Back from the seaside. Part 2

Dining on Rikoti

Well, we were kind of hungry, I mean, I was not really hungry, because I had eaten that huge Bachlava and other fruits, too, such as pears and plums and I didn’t really want to eat something else at that time, however, others were pretty hungry as it seemed and they wanted to stop somewhere and eat something. However, they decided to be patient and wait until we got to Rikoti  and we could stop somewhere there after we had gone through the tunnel. So that we all were in the car waiting for the road to end with the tunnel so that after that we could eat. It was like two hours or something until that. Usually we used to buy some honey and Churchkhelas on the road on Rikoti and we would buy many Churchkhelas, if you want to know the truth, however, this time we didn’t buy any honey, because there was plenty of it at home and we didn’t need any new one, and my sister was not with us, so that Churchkhelas were not really in people’s minds, I mean, she is the one who loves Churchkhelas very much and she was not there so that she couldn’t tell us to stop and buy Churchkhelas, so we didn’t stop anywhere, if you want to know the truth. We went on that road leading to the tunnel and I looked around and took pictures of those different villages and houses and stuff like that. There were people sitting outside , cooking some corn and stuff and they had some clay stuff and other things to sell and people would stop their cars there and buy some things.

The landscapes were so beautiful, that I couldn’t resist not taking any pictures with my phone. There was some fog on the mountains far away and it was pretty sunny on our road and everything was green around us and it was just a great road trip , I must say. Of course , there were many cars on the road, and the main trouble were those trucks, because everyone hates going behind a truck and everyone tries to pass them, however it’s really hard to pass them on that kind of road and there were many cars behind them going slowly and stuff like that, you know.

Well, we passed some of them and my brother even made some tricks, however, we soon went to the tunnel and went through it and then we stopped on that place, where we used to stop some years ago. You know, there was this large restaurant there and they had many people visiting and eating there and stuff like that. They had pretty delicious things and there was a market, too, and water and water closet and everything and people just loved eating there,  I guess, well, at least, we always stopped there to eat. However, some time ago there was this crazy rain and there was this groundfall which destroyed everything there. And then these people rebuilt this whole thing and, though it is not the same again, there’s still a restaurant there and people still stop there and have some lunch.

So, this time, we stopped there too and went in to see how everything was there. Well, the environment was pretty nice and they had many things on menu and the thing that I liked the most was that they had those dishes there so that you could see how they were cooked or whatever and you could then decide whether you wanted to eat them or not. I remembered, that they had very delicious Chvishtari and I remember how I liked it, so when I saw this Chvishtari there, I just wanted to eat them, so we ordered some Chvishtari. There was this Nadughi, too. At first I thought that it was Ghomi, because it was white and kind of resembled it, however, when I asked what it was, they told me that it was Nadughi. Well, usually, they prepare  Nadughi with mint, so it is not all white and stuff, you know and it has some really small green or dark green pieces of mint in it and it’s kind of beautiful, if you ask me. So, we took that, too. 

There was this sign hanging on the wall near our table. It was a German sign, perhaps some Germans gifted it to the dining staff or something like that, and when I googled it, it said that it's better to have a belly  with drinking, than a hump with working. It was pretty hilarious to know what it said.

Well, my brother wanted to eat some Mtsvadi and we ordered two portions of Mtsvadi and we also ordered some Kupati and cooked tongue of cow in vinegar. You know, that thing is something my father loves and it’s pretty delicious, if you want to know the truth. Well, at least, I like it and if you haven’t tasted it, you should definitely taste it. especially if it’s well-cooked and it has some vinegar on it. or, maybe you can eat it without vinegar, because it’s delicious without anything and it’s delicious with any sauce, I guess. So, until I was out, drinking some water, because the water there was pretty cold and good to taste, they had already brought our order to the table, except for Mtsvadi and, to be honest, I didn’t really expect for the dishes to be brought so quickly, maybe that was because I got used to waiting for the order in those cafes and restaurants and I couldn’t really think that they had already prepared everything and some of those dishes just needed to be reheated and that was all, so it was a nice surprise when I went into the dining place and saw all those things already on the table. First of all, of course, I took one Chvishtari and tasted it and it tasted good, if you want to know the truth. And then I ate it with Nadughi and it was just perfect. That was just a perfect combination of those two, I guess, because I hadn’t eaten those two together before. I just really liked that. And when the others tasted Chvishtari with Nadughi, they also liked the idea. Anyways, soon our Mtsvadi was brought and it was just awesome, because it didn’t have those things sprinkled on it that they had sprinkled in Ureki and other places and the meat was just  the way we know and  like in Kakheti, I guess, well, at least, it was a pure pork chops and it tasted just great. In all, everything tasted good and I really recommend everyone eating there in that place on Rikoti.And don’t trust the first impressions, because when you see that place, there’s not much to see, I mean, there are some buildings and it doesn’t resemble the ones that used to be there, however, there are the same people there, they prepare dishes  just as delicious as they were until that disaster struck the place and they will flourish again, I believe in that, because people know that place and when they see that there is this dining place just the way it was, they will still stop there to eat and rest and stuff like that and the business will develop and everything will be just fine. 

