Week 3, Friday - last day here

Our last day here is a dreary one, overcast with a light drizzle. We take our time getting ready and don't head out for breakfast until 10:30. Fortunately today is warmer so the rain is not too unpleasant.

Without much discussion we head to Artbridge. Neil is the one having French Toast today while I go with fried eggs and bacon (How much trouble will I have going back to my semi-vegetarian status?) and we both have French press coffee.

Artbridge has become one of my favorite places to eat and I'm not sure why. The food is good but not spectacular, the prices are reasonable but not great, and the location isn't entirely convenient. I think it is the people who frequent it. For whatever reason there seems to be smiling and nodding among patrons who are perfect strangers to one another. Of course that begs the question, why is this so? In any event, it serves to create an atmosphere that is welcoming.

As we head back to the hotel we find ourselves walking very slowly. We are anxious to be heading home tomorrow but, at the same time, are sad to be leaving. We are very conscious that this could very well be the last time we will be strolling Abovyan Street, crossing Republic Square, or walking by the park near our hotel. I think we are both trying to memorize everything we see lest we forget something. Our time here has been magical.

Back at the hotel, after Neil leaves, I start packing. Our plane leaves at 6:15 in the morning and the hotel has reserved a car for us at 4am. Tonight we will be going out for farewell drinks with our friends, so I want to make sure to get most of our packing done before then.

By the time Neil returns I have much of the packing done and it seems there will even be room left over. Amazing!

You can just see the beer dispenser on the back wall.

Shortly after 6pm we go downstairs and exchange most of our drams for dollars and at 6:15 we are picked up for dinner. The restaurant/bar has the neatest gizmo at each table to dispense beer. There is a spigot coming out of the wall and a lever with which you can choose which beer you want. The server has a sort of key which sets the counter to zero and starts things up. After that we can pour ourselves a beer whenever we want and the counter keeps track of how much is consumed. Almost makes me want to drink beer.

Dinner is lovely – good food and good friends. Many toasts are made to friendship and return visits. It is hard for me to say goodbye, so I can imagine how much harder it is for Neil. I do hope we will return some day.

Week 3, Thursday - sometimes meals are difficult

Today dawned, if not sunny, at least without a feel of rain and it was much warmer. Leaving the hotel it felt wonderful to be outside. Our destination was the National Gallery of Armenia but first a breakfast spot needed to be found.

We first stopped at Marco Polo, only to discover that its kitchen was not yet open. Evidently only coffee and tea were being served. So we kept going up Abovyan Street to the tried and true Artbridge. I had French Toast and Neil had pancakes and a French Press. After all the years of my telling him how good French Press coffee is, he finally became convinced on this trip.

We finished breakfast and got to the gallery just at 11:00 which was its opening time. The gallery is located at Republic Square and occupies the top five floors of the building with the State History Museum taking the bottom two floors.

After obtaining our tickets we were ushered to a tiny elevator and taken to the top floor. Evidently the gallery is to be done top to bottom. Unfortunately we only had time to do the top three floors before Neil needed to leave for the bank. But those three floors were filled with many wonders, mostly of the European school – Jordeans III, di Lorenzo, Boudin, Tintoretto, van Goyen – to name the ones I remember. However it was the fifth floor where the Armenian painters were housed that I enjoyed the most. I had no prior knowledge of these artists and it was a joy to discover them. I particularly enjoyed Aivasovsky's seascapes and another fellow whose name escapes me (perhaps because both his first and last names were very long and very unpronounceable, at least to this Westerner). His paintings were in a wide array of styles. This is something that always amazes me, an artist who can switch styles at will.  Unfortunate that our time here was so short.

Back at the hotel and Neil heads off to the bank. There has been an exciting change at the hotel, since yesterday there has been wifi throughout the complex. Prior to this there was wifi in the lobby and ethernet in the rooms. That meant I had to go to the lobby to update my podcasts and newspapers on my Droid and when both of us were in the room only one could be online at a time. Too bad we didn't have this for the whole visit, still I'll be happy for whatever I get.

