Our last stop was Kazbegi. We took the Georgian Military Highway (lots of details in the wanderlush blog) and had epic scenery most of the way. We stayed in Rooms Kazbegi, which was our big splurge of the trip. It was expensive, but worth it for the amazing views and deck. It looks just like the photos. The next day, we did the hike up to the monastery as detailed in the Wanderlush blog. She says that she is not a hiker and described it as more of a "walk" than a hike, but I strongly disagree. There were parts that we had to scramble over rocks, it was very steep in parts, it was NOT an easy hike at all. (I'm not saying it was super hard, but my husband is an avid hiker and agreed it was not just a "walk"). When we got to the top, it was completely clouded over and we couldn't see the mountains. So we got up early the next morning and just drove up for epic views.
Be aware that the roads in Kazbegi town are in complete disrepair. The town itself was the only place in Georgia where it would have been nice to have a 4x4. The asphalt was completely torn up and there were enormous potholes everywhere. We didn't think the drive to/ from Kazbegi was too bad- keep in mind that Georgian drivers are crazy, and the passing is next-level stunt work, but we always felt safer when we were driving. We also live in a country where driving is pretty bad already (but not Georgian bad....) so keep that in mind.
After Kazbegi, we drove back to Tbilisi, dropped off the car, and spent one more night before flying back.
Highlights of Georgia:
-THE FOOD. Eat all of the khinkali, the khatchapuri, the salads, the eggplant, I could go on and on. After Japan, this is my 2nd favorite food country now.
-Khareba Winery wine tasting
-Chronicles of Georgia Monument- it's outside of the city but our friends who lived there recommended it. Favorite restaurants were Khash-Khash (went 3 times) and Cafe Daphna (went 2 times) in Tbilisi, Traveler's Restaurant in Signaghi (went twice- get the eggplant and kinkhali) and Restaurant Guda in Pasanuri (GMH)
-Georgia Military Highway Drive, especially some of the viewpoints in the middle of the mountains.
-The dogs! Well cared for, fed, tagged, healthy strays everywhere.
We left knowing that we would go back. I really wish we had time for more (better) wineries in the Kakheti regios, Varizia Monastery, and the mountain towns in the Mestia region. It was also really inexpensive. We met a few American tourists, but they were all living internationally. Most of the tourists we met were Indian or European. There is an extremely strong anti-Russian sentiment. It's an absolutely fantastic country, and I think it will be overrun by tourists in about 10 years so now is the time to go!