We had a quiet day recovering from travel, sightseeing, and a late dinner on Friday. I managed to tour the Tbilisi Botanical Gardens located in a deep gorge below Narikala Fortress. The garden sits in a deep gorge below Narikala Fortress, following the Tsavkisis-Tskali River. The canyon walls probably provide a microclimate and protect the extensive collection inside. I walked through most of the gardens and a long waterfall and views of the city were the highlights. A layer of snow on the ground made everything look even more scenic.
The gardens date back to 1845 and house close to 5,000 different plant species. I particularly enjoyed the Eastern Georgia and Coniferous sections. I didn’t realize the Himalayan Pines (Pinus wallichiana) could get so big. They were planted all over Belgrade and I only saw smaller versions. It is one of the most beautiful pine trees in my opinion. It was a good workout for me walking up and down the sides of the canyon. The waterfall was still flowing, but large ice chunks were forming.
In the afternoon, we went shopping at the AgroHub grocery store. Nadia loves grocery shopping in foreign countries! I took a long nap before we went to Ambrosiano Restaurant for dinner for the second consecutive night. We are loving hanging out and talking with Oliver and Ocean! We laughed a lot on an after-dinner walk through the streets of Tbilisi. There is a lot of good nightlife here.
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