For our final 'duo' dinner we decided to go back to the Lebanese restaurant we had been to a couple of times. Once there we put in our order, got our drinks, and sat for a very long time with nothing further coming. Finally we decided to leave and Neil went to take care of our bill. Evidently our order had been lost and our meal would be coming shortly. Neil declined and we left. At least we got our drinks free.

We ended up having that tasty Diavalo pizza back at the hotel. Not what we were planning but enjoyable nonetheless.

Week 3, Wednesday - I can go home!

Today we went over to the OVIR offices to collect my visa extension. We were in and out in a few minutes with my passport in hand, all freshly stamped with my visa extension. Much as I have enjoyed my time here I am glad not to be trapped. I don't know if it's an American thing or not, maybe just a Nancy thing, but I felt very vulnerable without my passport.

I also was sporting a new found appetite, so we headed over to Jazzve for breakfast. It was still morning but we both opted for lunch. I was even able to taste my food, albeit only a little bit.

We ambled back to the hotel where I ended up spending the rest of the day. The weather was quite miserable outside so I figured I'd play it safe and spend another day taking it easy.

When Neil arrived back at the hotel, we headed downstairs to have dinner. You have to love a country where lamb is priced as cheaply as chicken. My three chops were delicious. Guess my 'taster' is back in complete working order

One interesting thing I have noticed is that when Neil speaks to people he assumes they speak English while I assume they don't. I'm not sure which is the better way to go. I think perhaps I am understood more readily speaking in my one or two word sentences or pointing to things on the menu. On the other hand, Neil gets the smiles from people. They really seem to enjoy him as he talks away making goofy faces all the while.

I am so very grateful that most signs and menus are written in three languages – Armenian, Russian, and English. Otherwise I would have rapidly gotten lost, then starved to death in front of a restaurant because I couldn't order.

I loved this place.  It wasn't open yet when
 I took the picture

The sidewalk food vendors make things particular easy. The items are spread out on trays with prices listed on each tray. I could just point to what I wanted and hold up the appropriate number of fingers. Then I would even know how much money to fork over.

Does make me wonder how difficult it would be for a tourist in Columbus if he did not speak English well.  Guess it's a good thing we don't get all that many visitors from abroad.

Week 3, Monday & Tuesday - not much to report

With this post you will be getting a two for one because I've done nothing the past couple days. A cold has laid me low. Wouldn't you know? I haven't had a cold in . . . actually I can't remember my last cold, it has been that long. On the bright side I had two weeks of beautiful weather and got a lot more accomplished in my first two weeks than I would have figured. I'm also grateful that the cold didn't hit me until Monday. It would have been awful to miss out on Sunday's trip.

I can't remember if I mentioned this before but I put up some pictures from our second week here at https://picasaweb.google.com/101319898539355886588/ArmeniaWeek2

I have also separately put up some photos of the sculptures and statues around town - https://picasaweb.google.com/101319898539355886588/YerevanSculptures 

Yerevan seems to have a love affair with both statues and sculptures. They are all over the place. Refreshingly, many, and perhaps most, of the statues are of artists, poets, authors, and musicians – much nicer than politicians and military figures.

Hoping to have more to report tomorrow.

Week 3, Sunday - outside of Yerevan

Our day started out with a trip to the Armenian Genocide Museum with Karen and Frants. Arevik would join us later. Her young daughter would be with us for the day and Arevik felt that it would be too much for one so young. After having been there I completely agree. It was almost too much for this old lady.

For those of you who may not know the Armenian Genocide refers to the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I. It was implemented through wholesale massacres and deportations, with the deportations consisting of forced marches under conditions designed to lead to the death of the deportees. The total number of resulting Armenian deaths is generally held to have been between 1 million and 1.5 million

It is one thing to know of these atrocities but is another thing entirely to see pictures of it and to read accounts of it. I was both shaken and moved. One thing I found quite chilling was this quote of Adolph Hitler to his generals: ‘Thus for the time being I have sent to the East only my ‘Death’s Head Units’ with the orders to kill without pity or mercy all men, women, and children of Polish race or language. Only in such a way will we win the vital space that we need. Who still talks nowadays about the Armenians?’

