was nice in that sense.  There were only a couple of ATMs, but they all worked with foreign cards to dispense money.  In Tashkent, there were only a few that accepted cards other than the local ones.  We did finally have success getting the money we needed, though.

Outside our hotel.

We decided to go the "Harry Potter" cafe for dinner.   The decorations were nice and the food was yummy.  It was the most expensive place we ate the whole time we were traveling, but we had a lot of fun and the kids loved it.  We also got dessert for Yulia's birthday a few days earlier, so win-win!

Harry Potter cafe.  Salads for the grown ups.

Kids getting their food in fancy bowls.

Dessert!!!!

Saturday morning we started exploring Tashkent.  We started at the orthodox cathedral, the seat of the orthodox church in Central Asia.  It was interesting to compare it with the mosques we had been visiting.

Cathedral

We walked from the cathedral to an outdoor train museum. The museum had a lot of old soviet steam engine trains that you could climb up on and around.  My great grandfather was a machinist for the Union Pacific railroad and worked on the big steam engines (later diesel) so it was fun to show the kids around the trains.

Starting our train adventure.

After we had seen the trains, we got on the metro and went to the "Plov Center" to eat.  We had heard from our friends that it was the place to go.  We were not disappointed.  The scale of cooking was really impressive, and the restaurant was highly efficient, very cheap, and built to serve thousands at a time.  It was our cheapest meal and nobody left hungry.  We had nice salad, some bread, and a big dish of plov and some horse sausage (something we are very acquainted with from Kazakhstan.)

One of the many big vats where they cooked plov.

The main dining room (it was full, so we were taken to the overflow.)

Eating plov in the overflow.  Notice we also had a regular boiled egg and a quail egg as well!

Plov, in all its glory!!!

After we had our yummy plov meal, we took the metro to the main "Chorsu" bazaar.  Lina and Lexa both got their souvenirs there from a guy.  We had an interesting conversation about religion with the man who was selling.  The bazaar itself was huge and a bit overwhelming (especially for me), but we turned out okay.

We headed back to the hotel on the metro.

Sunday morning we took two taxis to the airport, checked in, and flew home without incident.  We arrived in Kazakhstan and took the bus home where we found that all was well.  Yuki had gotten a tick while we were gone, but Yana, one of my basketball team girls who was watching her, had seen it and gotten her to the vet without problems.

We had a wonderful time in Uzbekistan. Yulia had been a bit leery about going, but ended up very glad that we went.  It was a unique opportunity.  We are more likely to get to Europe again, but we may not have more chances to spend time in Central Asia.

Trip to Paris - Day 2 - Bayeux, Normandy

Our bed and breakfast included a wonderful breakfast.  We shared it with a nice couple from the US who had traveled to Bayeux the day before by train and who were taking a tour of all the sites with a group during the day.  They told us that the train system in Paris was a bit wild, and so they had a bit of a tough time getting to Bayeux.  They were very nice and we had a great breakfast with them.

After eating breakfast, we took a walk through Bayeux.  We went to the cathedral and wandered through it.  It was quiet (and being renovated like many cathedrals we have seen in Europe) and quite beautiful.  After walking through the cathedral, we walked through town.  The old town was just like it had been centuries ago and was quite interesting.  

The breakfast spread.

Looking out toward the front from the breakfast nook.

Our bed and breakfast.

The adventurous travelers.

Downtown Bayeux (cathedral to the left)

A close-up of the cathedral.

Inside the cathedral. Beautiful stained glass windows were everywhere.

 

We followed a map that Yulia had and found the British Military cemetery in downtown Bayeux.  There are about 4,600 buried there from all over the British empire.  We really liked the tombstones in the cemetery because they were more detailed.  The Americans were mostly young men.  Many of the British dead were middle aged and fathers.  The cemetery was well-kept and we were very glad to have found it on a quiet morning to have for ourselves.

Tombstones at the British Cemetery ion Bayeux.

 
After the cemetery, we returned to the bed and breakfast and checked out.  We drove to  Longues-sur-Mer where there is still a battery of German guns that had been used by the Nazis on D-Day as part of their defense of Normandy.  We arrived at the same time as a few groups, but the site was huge and we essentially spent our time alone looking at the site.  It was larger than the Ponte du Hoc site with lots of guns and a series of tunnels and ammunition sites that was very extensive.

