Our final day in Georgia – how sad. We checked out of the Courtyard which has been a wonderful home-away-from-home for the past 6 nights.  We had communicated with an Armenian travel agency and arranged for a one-way ride from Tbilisi to Yerevan with stops at a couple of UNESCO heritage sites along the way.  The driver was supposed to pick us up at 9am.  9am came and went with no driver.  There are always taxi drivers and many other people hanging out in the lobby of the hotel, but we (incorrectly) assumed the driver would have a sign with our names on it so we'd be able to find him.  Finally, at 9:30 a gentleman approached us (who we had seen in the lobby since before 9am) and we figured out he was the driver.  It turned out he went to the front desk asking about us, but everything got confused because the driver had Craig’s name and the hotel reservation was under Efren’s name. Oh well, not the worst thing in the world, just a bit of an inconvenience and a later than expected start.  The driver seemed a bit grumpy about the whole deal and was kind of quiet and pouty for the first part of the trip.  The entire trip to Yerevan would take around 6-7 hours.  The first 90 minutes or so brought us to the Georgia-Armenia border.  We got out of the car and stood in line to exit Georgia.  We then got back in the car, drove about 50 meters, and then got out of the car again to stand in line for the Armenian entry.  The Georgian exit took about 10 minutes, with the Armenian entry taking a little bit longer as the border patrol guard spent quite a bit of time looking through both our passports.  Without too much fuss we were in Armenia and jumped back into the car to head on our way. The landscape of this part of Northern Armenia is mountainous and dramatic.  The area is known as the Debed Canyon, and the road clings to the sides of the canyon.  The scenery is gorgeous, although spoiled to some extent by the manufacturing (copper smelting) factories we saw belching smoke into the sky around the town of Alaverdi.  Soon we arrived at our first destination – the Haghpat Monastery.  Since we didn’t have a guide and only a driver, we were on our own to learn about the site.  The driver, who by now had opened up and became more friendly, suggested about 45 minutes at the site.  We learned that the monastery was founded by Queen Khosrovanuysh, wife of the king <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ash ot_III" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Ashot III</a>, around 976. The location of Haghpat Monastery was chosen so that it overlooks the Debed River and it was built halfway up a hillside on a site chosen to afford protection and concealment.  This location often results in the site being covered in clouds, but we were lucky at the time of our visit as despite rainy start to the date, the sky was mostly cloud-free offering terrific views of the complex and surrounding.  The largest church in the complex is a typical example of tenth century Armenian architecture, its central <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dom e" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">dome</a>  rests on the four imposing <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Col umn" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">pillars</a>
60;of the lateral walls. The outside walls are dotted with triangular <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alc ove" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">recesses</a>.& #160; We read that apart from one or two minor restorations carried out in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, the church has retained its original character.  Although on the surface the monastery looks quite similar to those in Georgia, there are a few subtle differences.  The interior of the Armenian churches are extremely simple with no iconography.  As a result, they appear a little barren on first inspection, but with time one realizes this simplicity adds to the mystique and holiness.  We also learned that if the church is active, there will be a curtain present at the alter.  There is also a minor difference with the Armenian cross (vs. Georgian and Catholic) which has a flowery swirl at its base. What these structures are probably most famous for is their amazing acoustics.  We learned in Georgia that Armenians were renowned for their stone-working abilities, and their work was prized in Georgia.  This skill enabled the architects to create the interior space which allows sound to be clearly heard throughout the structure.  No whispering secrets here!  Adding to the appeal is that pretty much no one was visiting the site while we were there, so we had fun making different sounds at the center of the structure and listening to our voices reverberate with perfect pitch and tone. There are also a number of splendid <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kha chkar" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">khachkars</a>& #160;(Armenian cross-stones) of the 11th-13th centuries standing on the outside of the monastery, and we will see more of these on our tour to the Armenian Churches around Lake Sevan in a few days.  