On the grounds of the memorial there are trees planted by distinguished visitors to the museum. Robert Dole and Howard Dean are among the tree planters.

The cathedral at Ejmiatsin

As we finished our tour Arevik and her daughter joined us and we headed off to Ejmiatsin.  Ejmiatsin became the spiritual center for Armenia's Christians shortly after the country's conversion in the early 4^th century. The grounds are quite extensive and include the cathedral, a museum in which we had a guided tour, and several other churches. The new gateway to the cathedral precinct commemorates the visit of Pope John Paul II in 2001.  It was altogether a most impressive complex.

Then we were off to Khor Virap Monastery which is within site of the Turkish border. Khor Virap is famous for being the site of Saint Gregory the Illuminator's thirteen year imprisonment by King Trdat III. Although there was a monastery here by the 5^th century, the present buildings are much more modern having been built in the latter part of the 1600s. It is possible to go down a narrow opening via a 27 step ladder to view Saint Gregory's prison. Since it took a while to navigate the ladder and it was used to go both up and down, the congestion and our schedule precluded a visit. Being that I'm somewhat claustrophobic, that was probably all to the good.

From there we climbed a serpentine route through the mountains to reach Geghard Monastery. As we were driving there with the road twisting and turning and climbing, Arevik recounted a story of taking some friends from the Republic of Georgia here. She said that when she was telling them how the monastery had been overrun by enemy forces several times, the friend exclaimed “How could that be true? How could enemy forces possibly get up here?” That explains the location perfectly.

Geghard is unique in the it is partially an ordinary surface structure and partly cut into the cliff. In total surrounding the main site are more than twenty other rock hewn chapels and buildings. Truly it is an amazing site. 

While we are there Frants buys a cake for us to share from a woman selling them at the base of the monastery. It is more the consistency of a bread but has a layer of something sweet, sugar or honey, running through the middle. It is decorated on the top and lettered “Geghard”.

A short distance away is our final stop, Garni Temple. Garni is the only Graeco-Roman style building in Armenia and was built sometime between the 1^st century and 175 AD. The temple itself was destroyed by an earthquake in 1679 but was rebuilt in the early 1970s. It looks a bit like a mini Parthenon.

We arrived just at sunset and the reddish pink glow behind the mountains was glorious!

Karen had made reservations at a restaurant on the outskirts of Yerevan. Once again we had a room to ourselves and once again the food and drink seemed endless and tasted wonderful. Neil was determined to pick up the tab for the meal. Up to this point and including our meal the first week, we have paid for nothing. I really did not think Neil would win this battle. Perhaps getting down on his knees helped for he did win. I don't think Karen was pleased.

We were finally dropped off at the hotel fully sated and very happy. Greeting us at the door was our bellhop from our first day who has taken us under his wing. We had been given the remaining cake from Geghard Monastery and I was holding it in my arms. Upon seeing it he said “I see you were at Geghard. I hope you didn't pay too much for the cake. Those women will charge a fortune if you don't bargain with them.” We assured him that a knowledgeable friend purchased it and our only contribution was to eat it.

Second Week, Saturday - I am a dud

Saturday dawned dark and gloomy and so did I. During the night I feel prey to something I ate. I can't figure out what since, in the appropriate time frame, Neil and I ate the same things. The only difference was a cup of coffee I had at the hotel. It was a truly awful tasting coffee, but coffee and food poisoning just doesn’t seem right.

In any event it ruined our plans for our outing with our friends. I sent Neil off figuring there was no need to ruin his day and there was nothing he could do for me anyway. He, however, returned in short order having been told that since I'd not yet been taken on a tour and he had that they wanted to wait for me.

Other than going out for lunch and dinner, poor Neil got to spend the whole day trapped in the hotel room with a fairly non-communicative Nancy.

Toward mid afternoon I started to feel like I would live (actually it was a fairly mild bout) so that when Neil went downstairs for dinner I asked him to bring back some bread. Normally everything here is a la carte and thus the bread should have been an extra charge. However when his server heard it was for his sick wife upstairs in the room, it was gratis.

