Last weekend we decided to go on vacation… to be sight-seers… in Tbilisi.

We’ve been to Tbilisi many times in the last 21 months, of course. Usually, however, our visits have been strictly for business — picking up a package, meeting Hillary Clinton, going to the airport — or were a form of escapism from what Peace Corps volunteers often refer to as “the Georgian reality” — staying at the Holiday Inn, eating at non-Georgian restaurants, going to birthday parties, etc. We wondered: what would it be like if we were, well, tourists?

After a couple of planned trips that fell apart for one reason or another, we finally were able to answer that question last weekend. And it was great.

I arrived in Tbilisi Saturday afternoon, meeting McKinze, who was helping put on a Healthy Lifestyles conference in nearby snowy Bazaleti. We were both tired, so our plan that day was to see some sights but also take it easy: grab a quick lunch someplace new, hit up the National Museum, make our way over to the Sameba Cathedral (the largest church in Georgia), and finish up the day with a hearty Georgian meal.

After lunch we paid the 5 GEL admission fee to the National Museum (that’s about $2.99) and checked out the two exhibits. The first documented the history of the Soviet conquest of Georgia in the early 20s and the subsequent brutality/atrocities committed by the hands of the Russians.

I walked away with three impressions: 1) The exhibit was very well-designed and executed — it looked great; 2) The Georgians don’t care much for the Russians; and 3) The Russians shot a ton of people in Georgia over the years. Thousands and thousands and thousands. I swear every picture in the exhibit ended with the words “and then he was shot.”

The second exhibit was far less moving and impressive, for us anyway: a collection of ancient gold coins from pre-Christian times in Georgia. It was tucked in the basement of the incredibly large building (most of which was completely empty), and phones were not allowed. This may be the only place in Georgia where phones are not allowed. Needless to say, cameras weren’t allowed, either. So: Just picture a pile of tiny gold dimes… then picture several dozen similar piles… and then a few more gold coins under their own special glass and spotlight… got it? Well, there you have it.

All in all it was a good experience. Certainly worth the low price of admission. The museum needs three times as many exhibits, but this is a start. As more tourists start to include Tbilisi in their travel plans, the National Museum has something to build upon.

Next we took the Metro across the river to the Avlabari exit. It was easy to know which direction to go after exiting the Metro station: we just looked around for the top of Sameba — the Holy Trinity Cathedral.

The church was very… Georgian. Only bigger. In fact, it is the third largest Eastern Orthodox cathedral in the world. Apparently it was built on top of an Armenian cemetery where 90,000 people were/are buried.

Curiously, unlike pretty much every other Georgian church we’ve visited, there were absolutely no frescoes adorning the interior walls whatsoever. However, inside the doors were the traditional vendors peddling an endless variety of crosses, necklaces, candles and other religious paraphernalia. Various large gold shadow-boxes with Orthodox imagery hung everywhere. Hundreds of Georgians rudely pushed and shoved their way past us to light candles, socialize and kiss the shadow-boxes (rude by our standards, but par for the course over here).

Outside it was much less congested, and much more impressive. Several other smaller cathedrals and buildings dotted the enormous campus, including a bell tower. At 6 PM, the bells sounded off very loudly and completely randomly. It was as if the tower was filled with ADD-afflicted children, each one with a rope and instructions to ring their bell as often as possible, as loudly as possible, never stopping to listen to what anyone else is doing. “Do NOT synchronize! More! LOUDER! Faster!” Repeat.

By this time we were pretty cold, getting tired and ready for some good ol’ fashioned Georgian food. We found exactly what we were looking for at a place called Samikitno in Old Town.

I’ve heard other volunteers mention this place before, using words like “cheap,” “great food” and “chain restaurant.” It was all of those things. The people behind this thing know what they’re doing: fresh and delicious made-to-order Georgian classics, served up in an inviting and comfortable atmosphere, for a reasonable price, with better-than-average service. American readers, I can’t overstate how rare this combination is in Georgia. Plus, they had their own brand of delicious house-brewed draft beer (cheap, too!), in dark and light versions. And tomato-cucumber salad, even though it’s not in season. AND variations on khachapuri (cheese pie) I’ve never seen here before.

We ate there three times over the weekend — it was that good — so I can also say that the quality and service are consistent as well. Truly unheard of. I guess there are four or so locations in Tbilisi (all open 24-hours, or “24/24″ as they like to say here), plus one in Batumi. Well done, Samikitno. Well done indeed. We’ll be back.

After dinner we went back to the guesthouse and watched about 30 seconds of pre-Super Bowl analysis on espn.com before falling asleep. Saturday was a good first day, and there would be much more to come on Sunday.