{"id":215,"date":"2011-10-29T06:48:51","date_gmt":"2011-10-29T06:48:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ouritalianfarmhouse.com\/ourstory\/?p=215"},"modified":"2026-01-18T14:29:25","modified_gmt":"2026-01-18T14:29:25","slug":"continuing-our-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ouritalianfarmhouse.com\/ourstory\/2011\/10\/29\/continuing-our-story\/","title":{"rendered":"Continuing our story"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In case you\u2019ve been wondering about the\nempty fountain at the base of the monument in Freedom Square, on the day after\nfive men finished dismantling a huge wooden platform that encased the vast,\nthree-tiered basin, a single man came to clean the fountain.  He brought a handmade ladder for climbing\ndown into the dry sink and then worked for several hours with a high-pressure\nhose and a wide broom until he\u2014and another man who came in the afternoon to\nconsult with him–appeared satisfied with the results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before dawn the following morning, as I scanned the sky and watched the early traffic loop around the monument in semi-darkness, I noticed a faint shimmer from the floor of the basin, reflecting the bright lights that illuminate the monument from dusk until 7:00 am.\u00a0 By late afternoon, the water in the lower basin was deep enough to cover the jets placed at regular intervals around the moat, and last evening both upper levels of the fountain were full as well, reflecting the red neon sign on the Bank of Georgia building across the square.\u00a0 Despite the lateness of the season, fountains in parks all around Tbilisi are still flowing (in Washington DC, by now most fountains have been drained for the winter; we\u2019re told that freezing weather here is rare even in January), and so I believe that one day soon the Freedom Square fountain will come back to life.\u00a0 I feel ridiculously happy, like a child anticipating some great diversion planned especially for my delight and amusement!\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is the only reason I have for wanting\nto prolong our stay at the Marriott Hotel: I so want to see the water leaping\ninto the air and cascading back into the pool, arcing skyward and splashing\ndown.  Except for the magnificent\nsight of the golden statue of St George high above the square, I will not miss\nour temporary quarters and am anxious to get settled in our new home, a small\nhouse in Vake, just off the principal avenue of the shopping district.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Called the \u201cartists\u2019 house,\u201d our place sits\nat the end of a row of perhaps eight small buildings set in a courtyard behind\na wide gate, studios in the Soviet era for artists working under the patronage\nof the State.  Beside our front\ndoor, a pomegranate tree droops under the weight of ripe fruits, some of them\nbursting their bright skins, showing ruby seeds clustered within.  The first time I toured the house, the\nowner pressed two small pomegranates into my hands as I left.  I ate half of one fruit as soon as I\nreturned to my hotel room and, like Persephone, was fated to stay.  And so I went back again the following\nday for a closer look.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the first floor, the kitchen and a large\nbathroom open off either side of an entry hall, which leads to an enormous room\nwith wide windows in the far wall and a curving, open stair on the left.  I will use this for a dining room and\nhope to have dinner parties here with friends from all over the world.  On the second level are a sitting room,\nan office lined on two long walls with books in glass cases, a bedroom, and a\nhalf-bath.  Once more up the wide stairs\nof mellow wood and wrought iron, and the third level has two bedrooms and a\nbath with a shower.  In the\nceiling, a broad skylight keeps everything bright.  I think we will be comfortable there, and we are hoping to\nmove in before the end of the week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(One last note about the fountain: at\nbreakfast today–a brilliant, sunny Monday morning–the fountain is in full\nworking order!  Silvery curtains of\nwater flow from two upper levels into the basin below, where short columns of\nwater pump sedately, echoing the central pedestal.  This is not the exuberant display of hydro-frolics that I\nimagined, but then, what was I thinking? \nThis is a serious monument to Georgian autonomy and liberty, not the\nBellagio!) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In case you\u2019ve been wondering about the empty fountain at the base of the monument in Freedom Square, on the day after five men finished dismantling a huge wooden platform that encased the vast, three-tiered basin, a single man came to clean the fountain.  He brought a handmade ladder for climbing down into the dry
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