Khachkars are carved memorial stones bearing an (Armenian) cross along with additional motifs including grapes, apricots and pomegranates (the 3 fruits most important to Armenians).  Most khachkars were erected for the salvation of the soul for either a living or dead person – so they weren’t always tombstones.  They were also used to memorize important occasions, such as military victories and construction of important buildings. After Haghpat we proceeded towards the other nearby UNESCO site, Sanahin.  Sanahin was located way up on a hill, but set in a garden like surroundings.  Unfortunately the sky became overcast and we started feeling raindrops.  This didn’t impact our visit too much, however, as we basically had the site to ourselves and enjoyed walking through the sparse interior and checking out the acoustics.  Behind the main church there was an extensive graveyard that we walked through.  We learned that the name "Sanahin" translates from Armenian as "this one is older than that one", presumably representing a claim to being older than <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hag hpat_Monastery" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Haghpat </a>. The two villages and their monasteries are similar in many ways, and lie in plain view of each other on a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dis sected_plateau" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">dissected plateau</a> formation, separated by a deep "crack" formed by a small river flowing into the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deb ed" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Debed</a>  ;river. We spent about 30 minutes at the site and headed back to the parking lot to find our driver waiting for us.  Although still a man of few words (who didn’t even listen to the radio during this very long drive), our driver started to open up a bit.  He told us he is from Armenia (so we had to pay him in Armenian currency, of which we didn’t have any), he prefers Sanahin to Haghpat, and that he hates driving in Georgia because the drivers are “crazy”, but that the roads themselves are better in Georgia.  Learning that we only had Georgian Lari as currency, he next brought us to an exchange office where we converted our Georgian Lari to Armenian Dram. From this point on, our destination was to get to Yerevan, about 3 hours away.  After the scenery of the Debed Canyon the road climbed up to a high altitude plateau.  Not sure how high we were (maybe 2000m?) but we could feel the elevation through lack of oxygen and increasing chilliness.  The scenery was beautiful as we crossed the plateau and could see Armenia’s highest mountain, Mt. Aragats, to our right.  The view of the mountain was quite good with only the top shrouded in clouds.  About 1 hour outside of Yerevan we made a most curious and incredible of stops.  We were a bit surprised when our driver pulled over at what appeared to be a random grocery store along the highway in one of the small towns we passed.  He said it was for a break.  We first hit the bathrooms, which were surprisingly nice before entering the store.  We soon learned that this place, called “G”, is famous throughout Armenia for its baked goods.  At first we were swooning at the area with sweets – all sorts of pastries being made and baked in the back and on display for sale in the store.  We were so focused on the sweets that it wasn’t until our driver came over to us drew our attention to the other part of the store that we noticed the savory baked items on offer as well as the making of lavash bread occurring right in front of our eyes!  Lavash is traditional Armenian bread baked in something like a tandoor (similar to the tone we saw in Georgia).  In this case, the baker would nearly climb into the oven before slapping the dough on the side of the oven and waiting for it to cook.  We don’t know how this guy avoided being burned to a crisp!  The smells emanating from the oven were amazing and we tanked up on spicy lamb, chicken and beef pies – just delicious.  We ate the food in the shop with Armenian techno music blaring in the background.  Not what we expected from our first meal in Armenia, but we still totally enjoyed it.  We headed back to the car and saw our driver with bags full of stuff he purchased to bring home to his family.  We asked if they had another branch in Yerevan, and he said there is one on the outskirts of town, but not to bother going there because it is not as good as this one. About an hour later we arrived at the outskirts of Yerevan, the largest and capital city of Armenia.  The rain continued on and off, but as we arrived we were greeted with a beautiful rainbow.  We made our way to our hotel – the Armenia Marriott Yerevan located smack dab on Republic Square – the center of the city.  We paid our driver and said farewell and entered the imposing pink stone Marriott Hotel.  Immediately we realized that this stay would be interesting. The hotel was top notch, but it was clear that during our stay we’d be impacted by significant renovations that were ongoing. Apparently they are putting in a pool and sprucing up the place in other ways.  After checking in, we had to ascend a steep set of stairs and walk a fairly long way through the construction (while breathing in paint fumes) to reach the elevator to our room on the 4^th floor.  