Blogs from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, North America - page 2

I woke up at 6 am to begin packing for my trip and I had a flashback to the time my family went to Disney World in the late 90s. Back then I clearly remember the steps we took to prepare for the day of travel. It was a time when we packed our suitcases with more than 6oz of shampoo, we checked a very inefficient website to check the status of our flight, and the process of traveling was a bit more stressful than commuting on 379 west or east during rush hour. I was lucky, my family was lucky to get to share the experience of travel to such a great place (I think few will disagree that Disney World is not only great, but the happiest place on earth. Even Kim Jong Un, ... read more

Here is my latest schedule for planing purposes. I would like to thank Archil and his family for hosting me. DAY N DATE Week Day Daily Activity Comment Day 1 27-Sep SaturdayArrival: Family Intro - Family DinnerOvercoming Jet Lag :) Day 2 28-Sep SundayGori & Uflistsikhe Gori is the native place of Stalin, we will be able to visit his Museum…Uplistsikhe is an ancient Cave Town, also very interesting and nice place… Day 3 29-Sep MondayOLD Tbilisi Walking Tour Intro to Georgian Culture. I am not sure if I told you but my wife is a professional tour guide…so, that must be informative and interesting for you :) Day 4 30-Sep TuesdayMtskheta Tour Mtskheta is an Old Capital of Georgia, Sacred Place for Georgians, famous for delicous traditional food and ancient buildings… Day 5 1-Oct Wednesday ... read more

If a picture tells a thousand words, than a video must tell at least a million. I figured today since I have access to my ipad I would simply upload two videos instead of writing a long blog while preparing for my trip to Georgia. To begin my research on Georgia several months ago I did what anyone would do these days - I "googled" the Republic of Georgia on YouTube. Below are two videos I found interesting due to the high production value and the story they seem to tell. Georgia is populated by approximately 70% Orthodox Christians, it was Soviet territory for just shy of a century, and in evolving and modernizing has to a large extent by weaving tradition with modernity. An idea I can understand as many of the rust belt cities ... read more

It takes an endless amount of history to make even a little tradition. -Henry James There is a lot of tradition in the Republic of Georgia and the country can be better understood if we look at the history that created those traditions. If you are reading this blog for the first time I want you to be able to have a better grasp of the history so that all future posts are framed with an eye towards the progress and "living history" I will experience and share with you over the coming weeks. Georgia is actually not the term Georgians use to refer to themselves - rather - they prefer the designation used Kartvelebi or "Kartvelians". The territory of Georgia has been inhabited by humans since the Paelolithic Era., but Georgia pro... read more

Geo: 40.4384, -79.9976Weather 73 cloudyWe are on our way home. We have spent the last couple of days of our trip with some peeps we love, the Ghilanis. Nice place to relax, play and laugh. I love listening to Pat, Barb and Paul talk. They crack me up. We spent two nights there. A couple of days ago, we went to Hershey. PA. It was a smart move to go early on Friday instead of Thursday, our first plan. We got there around 9:30 AM. Not too crowded. We saw the 4D movie first. It was cute. The Hershey kiss in the movie actually communicates with the audience including wishing me a Happy Birthday. She asked where I was in the audience and wouldn't continue until I acknowledged her. Pretty cute. Obviously someone is able to ... read more