Georgia: An Adventure For All Senses

BOOKINGS PAUSED DUE TO THE SITUATION AFFECTING MY FAMILY IN UKRAINE. THANK YOU FOR YOUR UNDERSTANDING. IF YOU ALREADY BOOKED AND THE TRIP NEEDS TO BE CANCELLED, YOUR DEPOSIT WILL BE REFUNDED IN FULL.

• The place where Jason and the Argonauts went in search of the Golden Fleece
• The oldest wine-making region in the world
• The country so renowned for its cuisine that its culinary traditions were honoured as Intangible World Heritage

Join us on a trip to Georgia, a country in the Caucasus region renowned for its stunning nature and rich culture with 5000-year-old roots. Despite its small size, Georgia has the largest number of UNESCO-protected properties in the region, several World Heritage sites, and many ancient traditions recognized as Intangible World Heritage—music, singing, wine-making, and even feasting. And we will experience it during our 8-day adventure for all senses. We will explore Georgia’s art, culture, and cuisine, while studying about our sense of smell in order to sharpen it and learn how to derive the most pleasure from perfume, food, and other daily experiences.

The best part of Georgia is its people, and our trip will give you a chance to meet artists and artisans. We will be hosted by a Georgian family and learn about music and cuisine from them. And we will be creators ourselves as we make our own perfume accords inspired by our experiences in Georgia.

I’m partnering with Nataliya Cummings of Experience Ukraine and Beyond, a boutique UK-based tour operator. Nataliya has done several highly rated tours to Georgia, and the particular route we have selected for our Adventure for All Senses lets us experience some of the most beautiful aspects of the country. ​

We will travel from the capital city of Tbilisi to the Black Sea coast and the city of Batumi. Along the way, we will discover Georgia using all of our senses.   Experienced local guides will be on hand to help ensure your holiday runs smoothly and is full of wonderful and memorable experiences.

Dates (11.09.22 – 18.09.22) 

8 Days  7 Nights

Dates: 11th – 18th September

Cost: from £2300 pp – Fully inclusive, excluding flights to Georgia (single supplement £500)

Please join us on an exciting adventure in spellbindingly beautiful Georgia. Georgia is famous for its mountains, music, wine, and cuisine. We are partnering with Victoria Frolova of Bois de Jasmin (https://boisdejasmin.com) to immerse you in Georgian culture, scents, and tastes. Originally from Ukraine, Victoria is a professionally trained perfumer and a journalist based in Brussels. She conducts fragrance seminars around the world and her writing appears in The New York Times Magazine, ELLE, and The Financial Times. She traveled extensively in the region and speaks Georgian.

Over 8 days, you will learn how to make the most of your sense of smell, to sharpen it as well as to create your own basic perfume accords. You will discover Georgian arts, including its famous polyphonic singing, taste its famous wines, enjoy its local cuisine, explore its gorgeous nature, and understand why both Nataliya and Victoria fell in love with this incredible country and its warm people.

​The tour does not require any background in perfume and is open to everyone with a taste for new discoveries.

Day 1 (11th September) Tbilisi

We will meet in Georgia’s magnetic capital city, Tbilisi. We will have lunch together and then explore the Old City’s winding streets and historical sites such as: the 13th-century Metekhi Church, the Sulphur Baths, the 4th-century Narikala Fortress, , the Synagogue, the 6th-century Anchiskhati Church, and the 6th-century Sioni Cathedral. We will finish our eventful day at a traditional restaurant called Azarpesha.

After dinner, we will meet for a lecture about our sense of smell, perfume history, and basic exercises to help us sharpen our perceptions of aromas.

Accommodation: a family-run hotel in the Old City

Day 2 (12th September) Kakheti

We will visit the best vineyards in Georgia and learn about the unique way in which Georgians make their wine. Of course, we will taste local wines and dishes—Kakheti is famous for its cuisine.

Accommodation: a family-run hotel in the Old City

Day 3 (13th September) Ajaria

We will travel by train to Batumi and stop to eat lunch at a seaside restaurant. Then we will take a private bus to our guest house in Mountain Ajaria. The family who will host us will organise a welcome dinner with traditional Georgian singing and classical cuisine—and of course, wine.

Ajaria is one of the most picturesque regions of Georgia, and September is a beautiful time to visit. It’s often referred to as “the velvet season,” because of the mild weather, soft sunshine, and sumptuous colours. Our guesthouse is in the village, so we will have a chance to enjoy Georgian nature at its most splendid.

