Saturday - what is typical Armenian pizza?

Vernissage is an open air craft market reputed to be the best place in Aemenia to buy souvenirs and craft items.  Indeed there is a large selection of carpets, embroideries, dolls, stone and wood carvings, paintings, musical instruments, and the like.  It also appears that it is indeed the makers who are also the sellers.  I am a bit surprised that there isn't more of a hard sell.  Only once or twice when we stopped to look at an item more closely were we approached.  Even then it was more of a "Do you have a question?" approach.  Guess I'm not a craft or souvenir person.  Many things were lovely but I just wasn't interested.  The only items that held any interest for me were the old cameras and tools.

In one corner of the market we noticed a bunch of dogs and cats.  Some were in cages and some were being held by people.  I have no idea if they were being sold by breeders, if it was an animal shelter promotion, or what.  People here do have dogs as pets, but one sees more strays than animals on leashes.  At least I assume they are strays as they are running loose.  On the other hand almost all look decently fed.  Unfortunately at least half are limping or only using three legs to walk.  I would imagine if a dog is running loose it is only a matter of time before it is hit by a car - traffic is crazy.

After browsing a little while we then ambled over to Artbridge for a bite to eat.  I believe I have mentioned that their French Press coffee was excellent and with Neil being the real coffee lover in the family I wanted him to try it.  He did agree it was excellent.  He wasn't as happy with his meal however.  I, on the other hand, loved mine - angel hair pasta with fresh tomatoes, garlic and spices.  The pasta was al dente, the tomatoes very fresh, and the garlic not overpowering.  It seems I am having better luck with my meals than Neil.  Perhaps I am not as picky.

When the waitperson brought our coffee she forgot to bring my milk.  Neil asks "could you please bring some milk?"  This prompts me to mention to him that I have would merely have said "milk".  I've found the fewer words used and the more to the point you can be, the better chance you have of being understood.  I feel rather impolite doing this and hope that a smile and a "thank you" will make up for what might be perceived as curtness.  Neil, I am sure, with his deeply rooted politeness will never take this route

Neil searches for the cache

The Cache

After lunch, we head to a nearby section of the Green Belt to find the Yeghishe Charenc Monument. Charenc was a famous Armenian poet of the early 1900s.  Why would we seek this out?  There is a geocache nearby.  One which gives enough clues that we are fairly certain we can find without GPS.  And we are right! Our first cache in a foreign country.  Hell, our first cache outside of Ohio.

Unfortunately Neil is feeling a bit under the weather.  We head back to hotel so he can take a nap . . . which he does - for about six hours.  When he wakes up he is feeling much better so we decide to head out for pizza.

Neil remembers a place just off Republic Square and we head there.  The restaurant is doing a good business and has a very large selection of pizza, almost all with white sauce.  We have no idea what white sauce is but give it a try.  We still have no idea what white sauce is.  I would hazard a guess that it means no tomato sauce and lots of cheese.  Other than that it seems like a pretty normal pizza with four or five toppings.  We decide to give pizza at least one more try to see whether or not this restaurant was typical.

Friday - We'll get dinner right eventually

Republic Square

Just throwing in the picture above because today I was playing with the panorama feature on my phone.  Ain't technology great?

Today I decided to walk the street on the west side of the city where the Green Belt would have been had it been completed.  Saryan Street is fairly quiet compared to most of my walks so far.  It climbs steadily uphill as it curves west.  Yerevan was built in a valley so if you stray from the center of the city you are going to face a climb.  Fortunately this is a gradual one.  I don't realize how much altitude I've gained until I get to Puskin Street which heads into downtown Yerevan and look down the street.  It truly was "down the street".

Saryan Street turns into Moscovyan Street.  It's as though the street knows its name has changed for a reason as things start to bustle. Soon I arrive at the intersection with Soyat Nova where I ended my Green Belt walk the other day. I turn south onto Mashtots Street (love that name!) and pass a restaurant that looks like it might be a promising place for dinner.  Finding restaurants is a bit of a problem.  Very few restaurants post menus out front and many are basement restaurants so you can't even look into a window.  And, of course, most have little or no English in any of their signs or ads.  Consequently I usually have no idea what type of place it is, what type of food, or how much it costs.  Makes it a little hard to figure where to eat.  I should have Neil ask his chums at the bank for recommendations.

Speaking of restaurants, I've seen several KFCs and two Pizza Huts.  Surprisingly, no McDonalds, though Neil says they will be coming soon.  Pizza places abound.  I would like to try a couple of these before we leave just to see how they compare and to see what type of pizza is served - New York, Chicago, Sicilian, Midwest, or something else entirely.