After we had seen the battery at Longues-sur-Mer, we got back on the road.  We stopped to fill up with fuel and to eat lunch at a rest stop along the way.  We were surrounded by a group of teenage boys who were there on some kind of a trip.  It was fun.  Driving into Paris was a bit congested, but we made it to the airport (with the help of our GPS) and returned the car without incident.

French Road Warriors!

We figured out the trains into Paris and made a switch and got onto the subway and made it to our hotel.  It was a nice little modern room and the price was very reasonable.  We were a block from the subway station and in a quiet neighborhood, so we were happy with the accommodations. We decided to go out and get dinner and get to bed since we were quite tired from all the traveling.  We went out at 7:00 and found a restaurant that was open.  It was not very full at the time, but it filled up as we were eating.  

The name of the Restaurant was "Les Fabricants" and it was Basque food, family style.  And it was amazing.  We ordered a salad and escargot as appetizers.  You can see the size of the "salad" in the picture below. Our meals (I had duck con-fit) also came with salads, which was the same thing just half the size.  We left very full, but very in love with Basque cooking as well.  We slept well, ready for our standard Parisian adventure the next day. 

Trip to Georgia - December 2016

Yulia got a bit of a wild hair and looked up the cost for the two of us to go for a quick trip to Tblisi, Georgia.  The flights were reasonably priced, and the hotel was fantastically priced, and we decided to take an early anniversary trip to visit another country that we had both been interested in.  We have fallen in love with Georgian food at a restaurant here in Astana, so that was definitely a motivating factor for wanting to go to the source.

We left in the afternoon on 20 December from the airport.  We are able to take the bus and get to the airport in about 15 minutes when our flights are at normal bus hours.  Our flight was delayed, but we got a text and left for the airport appropriately.  We had a nice flight from Astana to Tblisi - it was about a 3.5 hour flight, and because of the 2-hour time difference we landed at about 7:30.  We got through passport control, got our bag, and met our driver from the hotel and were to our hotel, a small little hotel in a narrow alley in the old town, by 8:30.  We were checked in by a nice women named Irma, and went to our room, which was right across the little hall/lobby from the reception desk.  The room was small, but clean and nice.  We got settled in and went to sleep.

When we were driving from the airport to our hotel, we noticed this interesting scene. It was too dark, so the next morning we went to take a closer look. The water seeps through the ground and freezes in the night forming these fun icicles.

Wednesday morning we woke up and got ready.  They asked us when we wanted our breakfast ready, and when we went down to the dining room our meal was laid out for the two of us.  Every day we had something a bit different, but very yummy and filling.

We went out and walked down to the park where the aerial cable cars start. They didn't start until 11:00 a.m. so we had about an hour to kill before we could ride them. We went over the Freedom Bridge and walked around a bit, seeing the public service hall where all government services are aggregated into one place. We came back to the cable cars and rode them up to the top of the hill.  The main attractions there were the large statue of the Mother of Georgia who stands with a bottle of wine in one hand, and a sword in the other, an old fort with a church in it, and on the opposite side, the national botanical gardens.  We visited all three places.  We didn't know we had to pay for the botanical gardens, but we saw some neat plants and a really cool waterfall, and a very pretty bird, so it was a nice walk.

In the old town near our hotel.

Looking toward the cable cars

There were churches everywhere in this distinctive architectural style.

This tree was our favorite.  The little dog was also part of the sculpture and very cute.

On the Bridge of Peace.

Looking at the walls around the Georgian Patriarchate compound.

Interesting stone murals.

The fruit, persimmon still on the tree.

A view of the city, the Bridge of Peace over the river toward the left of the photo.

The mother of Georgia.

Old Fort and church.

In the botanical gardens.  A fountain of ice.

Botanical gardens: bamboo.

Examining beetle bore holes.

A very large pine tree.

Cacti and other desert plants.

The little stream.

The waterfall.  The best part of the botanical garden.

Looking down from the fort to the river.

Gesturing.

A view down to the sulfur baths and mosque.

The restored church in the fort.

Cable car.

After we had seen the sights, we took the cable car back down to the park and went and ate lunch at a restaurant that was right there.  We loved the food there - it was even better than at our favorite Georgian restaurant in Astana.  After we ate, we returned to the hotel and I took a bit of a nap for a couple of hours since I had a headache. When I woke up we went out and explored some more, and went to dinner at our second restaurant.  It was a bit different from the first, but still very good.  We came back to our hotel by about 8:00 p.m. and watched a movie on Netflix before heading to bed.

