We spent most of our time in the areas around Republic Square which is the center of the city. Just off of the square is section of upscale shops, apartments, and businesses. The part closest to the Opera House seems to be completely built and mostly occupied, but the section closest to the square is not completed. Neil and I wondered whether it was still being worked on or whether the money for it had dried up. Being a Sunday it was impossible to tell. I'll have to come back during the week to see if work is ongoing.
Near the Opera House we came upon a park that was having an art show. I got the impression that this was something that was ongoing. We were impressed by the variety of styles. We also noticed that the vast majority of artists were male. If I recall correctly we only saw two female artists. The men were usually seated together in groups playing cards or chess and would jump up if they felt a sale might be forthcoming. I wanted to watch the card games to see if they were playing anything I would recognize but thought that it might be taken as an interest in a painting and lead to getting a hard sell.
I was amazed by the number of parks and greenways. It made me wish we had been able to come a few months earlier. It would have been beautiful. We also would have been able to enjoy some of the many outdoor cafes. It was close to being warm enough to eat outside today but I'm a real cold weenie so we decided not to.
Our wanderings also took us to a gigantic indoor food market. What really caught my eye was the large variety of herbs. I had no idea what many of them were but the ones that were ground or minced were piled high in baskets, looked lovely and smelled even better. We ended up buying some nuts wrapped in dried fruit (very popular here) and some dried apricots. Since Armenia is home of the apricot and is reputed to have the best in the world I am determined to try apricots in every form I can while here.
We then stopped for an early dinner/late lunch. Ordinarily I am a semi vegitarian, not being totally strict but avoiding meat when I can. I have decided to give that up while here. I had heard that there are not many vegetarians among Armenians and even if you order what seems to be a meatless meal, it probably isn't. Also lamb is extremely popular here and lamb is a meat that I do miss terribly. So goodbye to Nancy's ethics while I am here and "Hello, meat."
On the way back to the hotel we stopped off at a supermarket for some vittles for the room. In Yerevan each section of a supermarket has a women who is in charge of helping customers, stocking shelves, and keeping things neat and tidy. So there is a dairy lady, a candy lady, a bread & grains lady, etc. and they seem to be all women, no men. In the store we were in they wore a green sleeveless tunic over their clothes which made them look a bit like Tinkerbell. I now refer to the supermarket as Pixieland.
Once back at the hotel, I was unable to stay awake for very long and made it a very early night.
Glad you are enjoying a much-earned fun and excitement!
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