Even though I felt much better, I spent the rest of the day in bread determined to be rested and perky for our Sunday outing.

Week 2, Friday - Will I ever get home?

We arrived in Armenia on a Saturday evening and are scheduled to leave three weeks later on a Saturday morning.  I had gotten differing information on whether my 21 day visa would cover this period.  Did the 21 days start from  the time I arrived, in which case I would be okay? Or did it start at 12:01am of the day I arrived, in which case I would need to extend my visa?  Wednesday I sent off an email to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Thursday morning I had my answer.  I would need to extend my visa.  In the not too distant past, if you overstayed your visa you paid a fine of something like 1000 dram a day or $2.60.  Recently it was changed to a fine between 50,000 and 100,000 regardless of your overstay.  I'm way too cheap to pay up to $260.

So today we headed over to the OVIR (don't really know what it stands for) office.  Addresses here are really screwy.  An entire building has a single number regardless of how many businesses or entities it holds.  It is possible for an entire block to have a single address if the building is big enough.  To add to the confusion if a building has the address of say 20 Abovyan Street but the entrance to an establishment is around the corner on Tumanyan Street, its address is 20 Abovyan Street.  To add even more confusion, the numbers on one side of the street do not correspond to the numbers on the other side.  There is the even on one side and odd on the other, but 37 Nalbandyon Street is across from 116 Nalbandyan.

We started off on Mashtots on the even side of the street looking for the general whereabouts of number 13.  We quickly realized that mistake, crossed the street and headed back the way we came.  We came to number 13 and went in the main door.  There was a man at a desk right inside the door.  He spoke no English, but when I said 'visa' he smiled.  He'd faced this scenario before.  He took us back aside and gestured that we should go around the back of the building.  Okay that wasn't too bad.  Inside the building we see a directory which lists 'visa' and a bunch of office numbers on the second floor.  Up we go wondering which office number to choose.  In the hall we see someone and I say the magic word 'visa' and we are led to the correct room.  Here we are given a form to fill out, told that I need to make a copy of my visa and passport, and that I must renew for a minimum of two days which will come to 1000 dram and I should get a check from a bank.  I say I have drams and I thought she said that was all right.

We leave the OVIR to go get copies made.  Conveniently there is a xerox place nearby where we get the copies made and I fill out the form.  Back we go to OVIR, up to the second floor and into the office where someone new is behind a desk.  I hand over everything and she asks for the check.  I take out a bill and she says no I must have a check.  Works out I have to go to a bank with their routing number and have the money deposited into the account.  They don't take cash.  Back into the street to find a bank.  At the bank we are taken care of by a lovely young woman who speaks very good English.  She knows exactly what we need.  Sitting behind her are two trainees who hopefully learned something new.

Once again we go back to the OVIR office, up to the second floor, and into the office.  I had everything over and this time it seems I have everything I need.  She then asks for my passport which is put into a drawer and am told to come back on Wednesday to pick up my passport and visa extension.  I don't like parting with my passport and wonder if perhaps I will never be leaving Armenia.

Since it is a dreary, drizzling day we have decided to do an indoor thing and go to the History of Yerevan Museum. It is small but quite interesting.  I most enjoy the old pictures of Yerevan.  Almost a century later and I can recognize many of the streets.

Upon leaving the museum we only have time for a quick bite before Neil must be off to the bank.  Accordingly we stop at a street vendor a block from the hotel and enjoy lamb, spices, peppers, and onions wrapped in lavash.  Lavash is a soft thin flatbread.

It is still drizzling when dinner time rolls around but we decide to take a chance and go to an Indian restaurant that is about 1 ½ miles away.  Luck is with us and the rain never gets worse.  We should have stayed at the hotel.  I have lamb with nuts and raisins over rice.  Filling but very bland.  Neil has a curried chicken which is marginally better.  At least the ice cream he had for dessert was very good and was presented in a unique manner in a fluted cup with the ice cream on the top formed into spirals.

Our weather luck is still holding and we have a pleasant walk back to the hotel.