Performing and Traveling in the Mountains and Vineyards of Georgia TOUR AT A GLANCE: Date Hotel City Plan Included Meals Thur. June 20th Tbilisi Arrivals Fri. June 21st Tbilisi Options: Guided tour of Tbilisi Museums, Old Town B/(L)/D sightseeing. Live TV spot. Rehearsal. Millennium Challenge Corporation dinner Sat. June 22nd Tbilisi Flash mob event, possible Church heirarchs event. B/(L)/D Option: Mtskheta Day-Trip Dress Rehearsal. Tbilisi Concert Concert banquet Sun. June 23rd Tbilisi Option: Day-trip to Kakheti viticulture region, banquet with B/(L/D) singers Mon. June 24th Kazbegi Travel day: Sightseeing overnight to Kazbegi highland region B/L/D Tue. June 25th Kutaisi Travel Day: Kazbegi to Kutaisi B/L/(D) Wed. June 26th Kutaisi Option: City tour, Paliashvili House Museum, spice market, B/(L) National Museum, Bagrati Cathedral Gelati Monastery performance Thur. June 27th Kutaisi Rehearsal/media availability. B/(L)/D Option: Prometheus Caves, hike, boat ride. Dress Rehearsal. Kutaisi Concert Banquet Fri. June 28th Kutaisi Option: Day-trip to Martvili monastery, Martvili Canyon B/(L) Performance: Paliashvili’s Abesalom da Eteri ​ Sat. June 29th Tbilisi Travel Day: Kutaisi to Tbilisi. B/L/D Upli-stsikhe cave city Samtavisi Cathedral singing event ​ Final banquet Airport transfer. Sun. June 30th -- Departures (Meals in parentheses are included on optional trips only.) Itinerary subject to change. DETAILED ITINERARY Date Itinerary Wed. June 19th Departure: Washington D.C. 20:25 Group flight departs Dulles IAD. Qatar Airways #708 (12:35 to Doha) ​ ​ Thur. June Travel Day 20th Lovely here 16:00 Arrive Doha DOH. (4:05 layover.) 20:05 Depart Doha, Qatar Airways #255 (3:15 flight to Tbilisi) Fri. June 21st Tbilisi Day Meals: B/(L)/D 0:20 Arrive Tbilisi TBS. Transfer via coach to hotel (35 minute drive). Check into ​ ​ Astoria hotel (staying four nights). 8:00 Breakfast at hotel until 11:00. 9:15 Singers put music folders and concert dress on busses before morning activities. Option #1: Free morning. There will be a list of recommended activities and museums ​ with a map for self-explorers. Meet at Rikhe Park fountain at 12:45 pm for live television event. Taxis can be ordered from the hotel front desk. Option #2: Guided National Museum Tour and Lunch. 9:30 - 12:45. Walk to the ​ National Museum to meet guides for tour of the exhibits. Taxi to Rikhe Park fountain at 12:45 for TV performance. Cost: $35/adult, $20/child. ​ Option #2b: City Tour and Lunch. 9:30 - 12:45. Drive to Rikhe park to begin our walking ​ tour through Old Town Tbilisi features: Freedom Square, the Catholic Church th th where Paliashvili played organ, the 14 ​ c. Sioni Cathedral, the 19 ​ c. synagogue, a th ​ ​ th 13 ​ c. Armenian church, the fortress and nearby mosque, and the 17 ​ c. Persian ​ ​ bath-houses. Meet at Rikhe Park fountain at 12:45 for TV performance Cost: ​ $35/adult, $20/child. 1:00 Live television appearance. Fred and John will speak on camera, then Fred will ​ ​ conduct the choir singing some Paliashvili. (15 minutes) 1:20 Drive to Mravalzhamier Restaurant for lunch. (10 minutes). Non-optional tour may join for lunch ($12 cash) or find lunch on their own at meet at Kakhidze Center for rehearsal. 2:45 Transfer to Kakhidze Center. (10 minutes) 3:00 Rehearsal at Kakhidze Center. ​ ​ 5:00 Transfer to Presidential palace Square (15 minutes) 5:30 Continue rehearsal if needed, change to concert dress. 6:45 Millennium Challenge Corporation short performance at the presidential ​ palace. We will sing three songs, listen to the Georgian National Anthem, then sing the American National Anthem. Then we leave the stage before the speeches begin. (concert dress) 7:30 Bus back to hotel (10 minutes drive, 20 minutes walk). 8:00 Dinner at hotel Sat. June 22nd Tbilisi Performance Day Meals: B/D 8:00 Breakfast at the hotel until 11:00. 9:30 Morning warm-up in the hotel conference room (20 minutes) 9:30 Depart for Old Town Tbilisi (Gabriadze Square) 9:55 Watch the angel ring a bell on the classic bell tower in the square. 10:01 Flash mob event. Getting into the swing-of-Georgian-things by making some music in the public square. Promotion for our concert event later. 