New Wine Festival 2016

The introduction

Hello people, I hope you are all having a nice day.

Today I want to tell you about my presence at New Wine Festival 2016. And yes, that is just the one I was telling you about in my other blog, where I told you about New Wine Festival 2015 and some things about it being held in 2016, too.

I was looking forward to this day and that was it _ the day came, it was May 14, 2016 and it was the day of this New Wine Festival 2016!

Starting of the day

Well, to be honest, the day started not that great, as I was expecting a warm, sunny weather, but here in my neighourhood there was this wind and stuff like that and I thought there would be wind in Mtatsminda Park, too, _ that’s where the festival was to be held.

The day started great. The weather was good, although there was kind of wind outside and I had to go outside early in the morning and I didn’t really like that wind, and I thought that, probably, the wind would be there on Mtatsminda, too, and it would be awful there. But I really wanted to go, so no wind could stop me. And by “wind” I don’t mean something like a hurricane or whatever, it was a mild wind, nothing special, but still, I really hate windy days and windy weather, in general, I’d rather have rainy days than windy ones. Of course, when you are sitting home, looking out of the window, it doesn’t really matter whether it’s windy or rainy, but when you have to go out and walk around and stuff like that, it really matters what the weather is like that day. So, I hoped that the wind wouldn’t make me change my mind of going to Mtatsminda to the New Wine Festival 2016, as I had been waiting for it for a year already.The very first New Wine Festival was in 2015 for me and I liked it very much and I had planned not to miss the New Wine Festival 2016.

The festival

So, here it was and the day had come and I could enjoy that wine tasting and stuff there. So, the festival was to start at 11 o’clock and end at 6 p.m., so I had plenty of time to do some things that I wanted to do at home or whatever and then decide when to go to Mtatsminda Park to see the festival. Well, I was waiting for my friend, who had told me the day before that she would be free from half past three, so I had decided to go to the festival somewhere around that time, so that I could meet her and we could go there together. But then some things changed and she couldn’t come for some reasons and I was going to go alone there, because I had already asked another friend to come and she really wanted, but she was not free as it was her groupmate’s birthday. Though, she really likes wine and tastes all kinds of different wines when she has a chance and she really enjoys special wines with special tastes, so she was really sad about the fact that she couldn’t come to the festival, but what could she do?! So, I was all alone and by myself, but I couldn’t just leave my decision in the middle of the road and I had to go there alone or not. I was kind of pleased, though, I guess, because I really love walking alone and going alone to some places. That means that I can do whatever I want and go wherever I want and I won’t be required to consider other people when I’m alone, I mean, there is no one that can have other suggestion to go somewhere else or do something else or whatever. So, it was okay and I got ready to go.

Well, the weather was strange. It was sunny and it was windy and it was kind of going to rain, so I didn’t really know what to wear and I did my best to wear clothes that may be useful in every situation.

Going to Mtatsminda Park

I went out and wanted to take the bus, but I missed it for some seconds, so I just walked to the metro station and went to Rustaveli metro station. It took 12 minutes, I guess, to get from Varketili metro to Rustaveli metro station. And there was this bus coming in every couple of minutes to go to Mtatsminda Park. That was this bus #124. And I knew there would be lots of people going to New Wine Festival, but I really didn’t think that it would be this crowded there and I was pretty surprised to see that situation that so many people were waiting for that bus and some of them couldn’t get on the bus, but still got in and was stuck somewhere near the door and I don’t know what he was going to do on every bus stop, where the driver would stop and open and close the doors. That would be one hell of a journey for that person, because until the bus got to Mtatsminda Park, it had some other stops, too. And it takes something like a half an hour to get up there. Or maybe more, it really depends on the traffic, I guess.