Accommodation: guest house, basic wooden cottages, shared bathroom facility, stunning location.

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Day 4 (14th September) Ajaria

After breakfast, we will start the first perfume workshop, during which you will learn the key fragrance materials, do smelling exercises, and experience perfumes in which these materials were used.

After lunch, we will stroll around the village and visit a tobacco leaf plantation. Tobacco is harvested in autumn, so we will have a chance to see how this material—used in perfumery as well—is treated. We will also enjoy a Georgian polyphonic singing workshop.

In the afternoon we will explore the fragrances of Georgian spices and herbs and our hosts will show us how they are used in local cooking.

Accommodation: guest house, basic wooden cottages, shared bathroom facility, stunning location.

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Day 5 (15th September) Ajaria

We will start our day with another perfume workshop that will explain how to create perfume accords, starting from the most basic formula and learning to embellish it. You will learn how to make your own blends to perfume liquid soap, shower gel, or bath salts.

We will enjoy a picnic at a waterfall.

We will return to our guesthouse to continue creating our fragrance accords and exploring fragrant materials. Then we will have a chance to rest or take a walk before dinner.

Accommodation: guest house, basic wooden cottages, shared bathroom facility, stunning location.

​Day 6 (16th September) Ajaria

We will visit the high pastures of Ajaria and see how the delicious local cheese called suluguni is made. We will then take a foraging walk (9 kilometers back from the pastures) to learn about Georgian flora. We will then prepare our meal together with our hosts, using the local ingredients. We will sing, dance, and be merry before catching some much-needed sleep.

Accommodation: guest house, basic wooden cottages, shared bathroom facility, stunning location.

Day 7 (17th September) Batumi

We depart for Batumi by bus and stop along the way to swim in a mountain river (so, bring your swimsuit!) We will stop at the 12^th-century Tamara bridge and the waterfall on the way. We will then have lunch in a citrus orchard with a local family. We will settle into our hotel in Batumi and have dinner tasting Black-Sea cuisine.

Accommodation: a charming small hotel in the heart of old Batumi.

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Day 8 (18th September) Batumi

In the morning, we will explore the spice market of Batumi and experience the fragrant herbs and spice mixtures used in Georgian cuisine.

This will be followed by a fish market visit, where we will choose freshly caught fish and have a seaside lunch. Then it is the end of our tour, involving laughs, tears, and life-changing decisions where we all dream to move to Georgia when we retire.

If you are not leaving Batumi right after lunch, you can join Nataliya and Victoria for a walk in the Botanical Gardens (optional.)

We cannot wait to share this incredible experience with you.

To book the tour: fill out the form on the the Experience Ukraine and Beyond website. Please review the full program on the Experience Ukraine and Beyond website as well as the cancelation policy. We are happy to answer your questions, so please get in touch with us before you book your trip.

Dates: 8 days, 7 nights, from September 11 to September 18, 2022

Cost: from £2300 per person, fully inclusive, excluding flights to Georgia. The price is based on 2 people sharing a room. Single supplement is £500.

Here is where we will live in Ajaria

Testimonials for Victoria’s previous classes

My personal favorite part of Victoria’s class, as a novice, is learning how to experience scent – to distinguish different fragrances, to commit them to memory, to know when a fragrance is evolving or sometimes oscillating between two scents and so much more. And each of the three times I have attended her class, I learn new techniques, new scents and gain more appreciation of the art of perfume.  –David

As a participant of last year’s course, let me speak up for how much knowledge, pleasure, discovery and camaraderie one short week can contain. Highly recommended, because each individual designing this experience for you is full of love and passion and knowledge for the region and the material.   –Meg Jamieson

I am so glad I went to the course and be guided by Victoria with her vast knowledge on scents and perfumes. I got to learn the basics of the different fragrance families and how to differentiate between white florals and other florals. And within white florals, how to distinguish one from the other. This was so fascinating and very intriguing and was the best part of the course. I also learnt what happens if you combined two scents and how it enhances the overall smell. –Ruth Q

As a professional fragrance evaluator in a cosmetic company, I found Victoria’s class the most interesting and inspiring one among many perfumery classes that I took. I was very surprised by Victoria’s intimate knowledge about perfumes and her brilliant tips to analyze fragrances. I enjoyed every details of this class.  –Pema

Photography by Bois de Jasmin