Pretty soon – 10th of September to be precise – i am off on the next adventure: two weeks in the South Caucasus visiting Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan. This just a heads up for you to let you know some posts will start to appear from Sunday 11th, probably….. The only hitch that has emerged… Read more: The Next Adventure…..

We flew Austrian Airlines LHR two and a half hours to Vienna, four hour layover, then three hours to Yerevan. We came in across the Black Sea, and along the border between Georgia and Turkey to get here and arrived at our hotel at 5:30 this morning…… That stop/start travel, plus the three hour time… Read more: Day 1: In and around Yerevan, Armenia

So, slightly less jiggered than i was last night, but by no means back to whatever passes for normal with me…… mainly because i spent too long working on this blog last night when i ought to have been sleeping!!! Finishing off yesterday, the last pic you saw was of the the rather wonderful Arno… Read more: Day 1: Continued….

I couldn’t resist posting this parting shot of the Cascades at night…… this was taken on our walk back from our first Armenian dinner. We were warned ahead of this trip not to expect to lose any weight and it didn’t take long for us to understand why that was said! Of course, you don’t… Read more: Day 2: Yerevan to Goris

Late last night, i did not check my watch but figured it was about 11:45, i was woken by a series of loud noises i could not identify, it sounded like a thunder storm but it wasn’t. My best guess was somebody had consumed too much of that wonderful Armenian Brandy and was playing cymbals… Read more: Day 3: Goris to Dilijan

I know it’s Thursday and i am just trying to finish off Tuesday for you, but that’s how the cookie crumbles. I had a brief chat with Tour Leader Dario on the topic of writing a blog and he volunteered that it’s almost impossible on this trip because it’s too busy and there are no… Read more: Day 3: Continued….

So, an exciting day in prospect today: we leave Armenia and head off to Tbilisi the capital of Georgia! Of course we simply must visit another Monastery before leaving Armenia and so we stopped off at Haghpat Monastery, also known as Haghpatavank…. Those of you who have been paying attention will of course notice this is… Read more: Day 4: Dilijan to Tbilisi

Morning, folks!!! It’s about 8:00am Saturday here in Kazbegi, Georgia and i know this pic is out of sync with the rest of the blog, but the view from my hotel balcony is so wonderful, gotta share it with you. Then i’ll get back to the business of finishing the blog for Day 4….. That’s… Read more: Day 4: Continued…..

Visiting Tbilisi deserves a long weekend at least and i cannot begin to do it justice here!!! So, my advice is to consider it a candidate for a City Break weekend. You’ll have a great time… The bad news is there are no direct flights as the mo’…. so at least one stop and it’s… Read more: Day 5: In and around Tbilisi

The route we take today to get up to Kazbegi, about 10 miles south of the border with Russia, is called the Georgian Military Highway. For centuries this has been the traditional route for travel between Russia and Georgia and for invaders usually coming in the opposite direction. There is no particular significance to the… Read more: Day 6: Tbilisi to Kazbegi

We set off on our travels again this morning, enjoying the wall to wall sunshine that i seem to have taken for granted! Most days have started about 20c and peaked around 30c…. Here are some early morning pics for you of Gergeti Trinity Church and Mount Kazbeg, plus a couple of cloud formations i… Read more: Day 7: Kazbegi to Gori

On our way East today, 100 miles or so from Gori to Telavi: looks straightforward on the map and includes a stop at a winery: the area around Telavi is a prime wine producing area for the burgeoning Georgian wine trade! Here’s a few pics of the scenery along the way: The second pic is… Read more: Day 8: Gori to Telavi

Telavi to Sheki, eh?? On the face of it, a straightforward enough day – 50 miles or so to the border post between Georgia and Azerbaijan at Lagodekhi then another 70 further east to Sheki [Seki]? As you already know, it was not to be. The Azerbaijanis closed all their land border crossings when Covid… Read more: Day 9: Telavi to Sheki

If you are finding my spelling of Sheki inconsistent, that’s because it is inconsistently spelled!!! Most common spelling i saw was Seki on most signposts. Shaki is another that follows the Shaki Khans’ Palace and our grandly named hotel in Sheki also called Shaki Palace Hotel….! A slightly odd pic to start: a childrens’ playground!… Read more: Day 10: In and around Sheki

Before we left Sheki for Lahij i could not resist taking a pic of the local Bridal Shop. My shot doesn’t do it justice but i hope you can get an idea…..! Sheki is something of a melange of architectural styes: here are two examples of some modern buildings: I don’t know what the first… Read more: Day 11: Sheki to Lehij

We got up to another glorious day! Looking forward to our final long drive of the tour back along the road we had taken from Baku to Sheki to return to the Azerbaijani capital. We strolled again along the main street in Lehij, this time downhill, to meet the bus. Here are a couple more… Read more: Day 12: Lahij to Baku

We set off for our 40 mile drive south from Baku along the coast of the Caspian Sea to Gobustan: we were on our way to the Gobustan State Historical and Cultural Reserve. The Gobustan State Reserve is very rich in archaeological monuments, but the main attraction for tourists is the Gobustan Cultural Landscape within… Read more: Day 13: In and around Baku

You might remember from the very first post that the journey out to Yerevan at the start of the tour was not a barrel of laughs: I got three hours sleep in the first 24 hours. Well, the journey home was pretty similar – the main difference was that i knew what to expect!! When… Read more: The Journey Home and an Epilogue