Welcome to Batumi on the Black Sea

Welcome to Batumi on the Black Sea, a photo by CharlesFred on Flickr.

In the meantime, we have arrived in Batumi, where the air and the vegetation is completley different, a lush tropical feel to the place, feels like arriving in a different country. Being only just 8 am, we have some time to kill before we can make it to our room at the Hotel Rica (which, strangely enough is exactly the same price as the hotels we stayed at in Tblisi (namely 70 euros), Fred not wanting to try a guesthouse/homestay, oh well... The train journey was excellent, had a good sleep on biscuit coloured cheesecloth seats and we arrived exactly on time at 7. A bit of a struggle at the station, with people bustling to bring us to their hotel or guesthouse but we took our time, consulted our Bradt guide and are now in the lobby of the Rica/Titsa Hotel, looking forward to four days here before returing to Istranbul for our last weekend.