Landed in London Gatwick. Went straight to the Yotel. Got some sleep, and a quick shower. Unni came to pick me up at 2 pm. We drove down to the Denbies winery, and went for a little wine tasting. I didn't realize that England had wineries. The presentation explained the history of how wine was made. We then went for an afternoon tea,very British. Unni then dropped me back to the airport,for my Wizz Air flight.
The Wizz Air flight got me to Budapest,where there was a bit of a wait for a taxi at 1 a.m. A quick ride through some dark suburbs and I came to the first pension I have stayed in as an adult. My parents used to stay in them when they drove through Europe, from Moscow to Paris. The reception staff member was pretty cheerful for 1:30 am. The room was basic, but I had only 6 hours of sleep available.
Day 2
A cheap ride by the receptionists father in law to the airport. Had a black currant slivovitz at 9 am in the morning. Because I am on vacation! The flight to Baku was uneventful. Wizz Air meant that I had used my laptop bag as my free cabin baggage. And it had to fit under the seat. In Baku, I noticed a lot of burka clad women from Iran, and a lot of Israeli tourists. Pretty unusual! I was picked up by the hotel car, and the hotel was the main and second floor of an apartment building. The duty manager,Rafael,guided me to the nearest restaurant. It was Turkish and called Nesve, and pretty good.
Day 3
I had a hop on hop off tour booked,which started from Maidan Square (the independence square). Baku is a neat city, with wide roads and new buildings due to the oil money. There are also many 19th century European style buildings, including the first opera house in the Muslim world. The Haider Aliyev centre, designed by the renowned architect Zaha Haddid, is money well spent. The three flames buildings were also a highlight of the city, and one of them is a Fairmont Hotel. The second tallest flagpole in the world,which was once the tallest, is also in Baku.
Later that evening, Rafael from the front desk booked a reservation for me at the Firuze restaurant. He said they didn't scam tourists. Apparently the standard scam is to add items to the bill in an Azeri restaurant.
Firuze was located near the touristy through fare with live music performances, plenty of couples walking together, restaurants, etc. The restaurant had a lot of Arab customers. The kebabs were pretty good. The wine was not - tasted rancid. It was also ornate with traditional Azeri carpets and artifacts.
Day 4
I had used a website to arrange for a private tour through Ateshgah, Yanardag, the mud volcanoes, etc. My mistake - I got dozens of emails. I should have arranged the tour when I reached Baku. My guide was a non English speaking person,but friendly. We drove to Yanardag, an hour from Baku, where the prehistoric man drew sketches - of animals, dancing people, hunting, etc. There was an interesting museum, and then a tour of the actual rocks where the sketches were.
The next stop was Ateshgah. This is the location of a Zorastrian/ Hindu fire temple. Indian traders who came to the Caspian Sea built this temple. An Indian Parsi (Zoroastrian) priest stated that this was more likely to be a Hindu temple. The leaking gas meant that there was a constant fire. Hence the Fire temple name. There were different rooms in the temple, describing what the various worshippers did.
The third stop was the mud volcanoes. For this, I had to switch to a beat up Lada car, a rugged ex Soviet vehicle. And then the driver drove like a maniac through the mud road, racing with the other Lada cars. He very kindly asked me if I would like to drive the car. Needless to say, I happily refused. The mud volcano were these mud bubbles popping out of little hills that were maybe 20 feet in height.
On the way back we stopped at this restaurant that looked more like an wedding venue. My driver ordered for both of us. There were some good ribs that were grilled on charcoal. He then dropped me to the train station, where I boarded the train to Tblisi, Georgia.
I was in a coupe, with an Azeri guy who spoke no English. The first question he asked was if I was Muslim. WhenI responded in the negative, he happily showed my his cabin bag- it was full of beers and vodka. he kindly offered me some, and I politely declined.
Day 5
The train arrived an hour late, so I had to dash to catch my Tbilisi city tour. The first stop was the Holy Trinity Cathedral. It was a typical Orthodox Church, large and ornate with religious icons.
Our next stop was Garni, the ancient capital of Georgia. It was a little tourist town, centred around a local church. There were plenty of stalls selling souvenirs, and I bought some very expensive fresh pomegranate juice at the advice of a fellow tourist. The church had a service going when we entered, and it was serene.