Buying some Churchkhelas

Anyways, there were these things there on the shelf that looked like Katahs, and my mother wanted to have some, however, they said, that they were not Katahs and they were just some bread Nazuki and so that she didn’t buy them. And there were Churchkhelas outside and she loves Churchkhelas with nuts and she wanted to buy some, however, she thought that none of them were with nuts and she was going to go, however, my father saw that there were some Churchkhelas with nuts and we bought them. They asked me which ones I would like to eat, but I don’t really like them with nuts or something, and I prefer newly prepared Churchkhelas just like my brother, when it’s fresh and kind of soft and stuff like that and it’s just really delicious. The ones that were with nuts were red in colour and, if you want to know the truth, we don’t usually prepare different coloured Churchkhelas here in Kakheti, or where I’m from. We just have these brown coloured Churchkhelas, because of the white wine that we have. 

So, my father bought four of those Churchkhelas and then we got into the car after I filled a bottle with that fresh water and we hit the road again. Next stop was supposed to be in Tbilisi and then we would go to Sagarejo. Well, the thought was to go to Sagarejo directly, however my father’s car was in Tbilisi and, technically, he needed his car, so that we had to stop in Tbilisi and then go to Sagarejo. My parents tasted those Churchkhelas and I tasted a little bit of it, too, however, nothing compares that newly prepared Churchkhelas with walnuts _ the ones that we prepare at home and we can eat them until they dry up and stuff like that, you know, just fresh Churchkhelas _ that is just heaven. You should definitely taste Churchkhelas while preparing or just after some time of preparing them. Well, there’s this thing, when they prepare Tatara (this is what Churchkhelas have outside around the walnuts or nuts), they put it on plates and if you want, you can just bury some walnuts inside of it and eat it that way, so that this way it’s like eating Churchkhelas, just they are on a plate and that’s all. It’s really delicious, if you want to know the truth and people eat it like that. To be honest, if you don’t want to store this thing for later or something like that and you just want to eat it right then or some time later, you should do that, I mean, you should prepare Tatara and put it on plates and put some walnuts in it and eat it that way. Otherwise, preparing Churchkhelas is not an easy job. First of all, you should choose good walnuts, I mean, they are not supposed to be bad or bitter or whatever, because if they are not good, then Churchkhela will have a bitter taste and you won’t like it. so, you should choose good walnuts and you need many walnuts, you know. Then, you should decide whether you want walnuts to be halves or quarters or whatever, so that you should mend them on a floss or something and that process is not very nice, i can say, I mean, you can get walnuts cracked or you can have your fingers cut or something like that. And it needs some time to get all those Churchkhela structures ready for preparing Churchkhelas. I remember how we liked to help our grandmother and aunt in making Churchkhelas, but we were children and we weren’t let nearby those stuff, because we could injure ourselves, of course. Just imagine, preparing fifty or hundred or hundreds of Churchkhelas! I know, that my grand grandmother used to prepare hundreds of Churchkhelas, and she had many grandchildren and she made enough for all of them, you know. And the other year one of my aunts made five hundred Churchkhelas if I remember correctly. That’s just crazy! 

Anyways, we were all in our car and going straight to Tbilisi. Well, we thought that we would go into Kutaisi and see Bagrati Cathedral or Gelati Monastery, as we used to visit them every year when we went back from the seaside, however, there’s this new road that they made, which goes around Kutaisi and you won’t get into the city with that road and we were going on that road, so we didn’t see any of those places, however, we had seen them already so many times that we weren’t pretty sad about it, you know. Well, it was something like two hours drive from our dining place to Tbilisi, I guess and it was all good road and stuff like that, so that nothing could interfere our road trip, if you want to know the truth.

