Taking it Easy in Yerevan

British Mike and I were nearing the end of our journey. Yerevan was the sleepiest of the three capital cities we visited, so this all kind of worked out. There was less to see and do, and I wanted to see and do less things. It used to be on vacation I would go as hard as possible adventuring then rest when I got home. Now that I have a baby Ern at home, though, rest is in short supply. So, it was nice to take it easy a bit while I was here.

I don't have an explanation as to why I decided I needed to try Armenian Japanese food, so I'm not going to offer one. I did have an interesting conversation with the bartender though. He was Russian and spoke pretty good English. It seems like Armenia is experiencing a strange situation where Russians are coming in as effective refugees to their former imperial underling to escape the war economy or dodge the draft.

I met up again with Mike for dinner. We splurged at one of the nicer restaurants in town: Lavash.

walnut pate

tolma with cabbage leaves

I ordered what might have been the flagship dish of the place: a stuffed pumpkin that our waiter expertly sliced up at our table and flayed it out like a big delicious orange flower.

"Ghapama of Erzum

pumpkin, beef tenderloin, eggplant, carrot, kidney beans, greens, butter, onion, garlic, spices"

We ordered a ton of stuff and got a bottle of wine, and walked away with a bill that was only about $100. I call that a win.

I liked the lights on the building too. Lavash was fun.

We hit an interesting bar after dinner called the Kond House.

""The Kond House" is located in Kond, the oldest district of Yerevan. 

It is a new home of the old Yerevan lifestyle, mentality, and a number of efficient projects. In addition to Yerevan summer dishes, you can enjoy unique samples of European cuisine here. This is a large house converted into a restaurant, with a terrace and a very atmospheric courtyard where a fireplace is lit on cold evenings and live jazz is played on Wednesdays.

"The Kond House" is a modern expression of a traditional Armenian home, where you can find the latest trends of Armenian dishes and drinks."

Yerevan is well known for its Ararat brand brandy. I investigated.

Off to the Armenian Big City

We woke up in Dilijan, Armenia to another comically large breakfast.

This time I got ahold of a menu and surveyed the additional things I could order were I to have 7 companions to eat what was already on the table.

The region of the world seems to be big on preserved fruits in syrup which I am a fan of.

It was wild to be in a European-ish place and have not the slightest idea how to even sound out the words on signs.

It was about time for us to leave town and we were again wandering around looking for a place to catch a van to another city. We passed the taxi stand and bumped into our cab man from yesterday, Tatul. Mike's dear heart asked the guy where the bus ticket window was and of course the guy lied and said there were no buses today. Well I already had a shady impression of that dude so I didn't believe him for a second. I walked across the street to Cafe #2 from yesterday, and was relieved to see our kind server. I had even gone to the trouble to go to some separate website to tip this dude so I was expecting a friendly reception. He quickly pointed to the ticket window and the day was saved. We bought the ticket to Yerevan for 1000 Armenian Dram which is like 2.50 USD. Not too shabby at all,

The van dropped us off at a... bus station type place. We then ordered a cab. I was sad we didn't get to take this classic car.

Armenia is also a former part of the USSR and had some giant monuments around that seemed to be in that style.

Mike was in charge of hotel bookings. He picked a decent one that really befit our classy capital city aspirations.

The Royal Plaza Hotel. There was no time for resting, however, as we had a walking tour booked.

Our meeting place for the tour was in front of the History Museum of Armenia facing Republic Square.

Our guide's name was Tigran and he was a fun goofball. He said that Iranians like to come Armenia to party.

"Better to marry your daughter to local shepherd than foreign king" - local proverb

Mirzoyan Library was an artsy fartsy cafe.

We had a little snack and a rest at Abovyan 12. He ordered for us but I think that this was a Lahmajoun: sort of an Armenian pizza with a meat and tomato mixture on top of a crispy flatbread.

I liked this bakery that had a hole in the glass where baked goods could be exchanged.

Alexander Tamanyan, famous Armenian architect. Our guide joked that this statue made him look like he was a DJ. Behind him stands the Yerevan Cascade, a staircase/building thing that was started in 1971 and still stands unfinished.

Mike was very endearingly excited about getting a flight of beer at Dargett Brewery. Apparently beer flights aren't really a thing in the UK, which is very sad.

We headed to Anter for some Armenian food.

I may be addicted to these Lahmajoun things.

We hit Calumet Ethnic Lounge Bar for some ethnic times.

I wanted to go to Beatles Pub Yerevan mainly to annoy Mike with poorly translated British fare.