Khabera Winery, Gremei and Signagi, Georgia (September 2019)

The border crossing from Azerbaijan to Georgia was somewhat treacherous. We had to pull our luggage all the way uphill from Azerbaijan's border control to the Georgia border control. It was good 500 meters long. The good news was that Georgia border control was a breeze.

Georgia is also a Caucasian nation. Its population is 3.7 million and 1.2 million people live in the capital city of Tbilisi.

Khabera Winery
Our first stop was Khareba winery for a local wine tasting experience. Georgia has a wine history that dates back more than 8,000 years! The winery was inside a tunnel in a mountain that stretches up to 8.6 km!

 These guys sang a song every once in a while with a wonderful harmony.;

Georgians used to drink wine on a cow horn that could contain up to a liter, surprisingly at one shot!

The guide's swirling movement was brisk and spectacular.

People who rather die hard with alcohol drink Cha Cha, which is made with the remains of grapes after making wine. They should be clear in color, but are strong at 55% in alcohol contents. They are Georgian Vodka.

We had to take a golf cart to go to a restaurant for lunch.

Gremi
After a long time spent for wine tasting and lunch, we moved to the next location, Gremi. This used to be the once glorious capital of the kingdom of Kakheti, now a museum. We saw the church and castles erected in the 16th Century, but only briefly since we were given 15 minutes. Obviously, not too many people showed up in time for the departure. Oh well...

Signagi
We stayed at an all-inclusive resort hotel, Ambassador Hotel, in Signagi. It had even a golf course. But it was too bad that we spent only the evening time.

Signagi was a royal town in antiquity, surrounded by a wall of 23 towers and 6 gates that used to connect the city with Europe and Asia.

There was St. George Church, but was closed due to renovation.

We found a few interesting landmarks and structures like this old car with a sign of Signagi and an interesting statue.

This city is also called the city of love, because people come to get married at a Wedding House. It compares to Las Vegas where people get married and divorced easily.

We stopped over at a small local market and the way Georgians packaged dried fruits was quite interesting.

After Signagi, we traveled into the capital city of Tbilisi. - Jeffrey