Picked up our Lada Niva for a 6day tour around Armenia. First stop was Geghard monastery, not so far out of Yerevan (UNESCO world heritage site, Medieval monastery). This is a big complex founded by Gregory the Illuminator (3rd Century founder of Christianity in Armenia and patron Saint of Armenia). There are some lovely carvings in the stone, both inside and outside. We were fortunate to catch a choir singing beautifully in a cave chapel. It was a very popular destination, probably due to it being Saturday. Close by is Garni temple, a left over from Roman occupation, interesting history but not so interesting to visit. From there a longer drive took us to Khor Virap monastery (17th century) which has great views to Mt Ararat, it's also where Gregory the Illuminator was incarcerated for 13 ... read more

The minibus dropped us outside the Stalin Museum in Gori. After a surprisingly good coffee in a street stall opposite the museum, we joined on the back of a and English tour group to be shown around the museum. Our guide was quite factual, rather than promoting one side. The upper floor has many images of Stalin through his life, including his death mask. There are also cabinets full of gifts from around the world. Downstairs is a smaller display giving a glimpse of the harsher side of his role in history. For a small extra fee there is his bullet proof train to look around. Our guide was quite balanced telling us throughout that there’s the official and many other versions of the stories around Stalin. Many Georgian families were affected by family members being ... read more

Telavi and Signaghi Telavi is not the most inspiring town, there are good views from the palace down into the valley. We hired a driver for the day, organised by our host Svetlana – the most comfortable car we have been in so far! Hetook us around the area to four different historical sites, a 6th Century church at Ikalto, a big and still operating monastery at Alaverdi a UNESCO site with buildings from 6th Centruy. Then on to ancient palace on a hill at Gremi from the 16th Century and finally to the foot of a steep hill that took us up to another ancient church at Nekresi from 4th Century. A very pleasant day, quite a lot of tourists doing the same circuit. We didn't add in the vineyard trip. Great locations for their ... read more

BAKU - Capital of Azerbaijan After checking in to Centrum Hostel near Fountain Square we went straight to the old town Metro station for the 10:30 am daily walking tour run by Eldar. Started in old town, stopped outside Palace of the Shirvanshahs, but didn’t longer in old part. Interesting to see the layers of history through the buildings, clearly Eldar's main interest. Many ancient ones destroyed once oil money arrived. Some very grand early 20th century ones. Complicated history of being taken over by different regional players. Good introduction and a great thing to do after a night flight! Second day: Went with the other participant in yesterday's walking tour with a driver out for a day trip to Qobusta where there are mud volcanoes and the nearby Petroglyph reserve. Just under an hour out ... read more

Last destination of this trip is the capital of Sloveina, Ljubljana. The weather has become very hot and it’s around 33C during the day, this means perfect blue skies but meltingly hot to be walking around a city. This is a small and attractive city with a good feel to it. It’s easy to walk around, with lots of pedestrianized areas. There’s a castle on the hill with views over the old and new towns. The old town clustered below the castle and based around 3 squares, the river and a collection of bridges. During the day it’s quite quiet and then in the evening it becomes very lively with lots of people out in the street cafes and restaurants that line the river banks. A great place to go around sunset is the Nebotičnik skyscraper ... read more