“The country to me is like Paris and Cuba had a baby. It’s art. It’s European architecture. It’s hip, fun and trendy. But then there’s the Soviet influence. A communism history. A complicated web of stories, politics, and religion.”
-Lori Appling-Allen
Why was Georgia one of my favorite journeys ever? There are many reasons, but I want to give you a different perspective to mine. I traveled to Georgia with Focused Escapes. Lori Appling-Allen is the owner, creator, and CEO of Focused Escapes, with Amanda Ponzio Mojuttaki as its co-owner.
Either Lori or Amanda personally accompany every tour to be sure their travelers have the best possible experience. These small group tours visit niche markets with excellent on-the-ground teams that provide great cultural insight. While these are not primarily photography tours, time is allotted for photography hobbyists—on our trip, that was everyone—but of course, Georgia is a photographer’s dream.
For those who want to experience Georgia, there are two upcoming trips in November 2026 and November 2028.
I am also including Focused Escapes’s five-year plan for all scheduled trips after you have read Lori’s impressions.
Read on to get Lori’s perspective and enjoy the video she made to go along with it:
Comments from Facebook accompanying the above video:
This country, to me, is like Paris and Cuba had a baby.
It’s art. It’s European architecture. It’s hip, fun and trendy. But then there’s Soviet influence. A communism history. A complicated web of stories, politics, religion.
I imagine Portland and Austin hipsters moving here. Same with farm to table enthusiasts, quirky and eccentric musicians/artists… and me – I would love to live here.
The city of Tbilisi (and other surrounding areas) have communal dogs — dogs who have been vaccinated and neutered by the city but who are fed and cared for by everyone in the community. They have tags on their ears to tell you how friendly or nervous they are before you approach.
Food — I think we tried more than 100 different foods here. Just when you think you’ve had enough, out comes 3 more dishes. Everything is family style so you take what you want. We rarely ordered off a menu (by design). This means, you might try 10-20 things per sitting.
Music — there’s a unique polyphonic singing. You can search it out or arrange it to come to you. I included some in the video below. Loved it.
Sulphuric baths — yes please. I still crave these.
Wine making is very different in Georgia as wine is made underground in pots (big enough to climb into) instead of barrels. I included photos. Very cool. Very unique. And I never got a headache even after 3-4 glasses when I’m usually a 1 glass girl.
Landscapes are stunning and great for photography (though it rained a lot on our trip so I’ll have to go back).
Religious harmony is notable— churches, synagogues and mosques are side by side.
Prices are cheap (for now).
But probably the thing I liked most (on top of the grape stomping and all the local performances) was that we ate in a lot of people’s houses and we traveled with a tamada which is someone who gives toasts throughout the meals (ours was fantastic). Our ground team is superior there and I highly recommend letting us design something special for you there.
I think this is why I rank Georgia higher than Armenia (though some people may disagree) because at this point, I really value special experiences and connections.
I prefer Armenian wine but wonder if my opinion is skewed because most of the wine we drank in Georgia came from a family’s own qvevri where the wine we had in Armenia came from hand-picked restaurants and well known brands.
Hope you can make it here sometime!
Very interesting perspective and I could picture you stomping grapes!
Lisa,
Thanks for reading, I did not stmop the grapes, because I wanted to take photographs — but as you saw, those who did found it hilarious. We all laughed a lot during the expeerience.
Phyl.