As on Monday I stop at Artbridge for lunch.  Their French Press coffee is fabulous - strong and rich.  If you take milk with it, which I do, you are asked if you would like the milk heated.  I could get used to that!  BTW, decaf is non-existent here and unfortunately coffee does keep me awake. Consequently once it gets much past one or two o'clock I stop having coffee. Bummer, as I do so enjoy a cup after a meal.

We go to Camelot for dinner, the restaurant I made note of earlier.  I order first and every time I order something the waitperson puts up two fingers.  Ah, once again it's that family style thing.  Neil orders a salad which we end up sharing and only after it is finished do they bring my soup.  It is huge and HOT.  I guess after a while they figure Neil's not going to dive into my soup, so they bring his chicken which he finishes about the time I finish my soup.  (I told you the soup was huge.)  Only then does my pork come.  Poor Neil has to sit and watch me eat.  He does order an Irish Coffee so at least he has something to occupy himself with.  Should also mention that I had a pomogranite wine with my meal.  Not bad, but it should have been sweeter.  This from someone who likes her wines dry, but somehow it just tasted like it should have been sweeter.

Again we end the evening by taking the long way home and once again I am over ten miles for the day.

Thursday - Observations

Today as I walked (and walk I did, racking up over 10 miles) I mused over some of what I've seen here and which I will now share.

There is a lot of linked arms and hand holding going on in this city and most of it is between members of the same sex. It appears to tail off as people age, but it is still there with every generation. Part of it might for practical reasons; sidewalks get very crowded and linking arms would serve to keep walkers from getting separated. Mainly though I think people here are just more willing to express affection. There is much hugging and kissing when meeting friends and not just air kisses. There is a genuine happiness at seeing a friend.

Yerevan is a city of a million people and at any given time I think they are all out walking or driving. I've yet to see a parking garage and cars are parked EVERYWHERE - double parking, triple parking, in alleys, sometimes on sidewalks. One would think this would create a nightmarish situation but a method has been devised to deal with it. Each section of road has a man in a yellow vest whose job it is to keep track of the cars, who they belong to, where the owners have gone, and when they plan on returning. For this they receive a tip from the owner upon his return. I really can't imagine how it all works but it does. From my observations when an owner returns he is able to retrieve his car in short order. It's often a very tight squeeze to get out but he has the help of the parking attendent. It is evidently a job that requires very good spatial skills. (In the picture, the cars on the right are also parked not driving by.)

There are many flower stalls here and they do a pretty good business. You see quite a few people with a bunch of floweres tucked under their arms.  I wonder if they are for themselves or someone else or simply to brighten the home.

There are often alleys between buildings which lead to a "yard" and more buildings, usually housing. When the alleys go through a building there is an arch. More often then not these archways have paintings along the side. Though sometimes there are small stores along the side of the alley - glassed in as mentioned in a previous post. It is particulary interesting if someone is plying a trade in one of these tiny shops. Last Sunday when Neil and I were out strolling, we passed a tailor and a cobbler. Each in a space that was no more than fifteen or twenty square feet.

People eat later than they do in the states, at least in the Midwest. I stopped off for lunch at Cafe Central, a coffee/salad & sandwhich place, a little after 1 pm and only a few tables were taken. When I left an hour later it was packed with people waiting for tables.

For dinner Neil and I went to a Georgian restaurant which mostly served what they referred to as ravioli and were more like what we would think of as dumplings. You don't get an order of whatever kind of dumpling, they are sold individually. When I was trying to figure how many to get, there was a bit of confusion with the waiter. He was indicating that I wasn't ordering enough. It wasn't until later that I realized he thought I was ordering for the two of us. Seems it is quite common for dinners to be ordered family style.

After dinner we went for a walk, taking the long way home. This is quite a walking city with the sidewalks crowded into the evening. It is so nice to be able to walk to dinner instead of always needing to crank the car up. Somehow it feels more romantic.

Wednesday - Goofy Hats

Today I walked the outer side of the Green Belt along Isahakyan Street.  The Green Belt is a circular strip of land which goes halfway around Central Yerevan between Isahakyan and Moskovyan Streets.  It is a long narrow (a few hundred feet wide) park filled with statues, cafes, playgrounds, and fountains.

On my way to the Green Belt from my hotel I made a stop at the Cathedral of St. Gregory the Illuminator which is the largest Armenian church in the world.  The Cathedral was consecrated in September 2001 to commemorate the 1700th anniversary of the proclamation of Christianity as a State Religion in Armenia.  Symbolically it has 1700 seats.  It is atypical in several ways: it has seats, there are no candles, and there is an organ.  Why this is so, I do not know. Normally when visiting a church you buy candles, light them, and stick them in a tray of sand. The candle lighting is not completely avoided however as there is an adjacent building specifically for the lighting of candles. Another bit of trivia, it is customary to walk out of the church backwards so as not to turn your back on god.

