Truer words never spoken,” sometimes it might seem as if the whole world is drowning in an Olympic cesspool of the most brazen affronts to basic decency and common sense ever conceived.”
I have been to Tbilisi. This is exactly how I remember it. The compulsory regimen of hospitality; eating, drinking, speechifying, toasting — gamar<i>JHOSE!</i> Brutal. The natives nice enough, smiling with those big liquid eyes, joking in that inscrutable language, but a constant undercurrent of sinister conspiracy. I recall, barely, barfing out the back window of a monstrous black and chrome Chaika limo after one excessively festive feast. Visiting a pottery where the potter spun his wares under a framed portrait of local-boy-made-good Djugashvili. Are the streets still filled with smoking cars burning filthy Azerbaijani gas? Good times. You picked a fine place for misadventure. Enjoying your dispatches.
Wow, sorry to hear that. Sounds like a set-up by the Georgian FSB. At least it seems Riley has access to the internet in detention or maybe released from detention by now since this Part III is published.
I could understand if gorgeous Georgian girls lured you into a trap. However Georgian men? I would have NONCOMPLIED with their "instructions".
It figures that Joseph Stalin was Georgian.
The lesson learned for me is that I will NEVER go to Georgia. Way too expensive (total: 545 lari—$195) for tobacco and drinks. And way too many mysterious encounters.
Final note> Riley is always welcome in Belarus. Riley would NEVER have these mysterious encounters in Belarus. I invite Riley to Belarus and will give Riley free lodging while waiting for his Russian visa.
Keep on writing Riley, may the "Muse on the Hill" keeps loving you and that you can go back to your Moscovite suburb in peace and health with a bottle or two of jar grown wine from Georgian.
It is so sad that my country is being cut from Russian, that the Russian Systema instructors won't be able to come any more. It is also very very sad that France is cut more and more from Africa because of the behavior of it's psychopatic oligarchs.
I'm on the edge of my seat!😳
Truer words never spoken,” sometimes it might seem as if the whole world is drowning in an Olympic cesspool of the most brazen affronts to basic decency and common sense ever conceived.”
Fantastic writing! Fun, funny, and wildly engaging! Real Mark Twain-level greatness!
I have been to Tbilisi. This is exactly how I remember it. The compulsory regimen of hospitality; eating, drinking, speechifying, toasting — gamar<i>JHOSE!</i> Brutal. The natives nice enough, smiling with those big liquid eyes, joking in that inscrutable language, but a constant undercurrent of sinister conspiracy. I recall, barely, barfing out the back window of a monstrous black and chrome Chaika limo after one excessively festive feast. Visiting a pottery where the potter spun his wares under a framed portrait of local-boy-made-good Djugashvili. Are the streets still filled with smoking cars burning filthy Azerbaijani gas? Good times. You picked a fine place for misadventure. Enjoying your dispatches.
Have you considered taking a bus to Yerevan?
Wow, sorry to hear that. Sounds like a set-up by the Georgian FSB. At least it seems Riley has access to the internet in detention or maybe released from detention by now since this Part III is published.
I could understand if gorgeous Georgian girls lured you into a trap. However Georgian men? I would have NONCOMPLIED with their "instructions".
It figures that Joseph Stalin was Georgian.
The lesson learned for me is that I will NEVER go to Georgia. Way too expensive (total: 545 lari—$195) for tobacco and drinks. And way too many mysterious encounters.
Final note> Riley is always welcome in Belarus. Riley would NEVER have these mysterious encounters in Belarus. I invite Riley to Belarus and will give Riley free lodging while waiting for his Russian visa.
Tbilisi sounds like quite an adventurous place. I had no idea. :-)
Keep on writing Riley, may the "Muse on the Hill" keeps loving you and that you can go back to your Moscovite suburb in peace and health with a bottle or two of jar grown wine from Georgian.
Respect
Please tell me you are feverishly writing the next installment & it will ding my inbox momentarily.
Something tells me - not all in this story is fiction.
Riley,
You must have time to read and you may like this article from Nicolas Bonnal (who knows your blog) about the cultural links between Russia and France since DeepL usually does a good job in translating: "Why Chateaubriand was defending the Franco-Russian relation": https://lecourrierdesstrateges.fr/2022/07/28/pourquoi-chateaubriand-defendait-la-relation-franco-russe-par-nicolas-bonnal/
It is so sad that my country is being cut from Russian, that the Russian Systema instructors won't be able to come any more. It is also very very sad that France is cut more and more from Africa because of the behavior of it's psychopatic oligarchs.
I wish the best for you.
Maximum Respect
Regardless of the size of one's pores, one must take a brutal fleecing like a manlet.
Panglossian Hobbit you may be, but closer to poet than blogger.
Those strong Georgian beverages :))
Excellent story telling! ...and I just wasted a really long visit in Sarajevo!
Good stuff. I've no idea how I wound up here but the Georgian dialog got me.
Death to the hill!