So, what I’m trying to say is that I missed the first bus, because of so many people trying to get on it and there were many more waiting for their turn to get on another bus, too, but there I was standing near the bus stop, waiting for another bus to come. I don’t know, maybe it was 15 minutes or more when the second bus arrived and everyone got ready to get up there and take places, and, of course, everyone wanted to sit on chairs and not stand, because once they got in, they knew no one would get out, because everyone was going to Mtatsminda Park, and they had to stand like that for at least half an hour with all those curly roads and bus going here and there. I got pretty lucky and the bus just stopped at the spot where I turned out to be exactly in front of its door, so I was the second one to get on that bus and that was just amazing, because I just got there, took my ticket at once and sat on a chair and no one could make me stand up! That really cheered me up and then the bus started andwe were on the road to New Wine Festival 2016!

I was looking out the window, looking at the buildings and streets and people and stuff, while some people standing there in the bus on the isle were struggling so much, that I felt sorry for them, but hey, I didn’t wish myself to be there in their place. Some of them were talking to each other, some were angry with the driver and told him to drive more carefully, some were just quiet, and I was quiet, too, of course. What would I whine about?! I was sitting pretty comfortably on my chair and enjoying the views from the window with my sunglasses on, which I love so much.

There was a big road ahead of us and when it was finally almost over, we saw many people and cars moving slowly on the road, and that was when our driver stopped and told us that he was not supposed to go ahead, because that was the order. Well, we were very disappointed, because we knew there were some kilometres to walk until we came to the Mtatsminda Park, but what could we do? There was nothing that we could do, but to get off the bus and walk with other people to our destination. It was a long walk, I must say, but it was kind of exciting, too. Finally we went into somewhere, but I couldn’t imagine that we would still walk some more. And we walked, and walked and walked and I was just wondering when would I see something familiar that would mean I was nearby the center of the park. I guess, it was something like 15 minutes from the bus to the placewhere I recognized the park and went to its center. Well, maybe it was more than 15 minutes, but I doubt that. You know, when you don’t know where you’re going and you have these expectations that soon you will get to your destination, but it never shows up, it’s kind of frustrating and you think, that you have been going there for ages, when actually it has just been some minutes or something like that.

At the festival

At last, I was there in the park and the very first thing I saw were these American Mounts,where some foreigners, maybe Germans and Koreans were in a line to get on the attraction and they seemed pretty excited. And then there were these two guys walking behind me and I could hear them talking and one told another one that once he sat on that thing and he didn’t know what on earth told him to do so! It was pretty hilarious the way he said that.

In just a minute I was already nearby the main gate of Mtatsminda Park and went down to its center, where all those people were coming from. Soon I saw even more people and there was this smoke and amazing smell of Mtsvadi being cooked and it was really irresistible. When I got there some huge raindrops started to fall out of nowhere and people just started running and going to some places, where they could hide from that rain and stuff. And the thing was, that it was really sunny and it was raining! That was pretty strange and no one would think that could happen. But, fortunately, the rain stopped pretty soon and everything got back to the way it was. So the festival went on and I went on enjoying it.

The territory where the whole wine presenting companies and cellars and people were was huge. I didn’t think that it would be this huge! I walked and walked and couldn’t really find where it ended. There were many familiar and many unfamiliar brands and companies and cellars and everyone had these fine decorations in their places and there were many people around, tasting wine and asking about them and enjoying their evening. Some foreigners were just singing Georgian folk songs and that was really amazing. At first, I thought they were Georgians because of the songs and those different voices that Georgian folk songs have, but then when I got closer I realized that they were not Georgians and they just sang those songs so enthusiastically, that everyone was watching pleased that they could sing so well. It was really amazing. And some people were filming that to have some memories for another timeand some were just sipping wine and enjoying the atmosphere that there was. And the atmosphere was just amazing, if you ask me, because the people seemed happy and joyful and positive and they were just capturing these precious moments with each other.

So, I was wandering around, taking pictures and looking at all those wine bottles and stuff. Everything was pretty cool and I liked that. Although, I hoped that there would be some Svanetian people just like they were in New Wine Festival 2015 and they would have their dish which is called Kubdari and which I love so much and I ate some during that festival and it was just amazing. But I got disappointed, because I couldn’t find any, and I think, there were not any one there. And I really wanted to eat some Svanetian Kubdarisomehow. But, that’s a minor thing. I mean, the main thing there was the wine and tasting it and appreciating it!

Photo gallery