Everything was beautifully lit at night.

The Bridge of Peace and radio tower in background (that is where the funicular goes).

The Bridge of Peace lighting up.

Selfie!

Looking out at where we'd been during the day.

Dinner.  The Phkali (middle) are the best.  

The little street with our restaurant on it.

Funny sign.

On Thursday morning we had another nice breakfast and then Yulia arranged to have us driven to the city of Mskheta, which was the original capital of Georgia and the burial place for their kings and queens.  It was a short drive through beautiful mountain passes to get to the city.  We stopped first at the Jvari monastery which is a UNESCO site and which is a church that is nearly 1500 years old, and is purported to be the spot where a cross was erected in the 4th century when Georgia converted to Christianity.  The view from the hill down into the city of Mskheta was beautiful - the most striking feature was the confluence of two different rivers that each has a distinct hue.

Jvari Monastery.

Looking down into the valleys.

Hiking up to the monastery.

Two rivers coming together.

Yulia with the view down to Mskheta.

Inside the walls of the monastery. 

Inside Jvari Monastery.

Examining the artwork and icons.

In the center is the base of the original wooden cross that was erected on the hill. 

Looking at the highway.

Reminded me of home in Utah.

Our next stop was in Mskheta where we visited the church where the kings and queens are buried: Svetitskhoveli Cathedral.  It was part of a big touristy area, and after we looked there, we walked through the vendors and looked at the different goods for sale.  We bought a bunch of churchela, which are traditional candy made from nuts, fruit juice, and flour and which are hung on strings and look like candles. Our final stop was at a church where there is a current convent.  The trip was very nice and we really enjoyed it.

Inside the fort at Mskheta.

Inside the church.

Looking at the relics, including the throne.

Fancy holder for candles in front of each icon.

Graves in the floor.

Outside the walls. 

Walking the streets of Mskheta.

House with pretty woodwork.

View of the church.

We bought some fresh pomegranate juice.  She is squeezing it for us.

At the Convent graveyard.

More graves of nuns.

Reading tombstones.

When we got back, we rested for awhile and then went out and walked around a bit more, ending our day at a new restaurant.  It was probably our favorite - and it was the cheapest - and we ate very well.  We were in a bit earlier - about 7:00 p.m. and watched another movie before going to sleep.

The church closest to our hotel.

Puppet theater.  We didn't get tickets to the show.

At the restaurant.

We had a later breakfast on Friday and checked out of our hotel at noon.  We left our bags at the front desk and went out.  We first went to the Trinity Cathedral, the largest and newest church in the capital, and looked around.  One highlight there was a little area where they had two large swans, a couple of pea hens and a peacock.  We walked past the presidential palace, and then just wandered around the downtown for awhile.  We walked and saw the opera and ballet theater, and then went to a little bookstore that Yulia had read about.  We had some mint tea and pastries and sat for awhile.  Our next stop was at the funicular station. We rode it to the top of the tallest peak in the area and enjoyed the view and wandered around at the top for awhile.  After we came down, we walked through a different part of town and ended up at a fourth restaurant, near the one we liked the most.  The food was a bit more expensive, but was still yummy.  We had different dishes in all the places we ate and loved everything that we tried.  This was the first time that we've only eaten local food on a trip, which is a testament to the deliciousness of Georgian cuisine.

Trinity Cathedral.

On the cathedral plaza.

A view into the plaza and fountains.

Swans and pea hen.

Selfie!

Deep in the neighborhoods of Tbilisi.

Theater.

Taking a break at the bookstore.

One of very many stray cats that we saw.

Riding up the funicular. Trinity cathedral in distance.

Nearing the top

At the sulfur baths.

Ded Moroz escaping, or breaking in. 

We got back to the hotel at about 5:30 and waited on their couches for about 30 minutes until the driver came to take us to the airport. We waited in the airport until 10:45 when we flew out. Our flight home came through Almaty and we had a brief layover there.  We arrived in Astana at 8:00 a.m. and were home by 9:00.  It was a lovely time.  We think it's somewhere else we could go again - probably in the summer.

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One random thing that we noticed was that the stray dogs in both Tblisi and Mskheta had ear tags.