When you book holidays, you often lack time to do everything you want to do and see everything you want to see. Worse still, you might spend the whole day in your microcosm of tourism and not get access to the real Georgian spirit. Ezo Tour gives you the opportunity to see eastern Georgia beyond the tourist gloss.
Since June, Kristo and Gio, the owners of Ezo Restaurant have been spotlighting the local farmers who help the Tbilisi-based restaurant to be such a success. The tour aims to depict the eastern Georgian region of Kakheti through food, wine and hospitality.
While other tours might just drive you from point A to B, Kristo, the organizer, will give you an insight into the local history, the everyday life and the changes in the last several years. What's more, she takes you to a Telavi local market and gives you a taste of all the local products: including cheese, fruit, churchkhela, and flower oil.
The two-hour trip between Tbilisi and Telavi flies by as you travel in comfort, and Kristo keeps everyone cheerful. The group is close, no more than 6 travelers per tour, making it easy to socialize.
First stop is a small restaurant where the secret is hidden in its khinkali. Kristo will happily you give a tutorial how to eat khinkali Georgian style.
After lunch, you head to Gremi. This city was a royal residence until it was razed to the ground by the armies of Shah Abbas I of Persia. If you want, you can visit the legacy of these times in the church and castle.
Photo source: exotictravel.ge
The final stop is Leliani village, the main supplying farm and vineyard of Ezo. There, you'll discover the Georgian wine making process and, even better, at the end of the visit you'll get enjoy a Kakhetian barbecue under the branches of a giant tree with a view across to the Caucasus mountains.
Without doubt you'll come away feeling you experienced Georgia more in a day than in the whole week you spent as a regular tourist.
To book, go here: http://ezo.tours/tours/
If you don’t know the Ezo restaurant, now's the time to try! s now time to try!
By Antoine Dewaest