Armenia Mania - Barev-Oor eh-Merci

Still on DAY 1: November 29 (2:00 pm) - Barev!!! Vonts es???"

Four most important words that got me through my Armenian adventure:

Barev (Hello)

Vonst es? (How are you...and for my fellow Filipinos, yes they sounds like asking someone if they are pregnant...buntis...buntis...bunttt is???)

Shnorhakal or Merci. (this tounge twisting pronunciation of Thank you demands extreme effort on my muscular hydrostat thus I often use the french equivalent)

Oor eh? (Where is...then add the name of the place you are looking for)

After walking for more than an hour and getting lost in the intricate streets of Yerevan along with a series of barev-oor eh-merci, I finally reached the Kendron/Kentron or simply called, the City Center. Here one can find statues, museums, opera house, parks. My self walking tour proves to be quite an easy feat as it only requires me to follow the hotel provided map and trek along the Moskovyan Street leading to the tourist spots of Yerevan such as the famous Cascade Complex.

William Saroyan Statue and a welcoming bench....

Kochar original works!!!

Do you know who is the founder of the movement Painting in Space??? Clue: He is Armenian.

Ervand Kochar Museum is located at 39/12 Prospekt. A small, quaint museum beside the Cascade Complex curated by Ervand's granddaughter whom I met personally, however my request for a photo op was rejected (perhaps she was camera shy...). For a minimal AMD600 entrance fee and AMD2000 guided tour fee, I was able to see the famous original works of Kochar (too bad I wasn't allowed to video the moving space sculptures, but it was an enlightening work of arts and to think it was invented in the early 20th Century!)

Moving onto the CASCADE Complex or Cafejian Center for the Arts (light rain started to fall around 5pm), the building was originally a concept by Alexander Tamanyan and revived in the 1970's by Yerevan's Chief Architect Jim Torosyan (notice how the Armenian family name ends up with "an" ??? Kardashian, Torosyan, Tamanyan...apparently you can easily recognize if they are Armenian origin by their last names).

CASCADE Quick Facts:

Number of steps - 572

Distance from the bottom to the top of the Cascade: 302 m / 991 feet

Distance from the bottom to the top of the Monument Terrace: 450 m / 1476 feet

Width: 50 m / 164 feet

Height of unfinished section: 78 m / 256 feet

Height of Monument Terrace: 118 m / 387 feet

Incline: 15 degrees

Cascade Complex

statues at Cascade grounds (hey i think im the inspiration of the naked lady sculpture...)

TIP: best view of Yerevan is to climb on top of The Cascade (of course i took the elevator....)

magnificent art works at Cascade

When the pouring rain subsided and turned to a light drizzle, it was already past 7pm and my feet are numb with cold and my stomach is gnawing with hunger. My eyes were watery and my brain reached its quota of information from Armenian Arts and Culture. Checking my Yerevan Brochure, it says that the Caucasus Tavern is the most popular tourist spot serving the best Armenian cuisine. Located at 82 Hanrapetutyan Street and Tumanyan Street, it looks like an easy walking distance from Armenian Opera Theater. Hunger and determination pushed me to ignore my conscience's advice to take a taxi to reach the restaurant. I was still convincing myself that its a lovely chilly night walk  on a strange continent (who was I kidding???) thus my sense of misdirection led me to the North Avenue. 

A chilly rainy evening walk passing by Armenian Opera Theater - Souvenir shops at North Avenue

very helpful Armenian women (Susan, Diane and Bella)

Tourist souvenir shops and shopping arcades made up the long, straight cobblestone walk of the North Avenue leading to Republic Square or Freedom Square. This time, I surrendered myself to the Armenian hospitality. As much as I like to approach the good-looking Armenian guys asking their help to point me out to the correct direction, I contented myself with their ladies who proved to be uber helpful. One very lovely bank clerk named Bella even walked me to a restaurant we thought to be Caucasus (apparently it was the wrong restaurant, the staff are unhelpful and I was even turned away from the place, telling me there is no available place for me even if I see quite a number of empty tables). Luckily, I passed by a pastry shop where I bought a slab of cake and water (with gas...yes, looks like locals prefer sparkling water than distilled...).

The Republic Square (getting lost in Yerevan to find the Caucasus Tavern - where they served the best Armenian food)

passing by a pastry shop while getting lost

Me: one water please...merci?

Storekeeper: With Gas?

Me: Gas??? Ummm... yeah??? ( i was seriously getting suspicious thinking if it was the LPG Cooking gas and wondering how they mixed it with water...I was totally relieved to see that it was sparkling water after all! New addition to my vocabulary... Gas+water=Sparkling Water!!!)

Searching for the Caucasus Tavern was such a challenge. My map indicates that the restaurant was a mere few blocks from the Freedom Square...and I was totally lost. I got scared a bit when Hanrapetutyan Street presented itself as a dark, semi-deserted place by 9pm, but needless to say I braved it out (remember I have no choice... either I die of hunger or regret) and after 30 minutes of limping, I finally reached my destination. Lesson for myself, no more shortcuts on the map and quit pretending to be Dora the Explorer!

old architecture buildings at deserted Hanrapetutyan Street...i'm looking for Block no. 82

Feeling cramp and cold, I was grateful for the welcoming heat inside the restaurant. The waiter at Caucasus Tavern seems very surprised to see me. But they were courteous and asked me what they can do for me. "Food please, merci...." I croaked at the curious looking waiter who seems to be wondering which planet I came from (apparently... this part of the world is yet to be explored by Asian tourists) . Seeing that the restaurant was fully packed, my request for a window seat was turned down. However, I was seated at lonely looking table near the kitchen (I'm overwhelmingly and practically dying of hunger, therefore any seat will do as long as there is FOOD!).

Caucasus Tavern (where I ordered dinner after 2 hours of walking in the rain!!!)

The waiter in Georgian uniform took pity on me as he offered me a small glass of Armenian brandy as a starter to regain warmth in my body (it worked!!!). I ordered quite a feast and was unable to finish it (note to myself: order one dish and finish it first before re-checking the menu). 

Travel Tip No.3: Avoid having leftover food when dining out in Armenia. 
I think it is considered a rude gesture for a person to have leftovers in Armenia (I'm so sorry...I really ate my fill on that first dinner...but the food was really good!). Even though I left a hefty tip, my server looks unhappy when he saw how much food I wasted. 

Going back to Hrazdan Hotel via taxi takes about 9 minutes from the city center (the driver thought that I was drunk because he demanded AMD6000!!!! Normal fare is only AMD1000 but I was too tired to argue...). As I took one last look of the Yerevan's night scene from my hotel room's humongous window,  I can't help but be excited to greet tomorrow's sunshine while gazing lovingly at the shadow of Mount Ararat in front of me. 

To be honest, I deserve a pat in the back for making it through the day alone in a foreign city of Euro Asia without any fiasco, (sans the greedy cab driver)...