Okay, a bit hyperbolic, but it is Lent, and we are in a heavily Christian country, so bear with me.
It was time for us all to enjoy one last family meal and Eka, in her amazing ability to find just the right place, had us eating in the Hotel Citadel, which is perched on the side of a hill on the way to a fortress overlooking Tbilisi. The friendship and food flowed and conversations were deep. It was sad, in a way, to realize that tomorrow we shall separate into the unknown and the fates, if we are to believe the stories, will determine if we will see each other again. Much like the biblical Last Supper, important ideas were shared and it was a time of great reflection before the trials ahead. We ate bread, drank the wine and shared a last time of companionship. Lots of laughter and lots of toasts to so many things we have seen and done over the last two weeks. Afterwards, we climbed to the top of the fortress, saw the really huge statue of Mother Georgia and then took a type of gondola ride down the the bottom of the valley and walked home through the rather quiet streets of Tbilisi. It was the perfect evening to end a really life-altering trip.
The view of the city from where we had dinner was spectacular!
This is Brian. He is a really unique person--exmilitary, physics teacher from the southside of Chicago. Without him, I think I would still be stuck in Chicago. His ability to make the best of a bad situation is truly inspirational. I also think it is slightly amusing that at the top of this huge fortress in the middle of Georgia, you can get a Coke. The universal drink!
Mark and James are twins, trying to get a good photo.
The Mother Georgia statue. She has a large sword and wine. You know, so she's prepared for anything. Good time or bad, she's ready!
A Glockenspiel. In the middle of Tbilisi on a rather random street. Because, apparently, that is how they roll here. We started in Munich with one and finished in Tbilisi with one. I don't know what that says about the universalness of the human spirit, but it does tell me that people do love a good moving clock!
A few random pictures from today... Below is the walk/don't walk signal, which actually has a person moving on it when it is time to walk.
We went to the Georgian National Museum where we saw artifacts from 18th century BCE. That stuff was old. However, just like our students, several of us got bored with the tour guide and started wandering off. Josh decided to be the alternate tour guide and made up very interesting stories about what all the artifacts really were. We really aren't that much more grown up than our kids are.
And this sign cracks me up. Seriously, there are so many squat toilets in this country that they do have to explain how to use a regular flush toilet.
Home tomorrow, gang!
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