Dream to Travel from NCM

Goodbye Madrid. Goodbye Europe. I will probably see you again in the spring.

Taking my seat and settling in for a nap.

Touchdown Philly. And just like that I am home again.

You know what I missed the most about home? Turns out it is the fairly simple stuff: soft, heat dried towels from the dryer—none of this air dried method, my American coffee with half and half and my sisters.

PS Air dried towels are kinda like using a loofah sponge.

Today I went to the Christmas Market at Plaza Mayor. The first thing I noticed, while it was very lovely!, this market had almost no food stalls. ; ) And it had, by far, the most live materials stalls. Lots of stalls with greens and wreaths to decorate your home—I’m sorry that I couldn’t take some of these items home.

A few final pictures from the rooftop restaurant of my hotel, Hotel Indigo.

Plaza Mayor Christmas Market in the evening.

Good night. See many soon! Another year, another trip, totally fantastic. Nine weeks, four countries, many more cities. Wonderful weather. A GREAT time with Mike and I am thrilled to announce that he says he is coming home! June 2025. 🤞

Touchdown Madrid.

Christmas Markets day one, Plaza de España. So. Much. Fun.

As usual, I was hungry. El chihuahua callejero. Salchica con cebola caramelizada, ketchup de curry y bacon ahumado.

Yesterday’s breakfast, apple fritters. Today’s breakfast, Bavarian yeast pastry w/custard—I only ate 1/2 of each. ; ) Other pictures from the market today.

Amazing pictures from the market this evening—day two. And the immersive light show of Solomon’s Dream. Set to illuminate the brunnenhof (courtyard with a fountain) at the Residenz Palace, transforming it into a magical show. The combination of light, sound and the unique setting created a captivating experience! Sorry, I can’t post videos. Germany has the best Christmas Markets!

Next stop Madrid. Christmas Market at Plaza Mayor.

6AM flight from Tbilisi to Munich. Four hour flight. Three hour time difference. All that was easy. Then I arrive in Munich . . . so much for German efficiency. ; )

All backed up clearing customs—about 1/2 hour to clear. Not sure why. Then our luggage was delayed arriving on the turnstile. Again, not sure why. Both airports were very busy though. Busier than I have ever seen.

Munich Christmas Market. Day one. Marienplatz.🎄🤶🏻

One of the great pleasures of a visit to the Christkindlmarkt, really any Christmas Market, is the opportunity to enjoy its particular culinary delights. There’s mulled wine, glühwein, to give us that inner glow as well as freshly roasted almonds and chestnuts to keep body and soul together. Other traditional features of the Christkindlmarkt include tempting grilled sausages and Advent sweetmeats such as spicy pfeffernüsse biscuits and magenbrot cake. I also love all the handmade gifts and treasures and all the lights! The magical glow of twinkle lights.

The original Munich Christmas market, dates back to the 14th century and has been held on Marienplatz since 1972. My hotel is three blocks away. The market is huge! There have to be close to 200 stalls selling goods and food.

The Glockenspiel in the New Town Hall tower shows two events from Munich’s city history:

First, the wedding of Duke Wilhelm V and Renate of Lorraine, celebrated in February 1568. In honor of the bride and groom, a jousting tournament took place on Marienplatz. The Bavarian knight triumphed over his opponent from Lorraine.

The lower floor shows the Schäffler dance. After a severe plague epidemic, the barrel makers are said to have been the first to venture out into the streets again, dancing to amuse the plague-stricken residents.

Tomorrow more marketing.

Lunch at Daphne. Khinkali, lobiani . . . our usual. Then to Fabrika for coffee.

Then a walk to cable car to see Mother Georgia. Cable car was closed for maintenance. Whaat?!! So here we are at the bottom of the hill.

Next stop, Munich.

My second Thanksgiving in Georgia. Thanksgiving for me is bringing family and friends together over a big meal to express gratitude and thanks. In Georgia they called a big meal with family and friends a supra. And a big meal it was—main course was salmon. Yum! For the second year in a row, I celebrated peace, gratitude, goodwill and thanks here in Georgia with Mike and a couple of his American friends.

Of course I forgot to take a picture of the table before we ate! It was great, salmon, mac and cheese (Evan’s signature dish), Georgian salad, khinkali and Medok for dessert—the Georgian version of the Russian honey cake medovik. It is a layered cake (usually eight layers) that intricately combines sponge cake with rich milk cream. And wine: Georgian pet-nat, and qvevri saperavi and rkatsiteli.

Above picture on the right is of the appetizers. Pkhali gobi, Mike’s famous deviled eggs, sulguni cheese plate and sweet peppers with walnut and garlic paste. They call this sweet pepper dish badrijani when made with eggplant, but we had a pepper version.

So, yesterday and today, I went to a couple of museums and did a little Christmas shopping. The museums’ entrance area is surrounded by mirrors. Everyone was taking mirror selfies . . . so here is mine. The Wine Museum is located on the lower ground level, a festive shopping area was at ground level and the Georgian National Museum was on level two.

The eclectic exhibits in the Museum of Tbilisi History, housed in an old caravanserai (I had to look this up, an inn (former in this case) with a central courtyard for travelers in eastern countries), range from models and photos to high-society and folk costumes from the 19th century and realistic mock-ups of period craft workshops and a small restaurant. It’s lacking in context and narrative, but the displays and scaled models give you a real sense of Tbilisi’s past. It was worth the stop.

The Tbilisi Wine Museum allows you to delve into the rich history of Georgian winemaking—it dates back over 8,000 years. We were greeted by a variety of archaeological and ethnographic items, including bowls, wine dishes, ritual dishes, qvevri, tamada, wine, grape pips and more. The qvevri, Georgia’s most famous winemaking vessel, takes center stage in the museum, highlighting its enduring role in traditional Georgian winemaking.

Mike and I will be celebrating Thanksgiving here at my apartment. And the next stops for me are Munich and Madrid—Christmas Markets.🎄 ☕️ 🤶🏻

Mike insisted I branch out of my comfort zone today. I walked to meet Mike at the Opera House. I tried to get tickets, but they were sold out. Then we strolled around the city—taking in the sights. Mike was not feeling great. He has an ear infection. We were supposed to be glamping. In my comfort zone, but I have never been glamping before. Then Fabrika for coffee—still in my comfort zone. Then the Tbilisi metro/subway. Definitely out of my comfort zone.

The Tbilisi metro/subway. It has to be six floors down! I could never have taken this steep escalator by myself. Again, definitely out of my comfort zone. But with Mike’s guidance, I did it. It was crowded, but I felt safe. An early evening. Again, Mike wasn’t feeling great.