City of Contrasts

Balumi, Georgia - the resort town of old Russia, not its own story.  All strata of social class in people and physical structure.  Gattos to new developments by foreign investors aimed toward the Western tourist.  It reminds me so much of Cuba.
d
The city sits on the edge of the Black Sea.  Cobble stone beaches, much like the roads throughout the core of the city.  Beautiful water front parks with exotic plants from different parts of the world.  A bamboo forest.  The restaurant we danced in yesterday built in the likeness of an old wooden sailing ship.

People and cars everywhere in the core of the city. Open markets with local vendors butting against a modern mall.  Our hotel, the Mercury, faces onto a street lined with money exchange booths.  Down the street a beautiful church with Fresco paintings covering walls and ceilings...