Georgia and Armenia

On the street in Tbilisi, this lady, who calls herself Madame Butterfly, and who sings from the opera, looks after dozens of tiny abandoned street kittens. I gave her a little money to purchase food for the kittens and spent some time with her. Kindness is something we need more of in this world. Best wishes to all...D

Dear friends..I am travelling, so I apologise if I do not visit you like usual! I also have injured my back, so I have not been as active as I wish to be! These are the historic bathhouses of Tbilisi. Wishing you all a great weekend! Affection and thoughts....Diana

These ladies were herding their sheep. Rural Armenia. Best to all xx They are in a UNESCO site..a2000 year old cemetery with around 9000 standing stones/ crosses

Anyone want to restore the Lada too? This is in a very remote area, with almost no tourism. Very beautiful Sorry not to visit and comment, dear friends. I will when I return home. I am still rushing about long distance with 2 walking poles and a killer sciatic nerve, but determined to make the most of the 5 weeks. Love and hugs to you all for a fabulous weekend! D xoxox

Northern Georgia, high, high in the Caucasus, not far from the Russian border. Sunshine might have been better! :-( But it is beautiful and remote .. Hugs and love xx

Vardzia, in Southern Georgia is a giant complex completed by Queen Tamar in 1186. It is carved into a high cliff face, and has over 600 rooms with connecting tunnels, stairways and water supply. It had royal apartments, a monastery, stables, a cave church, whose frescoes and interior paintings, completed in 1165 are still in amazing condition. An amazing complex. Happy weekend and big hugs to all. Thanks for visits and comments, always!

In Ushguli, a tiny village at 2,300 meters in the Upper Caucasus region of Svaneti, in far north Georgia not far from the Russian border. The Svan are a very small ethnic group whose culture dates back to 3000BC and earlier. This is a very remote area, part of which is classified by UNESCO as a protected habitat to try to preserve the local culture and architecture. It has claimed to be the highest altitude permanently settled village in Europe.

In the High Caucasus of Georgia. Still travelling. Big hugs to all, and a fabulous weekend! Xoxox

Georgia. Svaneti, in the High Caucasus. A man using traditional heavy haulage methods for a load of wood. Best wishes to all!

From Ushguli, Georgia. At 2300 meters in the Upper Caucasus near the Russian border. Have a fabulous weekend everyone and a great new week. Big hug to friends...

The UNESCO listed village of Ushguli high in the Caucasus mountains of Northern Georgia near the Russian border. An Ancient culture with its defence towers, in a remote and harsh environment. Best wishes for the weekend and coming week to all xoxox

Zorats Karer. A Bronze Age necropolis, and perhaps astro observatory with giant standing stones arranged over a large plain. There are at least 223 of these megaliths, weighing up to 10 tonnes each.

Ushguli, in Northern Georgia close to the Russian border at 2,300 m in the high Caucasus Mountains. The tower is one of dozens of Svan mediaeval defence towers in the village. These defended against attackers and invaders. It is, and was even more so, a very remote area. There were marauding bands of thieves, family feuds, and bandits, as well as civil wars up to the early 2000s Have a wonderful weekend...best wishes and thanks for visiting. Really appreciated.

A safety fence around a building site is turned into a bright and cheerful art space! Happy Friday, and have a happy, safe and wonderful weekend. Best wishes, and thanks for visits and any comments...Diana

In Ushguli, Svaneti region of Georgia, at 2,300 meters in the Hugh Caucasus, near the Russian border. This remote and wild area was very, very dangerous with fighting, until the early 2000s in fact, and with feuds and invasions. Each house has a mediaeval watchtower into which the family and livestock could retreat to defend themselves. This particular village is very intact, and listed by UNESCO....in an effort to preserve and maintain its unique architecture and culture.

Glorious carpets in Armenia at the Vernissage market, in the capital Yerevan

A super fence and red advertisement high in the mountains in Eastern Armenia. Have a wonderful weekend.....you deserve it! Thanks for visits and comments. Thanks also for queries about the fires in Australia. Thankfully they are not near me, but they easily could be. They are gigantic, unprecedented and uncontrollable. And dangerous.

Street snack, ubiquitous in Georgia and Armenia. Fresh walnuts are threaded on string, then dipped into thickened grape juice and allowed to dry. You buy a string and just pull them off, one at a time to enjoy their succulent flavours!