Isahakyan Street changed character several times over the course of my stroll though it was bustling the entire way.  As I started out it appeared that everyone was going somewhere else - hopping on and off buses, mini-buses, or trolleys. Mini-buses appear to fill in areas where the other methods of transportation don't, though there is much overlap.  There are some 125 mini-bus routes along which you simply hail one down, hop aboard (though oftimes it seems to be cram aboard), indicate when you want to get off, and pay as you leave.

After a bit I approached Yerevan State University and the average age of my fellow walkers dropped considerably.  Even with that I felt more at home here.  Jeans are very common in Yerevan, but not Nancy-type jeans.  These are designer jeans and VERY form fitting and frequently accompanied by boots with very high heeals.  Not a Levi, Wrangler, or Lee in sight on Abovyan Street.  But here, though most are forty years or so younger, people are dressed more like me.

As an aside, this city is not handicap accessible.  The sidewalks are not always in good repair and, even if they are, many times each building has a different type of sidewalk with a different height.  You really have to watch where you are walking and frequently are picking your way through a bit of rubble.  Yet the women are in stilletos and striding along.  Amazing!

As I reach the end of the Green Belt, I grab a pastry before turning the corner onto Mashtots Avenue.  This pastry has a lamb and cheese filling and costs a whooping 120 drams or just over 31 cents.

Mashtots Avenue is named after a monk who devised the Armenian alphabet in order to translate the bible into Armenian.  How cool it is to actually know who developed your alphabet!

I don't stay on Mashtots for long since Neil and I walked here last Sunday.  Instead I zig-zag back to Republic Square trying to hit little streets that I've not yet travelled.  I see nothing too noteworthy; still each street has its own character and I enjoy discovering it.

I arrive back at the hotel and shortly afterwards Neil arrives.  He has some work to do to prepare for tomorrow so we decide to go to a restaurant nearby.  I order Armenian Pastry with Curdled Milk Sauce.  The pastry is very much like thin Slippery Noodles and has some spices in it which I don't recognize but taste very good. The sauce tastes very much like sour cream but is crisper and more tart.  Also good.

When the bill arrives it has a 10% service charge.  This evidently is getting more common and one would think the money would go to the server.  Not so, we have discovered.  It is just an extra charge that goes to the restaurant.  So fortunately we know enough to leave a tip.  Still, a 10% tip which is the norm only comes to 700 dram or $1.85.  As we are leaving our server presses a coin into my hand.  I try to find out what this is all about, but her English is only slightly better than my Armenian.  Back at the hotel we see that the coin is Hungarian and worth just a few cents.  Puzzled by this, Neil asks at the bank the next day and is told that with the added 10% service charge, oftentimes the server receives no tip at all and this was her way of showing her gratitude.  They also say that should we go there again, we will be remembered and treated extremely well.

My final comment for the day is that the police here wear the goofiest looking hats.  I'm certain that the police force has lost out on several potential candidates because they have too much self respect to wear those things.

Tuesday - a very special dinner

After a breakfast in the room, Neil left for the bank and I headed out for my daily adventure - today along Nalbandyan Street which runs parallel to yesterday's Abovyan Street.  Nalbandyan is much quieter and narrower than Abovyan with small shops and more residential space.

One thing that amazes me is the ingenuity of people here in finding space to do business.  Yesterday I saw a fruit and vegetable stall under the stoop of a building.  I know what you may be thinking but the space was spotless and well lit.  It fit the proverbial "so clean you could eat off the floor".  Another popular store space is a glass enclosed space along the outside wall of a building.  Picture an area about twenty to thirty feet long and four feet wide, divided into "stores" approximately six feet long.  I do not know how the owners get into their shops if they are not at the ends unless sections of the glass are removable.  You certainly could not be claustrophobic.

Another thing I noticed was the lack of outside contracts for window washing and cleaning.  During the morning when business is slow, you'll see women who work at a store outside washing windows or sweeping/washing the stoops and sidewalks in front of the store.  The brooms used to sweep are not factory made and have rather short handles.  I have no idea why the handles are so short but my back started to hurt just watching the women work.

I took a short detour off Nalbandyan Street to see the stone carvers' yard where khachkars are made.  Kachkars are a unique Armenian art form. The word means cross-stone and is a carved cross surmounting a rosette or a solar disc. The remainder of the stone face is typically filled with elaborate patterns of leaves, grapes, pomegranates, or abstract knotwork.  They are usually used as gravestones, but also as memorials.  It seems to be an art that is dying out.  A pity, the craftsmanship is amazing.

Heading back to the main street I grabbed a pastry covered sausage at one of the ubiquitous food stands - 100 drams or just about a quarter.

After I bit more ambling I headed back to the hotel to get showered and changed for a dinner with some of Neil's friends from the bank.  Besides I was pooped from nearly 10 miles of walking.