That evening I went to a wine bar to try local wines. Georgia is supposed to have invented wine making. Their main wine is called Separavi. The most famous food item is called Khachapuri - a cheese or potato or meat filled pastry. I sat in a little patio seat on the street and sipped the different wines for the tasting. It was pretty good,though not as good as the old world or new world wines.
The hotel (Silver 34) was a really nice one. It had the personalized service expected from a boutique hotel.
Day 6
I decided to take it easy this day. A couple of people from my tour group decided to go to the hill overlooking Tbilisi. There was a park (Mtatsminda), and a large Ferris wheel with a great view of the city. It was also a lot cooler in the park, due to its height.
Day 7
This was my travel day. After a quick brunch, and a 1 dollar shot of the local liquor called cha-cha (pretty disgusting stuff - tasted like nail polish remover), I headed to the Isani Mall, where my shuttle taxi van was waiting. The van was not full, and I got the whole back row to myself. The border crossing to Armenia was quick,though my fellow passengers stopped for some duty free shopping. One of them bought me a local cake, which was really nice. Then my shuttle driver bought me a Khachapuri, which was really kind of him. In our next stop, I forced him to take a coffee that I bought. Armenians were definitely very hospitable.
The Roma hotel was a pretty one, built with a Roman decor. The service was over the top. The manager sat me down, and said that I was to treat it like home. 
I ordered a grilled fish through room service, and it was excellent. I had some local white wine to go with it, and it was an awesome meal.
Day 8
Hovannes (pronounced Johann) provided me a driver to conduct a city tour. The first stop was Our Lady of Armenia. This was a monument to the Armenian Genocide, built by the Soviets in the 1960s. 
The monument also had a small military museum. From the monument, one could clearly see Mount Ararat, the symbol ofArmenia, which lies on the Turkish side of the border. If anyone has seen Atom Ergoyan's movie "Ararat" they will understand the significance of this mountain. 
There were quite a few Iranian tourists, for whom Armenia is more open. The next stop was the Cascades park, which was a museum built on the hillside, with cascading steps from the top of the hill to the bottom.
The park at the foot of the hill had sculptures, including a couple from Botero, the famous Columbian who made sculptures of fat subjects. His Cat sculpture is in the photo below
The next stop was the Armenian Genocide Museum, which was somber. The entire history of Armenians under the Turks was listed, with great details about how and where the genocide took place. Turkey still does not acknowledge this event,and therefore the borders between Armenia and Turkey are closed.
In the evening I went to an Armenian restaurant (Sherep) next to the Republic Square. There was a music performance by the fountain. A lot of people had gathered there.
The food was quite good - I had a traditional dish which was meat cooked inside a pumpkin.
Day 9
I had a group tour planned. The first stop was a Lavash bread making kiln, which is a UNESCO heritage process now. The bread was fresh and tasty. The next stop was the Garni temple, a Greco-Roman structure that was slightly different from the other Roman temples due to its material of construction.
After returning to Yeravan, I headed to the Lavash restaurant. They make fresh lavash bread, and I ordered some walnut paste. The combination was divine - I could make a whole meal of it easily! Of course I didn't.Being a meatatarian, I ordered some kebabs. They were good too.
Day 10
There was a super early start to the day. My flight was at 04:45 am, so I had to leave the hotel at 2:15 am. The flight to Warsaw was three hours. I was excited - Warsaw is the city of my birth. First I converted a mistake to an advantage. I had accidentally booked a hotel room from the previous day to the current day. But since I got into the Hotel early in the morning, they checked me in. After a good nap and shower, I headed to the house where I lived for the first two years of my life. I had been there in the year 2000, and it looked nice though a bit rundown.
After the hospital I decided to go for some Polish cuisine. Pork sauerkraut with different flavoured vodkas was the recommendation. It was all pretty good - and served by girls in some traditional Polish outfits.
The red eye flight to Astana was packed. The exit immigration oficer was surprised when she saw on my passport that I was born in Warsaw. The next chapter of my travels to Central Asia will follow.....
