TIFF and another day in Tbilisi

Where do we begin: we have had some walks around the city and absorbed and mentally processed some of the things we've seen.  It is important to write about things before too much time passes, otherwise things begin to blur when we look back and ask what that was we did on Tuesday or was it Monday?  Actually it isn't terribly important to have an accurate time stamp on our activities; our gentle readers will never know whether or not we are taking liberties!

Tuesday we walked to a location that we had found on the Internet, supposedly where we could buy rail tickets for our trip next week to Batumi.  During our long walk in a brisk wind, we passed a shop where women were sewing.  The women didn't want Marty to photograph, but she was able to pull off a quick shot of one of the workers with the iPad through the window (reflection and all). Anyway, when we got to the location where we thought we could get tickets we found that the office had been closed for years, so we ended up going to the train station to get our tickets...more on that in a bit.

On our way back to the flat we encountered a begging man with two dogs.  Our assumption is that he was begging for money for food for his dogs.  He was very nice, as were his dogs, and allowed some pictures..he did enjoy seeing the photos, which helped.

We went to the train station with Dato and Giorgi.  What a surprise we had!  We hadn't been inside for at least five years, so we were totally unprepared to see that the station complex has been converted into a modern shopping plaza and hotel, combined with the train station.  We didn't get any photos, but will next week when we head to Batumi.

Tuesday evening just as Marty was starting to warm up some soup she had made we got a call from Larry and Maia Good suggesting that we go out for dinner...right then and there!  Practicing our flexibility skills we turned off the heat under the soup and said "sure."  Now the dinner (Lebanese) isn't the big thing, but the conversation was as we started talking about future adventures and what fun it would be to take the Trans Siberian across Russia through China to Vladivostok!  So....our next huge adventure could be doing that, maybe in 2016.

Wednesday evening we had two of our friends over for dinner.  It was nice to have some time with them, as we only see them once a year.  

Thursday we walked up to the Amirani movie theater on Kostova and bought tickets to see an Armenian film called Tevanik.  The TIFF (Tbilisi International Film Festival) is now 15 years old.  We had been aware of the festival over the years but never managed to get ourselves to any of the films. Well, it is a case of motivation maybe, but this year after looking online at the various films there were some that looked quite interesting so our decision was easily made. By walking up for tickets and then going to the movie at night we got in two full hours of walking at a brisk pace (it's good exercise and cheaper than going to the gym).

Tevanik was an Armenian film about a small Armenian village that found itself on the front lines during the war with Azerbaijan some twenty years ago.  It dealt with the way that the townspeople young and old got caught up in and had to deal with the war.  The discussion after the film was interesting in that there were a couple of Azeris in the audience, and they praised the way the Armenian director had stayed away from national politics and dealt only with the human side of the conflict.

This woman begging also has a mobile phone!  One of Marty's friends says that begging is a profession that needs a mobile phone.  We will leave it at that, but note that she has excellent shoes and a nice backpack!  We saw her on the way to buy tickets for the movie.

In the afternoon Marty connected with her friends Nana and Temuri.  It is always good to catch up with them and learn about things going on in the city and in their lives; particularly because neither of us is very good at keeping in touch during the months we are apart.

Nana Kalandadze

On the way back to the flat Marty captured a few shots that might interest you.  Always we are looking at the once stunning buildings.

This is not an uncommon; the old buildings are prone to age and earthquakes

This building in the past year has experienced some serious shifting and now is strongly braced.  We don't know if it is still occupied or not.  It may well be partially so.

 

This has long been one of our favorite courtyards.  Using the iPad it is not easy to do telephoto shots and maintain the quality of the photo, so this just what it is.

Late Thursday evening, around 10:30 pm, we got a call from our friend Larry, with an invitation to go for a ride in his restored 1950s Russian Pobeda.  He bought it nearly a dozen years ago as a basket case and recently completed its restoration.  As you can see from the photos (with Larry and his wife Maia), the Pobeda is now in nearly-original condition.  We drove up to Turtle Lake in it and stopped for coffee.  Larry was careful to give a generous tip in advance to the parking attendant, to make sure that no harm came to his prize. 

The Pobeda was the first "modern" Russian automobile post-WW2.  In Russian, Pobeda means "victory"

Larry and Maia at Turtle Lake with his prized Pobeda

Friday late afternoon we headed off to another movie, this one entitled "Last Hijack," a Somali film produced by an American, about the Somali pirates.  It was a well filmed story that left us both feeling quite depressed.  It is easier to understand now how the Somali men turn to pirating and yet at the same time find that it is a dead end.  In many cases the dead end is quite literal and for others it means loss of family as the wives and parents of these men basically disown them.  We are glad we saw it, but would not rush back to see another movie as depressing as this one was.

We tried to see a second film with friend, Debbie Dunn, but all the 7:00 pm movies were sold out so we just went to dinner instead!  Maybe we'll be able to get to another one or two before the festival ends Sunday evening, but chances are good that all showings are sold out as there are advance ticket sales.