After reading David's comments I went back to read all of Alex's posts on Tbilisi expecting them to be hyper-critical. In fact they are very complementary.

Having been to Tbilisi last summer I can confirm that the city has a lot of charm, the city is being nicely renovated, and the food and wine are excellent.

We did find some negatives - for example I was accosted by very aggressive child beggars (egged on by their mothers) at the cathedral at Mtskheta, I was chased out of St. Sioni Church very brusquely by a Georgian Orthodox priest (there is a religious revival going on in Georgia which is part nationalistic, part fanaticism).

Also Georgians tend to be somewhat conflicted about their history. A visit to Gori (an hour from Tbilisi), Stalin's hometown, to the huge museum devoted to him was an eye-opener.

Yerevan has a different flavour but well worth visiting. There is a definite buzz about the place especially in the summer months when the Diaspora comes to visit and party. It may not be Manhattan but it holds its own.

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