Metropol Hotel - Yerevan

... and flowerbeds, each has its own theme and carved façade, connected by step and indoor escalators, and at the very top is a tall monument. The project was started in the Soviet era; the purpose was to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Armenia being part of the USSR. The project was not completed at the time of her independence, after which an oversea Armenian billionaire took it over and if and when it is finished it will be a monument to the country’s culture and ...

... you just 600 drams, if not less. It is something about 1,5$.



Where to eat?

In any cafe or restaurant you like! All of them have very delicious cuisine, and everything is very tasty, no matter you choose Armenian cuisine, Italian, Chinese or whatever! Bon appétit!



Should I leave tips to the waiters?

Sometimes it is included in the bill, but mostly, people ...

... bad- meeting a university professor in a bar I found myself shortly giving a very dull lecture on Sparta to his Art History students at the University of Yerevan. Other highlights included a free tour with the university professors around the History Museum and a semi-date with an Armenian interpreter I met at the police station whilst sorting out my camera. This said I was glad to finally be hitching my way back to Tbilisi and leaving Armenia far behind.

... run on Sunday. I wandered along the road until stopping to ask at a little kiosk when and where could I catch a marshrutka or taxi to Haghpat. Before remembering that it was Sunday, they told me they thought it would be in an hour. When I prepared to stand and see what came by, one of the girls came out of the kiosk and told me to come wait inside with them. It ends up the kiosk is run by a grandmother, mother, and daughter. The mother and daughter were living ...

... themes with asiatic faces. After that I went to the Geg********astary, about 8 kilometers outside of Garni. The church and monastary is carved and made out of the surrounding hillside. The church is made of stone outside the mountain, but then melds into it with several rooms actually carved from the mountain. The old monk's quarters are all built as caves. It was originally built in the 8th century, burned out by the Arabs in the ...

... buy himself kebab (but it's a turkish word, not popular here, one should use Shawarma) he buys me one as well, niiice. And at the sights he goes to see them as well instead of getting bored in the car (he wanted to be a guide but I don't like being shadowed;)). So we set off north from Vanadzor back towards Georgian borders through Debed canyon. An old railroad runs inside and there is some collection of closed down Soviet-time industry dominated by a huge rusty copper mine in Alaverdi ...

... Union to give them Western Armenia, which included Biblical Ararat and Van. Yet somehow the Armenians survived, despite these past events, wave after wave of Turkish armies and settlers from Central Asia and the Mongols and Tamerlane's slaughters. It is something that lives deep within the heart of the people, to be remembered. So now Armenia is small narrow highland state, landlocked between two Turkish nations. But though it is small, it is full of treasures.

... the city, the ones who were more dressed up with their (Russian-style?) fashionable gear. -We visited 4 families in Armenia, and we were reminded of the warmth and the love Armenians offer...awe. -Overall, there were very few incidences of feeling scammed here (by a few cabbies), and we felt like you could trust Armenians in the tourist scene. I pray that even if the tourist numbers increase, Armenians will remain trustworthy, even if you don ...

Today was another great day in Armenia. Since it was Sunday, we went to Levon's church here in Yerevan. The church's handbell choir performed the piece they played for us last night, and did wonderfully. We also helped out with the Sunday school classes. We did two songs with puppets for the elementary aged kids after doing a "Beyond Words" puppet presentation in the church for the congregation. For those who don't know what that means, our puppet skit ...

Cindy got posted in Armenia, so she decided it was as good a place as any to have a destination wedding. So the Lie's and Chu's converged in Yerevan, coming from as far as Singapore and New York. It was like a bad sitcom: The Asians Take On Armenia ...