Neil and I were picked up by Karen, Arevik (who picked us up from the airport), and Lucine, who is the interpretor for Neil's training class and taken to the Caucasus for some genuine Armenian cooking.  Once there we were joined by several other employees of the bank.  Karen had reserved a room so we were able to carouse without bothering other patrons.  After assuring him we would be willing to try anything, Neil and I placed ourselves in Karen's hands and let him do the ordering which he did for everyone, albeit with many suggestions from the other members of the party.  There must have been a dozen plates of food, several of which had three or four different items. And these were our appetizers! I did in fact try everything and there was absolutely nothing I didn't enjoy.  (You'll note in the picture that I did not stop eating for the photo!) One of my favorites was fermented buffalo milk with bread.

Two things I noticed that are worthwhile to mention.  As people who were new to me were introduced, they were described as working "with" Karen or Arevik and as the evening progressed this was always how the relationship was portrayed.  Checking with Neil later I found Karen and Arevik were, in fact, their bosses. The second thing was I felt I was subtly being watched to make sure everything was just right for me.  If my wine was not going down as fast as it might have, I was asked if it was too dry and would I like something else.  If I was cutting meat off the bone, I was told it was perfectly acceptable to pick it up in my hands. Indeed they were the perfect hosts.

There were many pauses for toasts, most of them expressing how happy they were that Neil was back with them.  This definitely is a country where if you make a friend you have made a friend for life.  It was a dinner I will remember fondly for a VERY long time.

Monday - my first day alone

Today was my first day out on my own, no longer under Neil's protective wing. If I get lost I've got the hotel's business card to show to a cab driver, so no matter how much I may screw up I'll be able to get back.

The day dawned clear and crisp - or so Neil tells me. I wouldn't know, I slept through it. I fell asleep last night around nine and napped for almost two hours and woke up, if not peppy, at least unable to go back to sleep until around three. So poor Neil got up by himself and headed off to the bank. So much for our breakfast together.

I managed to get up and out by 10:30 and headed up past Republic Square to Abovyan Street which is a wide tree lined street. The sidewalks are quite wide with trees down the middle and along much of the way with gardens along the road. Most of the stores are upscale and the streets are crowded with cars and the sidewalks packed with people. One needs to watch where you are walking as around the trees there are dropoffs from the sidewalk to the dirt of several inches. I say "one" but I mean me. Everyone else seems to be able to navigate perfectly well and most of them are engaged in animated conversations. I literally am not sure that I could walk and talk at the same time.

After a bit I stop off at the Artbridge Bookstore for breakfast. Books are sold in the front room and food is served in the back two. I order French Toast and a French Press and linger over it for a long time. So long that I am the only one left in the back room. The waitperson had been coming in quite frequently to take away dishes, press, etc. The custom seems to be that the second you finish with a dish, utensil, whatever it is whisked away. It is not to rush you into leaving as the check is never brought until you ask for it. In any event, I believe I have lingered so long that she has forgotten about me. So I gather my stuff and go off in search of the check. Indeed from the look and blush on her face, I'm pretty sure she did forget. By Armenian standards my breakfast was on the expensive side at just over $7.50.

At the major intersections, there are underground pedestrian crossings that span the entire intersection and house small shopping malls. One of these had me drooling as one side consisted entirely of second hand bookstores. If only I read Armenian or Russian!

After a while Abovyan Street's shops gave way to Yerevan University. Here I took a detour to see the university's original observatory which was built in the 1930s. Nestled in the center of a small park, it looked a little forlorn as if it realized it had been superceeded by something newer and shinier. Nearby were a group of students playing ping pong. Ping pong tables in parks appear to be quite common and quite well used. I wonder what happens in the rain - are they covered at night and in the rain? do they have a water proof coating?

At this point I headed back to the hotel to await Neil's return.

Neil's first day went well. This first week he is training people who work outside of Yerevan and class lasts all day long. He was very happy to report that the class was "engaged" right from the beginning. Amazing as it may sound, Neil does not like to do all the talking and is happiest when classes are a discussion and not a lecture.

Even though he was tired, he was pumped up and so we decided to eat out. Had a nice meal at a Lebanese place though I think it was Lebanese in name only. Nonetheless the meal was quite good and in keeping with Neil's approach of always mentioning costs, it came to $18- including tip for 2 meals, wine, beer, and Armenian coffee.

As a final comment, I clocked over eight miles today.  Maybe all that food won't translate into pounds.

Sunday - the real start of things

Got up late and had a leisurely breakfast at our hotel.  Then Neil took me on a mini tour of the city.  By a mini tour I don't mean length as we covered over eight miles but because we didn't stop to do anything (other than eat!).  It was an attempt on Neil's part to give me an overview of the city and a fine job he did.

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.