10:15 Walk to Patriarchate (5 minutes), short concert for Church heirarchs (pending final confirmation) Option #1: Free Day. Lunch on your own. There will be a list of recommended activities ​ and museums with a map for self-explorers. Option #2: Day trip to Mtskheta, the ancient capital city of the kingdom of Iberia (East ​ ​ ​ Georgia). Program: 11:00-4:30. Depart hotel (or Patriarch event), drive 45 minutes to the 6th ​ c. Church of the Cross (Jvari), which overlooks the town. From this vantage ​ ​ point, we see seven churches, the confluence of two major rivers, several fortresses, and the town of Mtskheta, site of important events across centuries of Georgian history. The Romans even built a bridge into this town in 65 AD, parts of which still remain! After a tour of Jvari, drive down to Mtskheta for lunch. Following lunch, tour the 11th ​ c. Svetitskhoveli (Life-Giving Pillar) Cathedral. This site is the spiritual heart of ​ ​ the Georgian Orthodox Church, the place of royal coronations, royal burials, and containing important relics such as the tunic of Christ. The West end nave has th th been replaced, but most of the building remains from the original 11 -​ 12 ​ century ​ ​ construction. The wall paintings date from various periods, the most famous of th which is a 16 ​ c. circular fresco depicting the zodiac surrounding the four ​ evangelists and Christ, found in the South apse. Also of interest: Note a reconstruction of the hagiopolite Church of the Sepulcher in the southwest corner of the nave. Return to the hotel by 5pm. Cost: $55/adult, $40/child. ​ 5:30 Depart for Jansugh Kakhidze Center (20 minute drive). 6:00 Dress rehearsal ​ 7:00 Green Room: Light snacks provided 7:30 Curtain, performance with Georgian choir. ​ ​ 9:30 Post-concert reception at Jansugh Kakhidze Center with host choir. ​ ​ 11:00 Group transfer to hotel Sun. June 23rd Kakheti Day-Trip Meals: B/(L/D) 8:00 Breakfast at the hotel until 11:00. Option #1: Free Day. Lunch on your own. There will be a list of recommended activities ​ and museums with a map for self-explorers including attending the Orthodox Christian liturgy at Sioni Cathedral. Option #2: Guided bus tour day trip to Kakheti – East Georgia viticulture region. ​ ​ ​ Program: 9:00 – 10:30 pm. Drive two hours to Sighnaghi. Walking tour of the fortress town of Sighnaghi, views to the north across the lush Alazani Valley to the ​ ​ th Great Caucasus Range. Tour of the 9 ​ c. Bodbe Convent (10 minutes), final th ​ ​ ​ resting place of the 4 ​ century saint, St. Nino Enlightener of Georgians. The t​ h th complex features a 9 ​ century basilica with 19 ​ century frescoes and a ​ ​ th refurbished, multi-storied wooded Russian iconostasis; a 19 ​ century Russian ​ bell-tower, a gift-shop, and a brand new cross-and-dome church to accommodate the crowds that come on pilgrimage to the Bodbe convent for the feast of St. Nino on January 27th (still under construction). We may have a meeting with the nuns. th Lunch and bread-baking demonstration. Depart for the 19 ​ c. Tsinandali summer ​ ​ ​ palace (1 hour), summer palace of the poet and diplomat Alexander Chavchavadze and family (30 minutes). We'll take a tour of the summer palace, and hear about a daring raid on the site in 1854, when forces allied with the Muslim freedom fighter Shamil managed to capture the Chavchavadze princess and her retainers. Tour of th the 11 ​ c. Alaverdi Cathedral. Dinner in Telavi with traditional Kakhetian singing ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ and toasting. Tbilisi return by 10:30pm. Cost: $95/adult, $70/child. ​ Mon. June 24th Mtskheta, Kazbegi Highlands Day Meals: B/L/D 8:00 Breakfast at the hotel (8:30 Check-out) ​ ​ 9:00 Depart for 16th Ananuri fortress (1.5 hours) th 10:30 Tour of the 16 ​ c. Ananuri Fortress, refuge of the Eristavi noble family, death ​ ​ ​ place of King Erekle II (1798), the last famous king of Georgia. In the Soviet era, a lake created by a massive new hydro-electric dam threatened to engulf the historical landmark, but was overruled. Today, the fortress with its series of churches overlooks the lake from a picturesque promontory. Guest favorite site! (Bathroom available here, although of poor quality). 12:30 Lunch in Pasanauri (Pasanauri Restaurant). Better bathrooms available here. ​ ​ 2:00 Continue up the Russian Military Highway into the Great Caucasus mountains (2 ​ ​ hours), stopping for photos at special viewpoints. Cross the Jvari Pass (7,850 feet) and descend into the Kazbegi highland region 4:00 Bathroom stop in Stepantsminda. ​ 4:30 Transfer to Gergeti Sameba Monastery via minibus (option to walk 1 hour to the ​ ​ top, one hour down. 5:30 Check in at Rooms Hotel Kazbegi (staying one night). Indoor pool, spa center, ​ ​ casino, lounge and deck available. 7:30 Bus transfer for dinner banquet at Porta Hotel (5 minutes). ​ ​ 9:30 Walk or drive back to Rooms Hotel for drinks and conversation or an early night. Tue. June 25th Kazbegi to Kutaisi Day Meals: B/L/D 8:00 Breakfast (8:30 check-out) ​ ​ 9:00 Depart for the lowlands (3 hours) ​ ​ 10:00 Stop at Russia-Georgia Friendship Monument for panoramic views. 11:30 Bathroom stop in Pasanauri. 1:30 Lunch in Gori (Nacharmagevi Restaurant) ​ ​ 3:00 Depart for West Georgia. Continue west over the Surami Pass into West Georgia (2 hours).