It still hadn’t darkened when we got to Tbilisi. However, it was 7 p.m. or something like that and that time is just a rush hour, you know, everyone goes out from work or goes to home and things like that and it’s just crazy being in a car in Tbilisi streets at that time. Well, we had to be like that and there were traffic jams everywhere and it was horrible, if you want to know the truth. I mean, we had to stay on the same place for a couple of minutes and we went just really slowly forwards and it was just killing everyone, however , we could do nothing, but wait for the cars to move and so that we could move slowly, too, you know. We needed something like one hour to get to our home from Dighomi, I guess, because of those traffic jams and all the cars moving together in the streets of Tbilisi. And that happens every day, except for weekends, I guess. That’s just unbelievable , you know. Everyone hates that time of the day, I guess. And there are traffic jams in the mornings, of course, when everyone is going to their works or taking children to their schools and then going to their works and stuff like that, you know. These traffic jams are just killing people.

Going to Kakheti

Well, after coming home in Tbilisi, we went to our apartment to see whether everything was alright there or not and well, everything was just fine, so that we got back into the cars. Well, my brother went alone with his car to Sagarejo and we were in my father’s car. The road was just okay, I looked around and looked at those places, where people had their plots and they looked pretty beautiful from the road. They were kind of far from it and that’s why they looked differently than when looked at from closer. People had tomatoes for sale in Sartichala. You know, Sartichala tomatoes are well-known and people buy those tomatoes when they get in Sartichala. Or some of them go there especially to buy some tomatoes and then they prepare some canned tomatoes or mashed tomatoes or Ajika or just eat them or whatever. The main thing is, that it’s well-known that Sartichala tomatoes are delicious and good to prepare some canned tomatoes or Ajika. We used to go there to buy tomatoes to prepare Ajika. My mother used to prepare it and for that we needed tomatoes and red peppers _ those two were the main ingredients and then she used to grind them and make some juicy mixture and then there were some preparations that I don’t really remember, because I was little and it was not very interesting for me, I guess, besides, I don’t really love Ajika and so that it was not for me that they were preparing it. well, of course, they wanted me to eat some Ajika, of course they were preparing it for everyone, however, I didn’t like it and I didn’t eat it. though I liked the smell of itand I was nearby when they were preparing it, if you want to know the truth.

So, at last we were in Sagarejo. Everything was just the same, I guess. Well, I hadn’t been there often lately, of course, but I went there a couple of times this summer and once I even walked all the way from my home up to this supermarket on Rustaveli street and then down all the way to Kakheti highway and to my classmate’s house and then to my home from there, and it was a historical day, I can say, because it’s been years since I last walked so much in Sagarejo and even visited a friend and then went to my cousins’ after that. Well, technically, I didn’t go there, my uncle took me with his car, but still…

Anyways, we went home and we had all those bags and stuff that we took upstairs and stuff like that. And I realized that I was pretty tired with all that road, you know. I went to see my grandparents and aunt, who was there, too, though she lives in Tbilisi, you know, but she is there now in Sagarejo with her parents. Until I was upstairs I heard some familiar voices and I thought that it was my uncle, but it was kind of strange to hear him there, so I went out and , yes, it was him. And my aunt was there, too. So that we talked a little with my parents and stuff like that and then they left and invited us to their house the other day. Well, we often visit there. Their house is like a getting together place for us _ relatives and we often go there, if you want to know the truth. Well, they left and I went in downstairs to see my grandparents. They were pretty happy to see me there as they hadn’t seen me for more than a week, I guess. They were asking about our holidays on the seaside and my impressions about things that are happening there, you know. 

Well, we talked a little and then  I went upstairs, where the TV was on and it was kind of already 10 o’clock in the evening and it was a Friday night, so that I knew that there would be The Vano’s  Show on Rustavi2 channel and so that I waited for it. then my parents came, too, to watch it as they like watching that show. It’s a comedy show, you know, so many people in Georgia watch it, and it’s mainly about politics and the situation in Georgia nowadays and that’s why many people watch it, I guess.  Sometimes it’s pretty hilarious and amusing, but there are some times, when it’s not that funny and it just goes about politics and stuff like that, you know. However, it’s like one month left until the elections in Georgia, so that everything now is about politics and there are TV commercials about different groups and stuff like that and there are many shows about them and debates between them and, well, everything is about politics now. Well, the people are interested in politics and who will win and there has happened so many things, including fighting and arresting and stuff like that, that people voluntarily or involuntarily get into politics and the main thing to speak about while talking to each other is the politics and that kind of kills me, because there can be many other things to talk about while dining or hanging around or something like that, you know. 

Anyways, I just like the first part of that show, until the guests arrive and until they start talking. So that I was just sitting there in front of the TV for that first part to see and then I went to my room to sleep, because the next day we had some plans about our house..

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