The room was big (about 2x the size of the Courtyard) but was very dated.  Definitely a good time for a renovation.  We learned that this hotel was the grandest in Armenia during Soviet times when it was called the Hotel Armenia.  Marriott purchased the property in the late 90s and was just now performing some upgrades. We settled in and unpacked a bit and wanted to see a bit of Yerevan before it got dark.  We saw that the cluster of tourist areas and cafés was about a 20 minute walk from Republic Square, so that was where we headed towards.  Republic Square is somewhat similar to Freedom Square in Tbilisi, but much bigger.  All the key government buildings and Armenia Museum are around the square (actually an oval), and like Tbilisi the traffic around the circle was a bit chaotic, but not as nutty as in Tbilisi.  There are also fountains and a large part of the center is covered in a pattern that we later learned is known as the Armenian carpet, meant to welcome visitors to the country much as a carpet welcomes visitors into Armenian homes. Our walk first took us up to the famed Opera House with Freedom Square behind it.  Yerevan, although apparently one of the oldest cities on earth (founded like 20 years before Rome), it has a more modern look and feel than Tbilisi.  There is also more of a café culture here with many coffee shops and smart little cafes lining the streets.  Behind Freedom Square is one of Yerevan’s biggest tourist attractions – the Cascade.  A huge staircase is set into the mountain side with at least 200 steps.  Various terraces house works of art and fountains.  Luckily, there are a series of escalators inside that whisk you up to the top passing the art galleries (pay to enter).  Behind the Cascade is the memorial commemorating Armenia’s 50 year anniversary as part of the Soviet Union and the Mother Armenia statue.  Each country we have visited has had a similar statue.  Mother Armenia holds only a sword and carries it across her body giving her the shape of a cross.  We learned that this was a subversive way to erect a cross surrogate high up over this very Christian city without the Soviets realizing it.  In fact, we learned that Armenia is considered the first country on earth to officially adopt Christianity. At the base of the Cascade there are numerous sculptures as well including works by Botero and an absolutely adorable blue kiwi.  From the top of the Cascade we spied Mt. Ararat (the supposedly site where Noah’s Ark landed located just across the border in Turkey).  The skies were clouding up and soon rain started again, so we didn’t get a great view of Ararat.  We descended the Cascade and headed back to the Opera House.  The streets are on a bizarre diagonal pattern in this part of town, so crossing streets and trying to go “straight ahead” in direction are not easy.  Just on the other side of the Opera House the pedestrian Northern Avenue stretches back towards Republic Square.  We walked down it for a bit and found it to look a lot like an outdoor mall in the US – not very local at all.  We did enjoy the music and dance competition being sponsored by a local gym.  We deviated off Northern Avenue with hopes of stopping at a restaurant we saw on our walk to the Opera House.  Anteb was highly recommended in our guide book, but when we arrived we were told they were full for the evening.  We will plan to return tomorrow. Instead we ate at a restaurant about 1 block away.  Armenia is known for barbeque, so we ordered pork BBQ along with stuffed grape leaves, bread (lavash) and Armenian wine.  The wine wasn’t bad, the BBQ was ok, with the real standout being the tolmus (stuffed grape leaves).  We walked back towards the Marriott and Efren got excited when he spied a barber shop.  He felt he needed a haircut but they were about to close, so we thought we might stop there tomorrow.  A few blocks from the hotel we stopped for coffee and cake at the Green Bean – this place would soon become our go-to place for coffee in Yerevan. We got back to the hotel and one of the many perks of staying at a full service Marriott is the executive lounge.  The lounge here had a nice array of snacks and wonderfully attentive service.  It allowed us to stock up on bottled water!  They also had an outdoor seating area that overlooked Republic Square.  We ended the night watching the dancing fountains across the square.  So far we have enjoyed our brief time in Yerevan, and were looking forward to exploring more of the city and country in the coming days! The next day we got up and headed to the lounge for breakfast.  In addition to the traditional stuff in the buffet, they also offered made-to-order omelets – yum!  Our plan for the day was to take the Yerevan walking tour offered by the Envoy Hostel in Yerevan.  We loved their tours in Tbilisi very much, so we were looking forward to this.  The Envoy was about 15 minutes away – not too far from the Opera House and Cascade complex.  We arrived, checked in and waited for the tour to start.  We were joined by 2 guys (both from California, ironically).  One had been traveling for over 3 months and just reached his 100^th country.  Even more intriguing, he carried a doll of Beaker (from the Muppets) with him on all his travels and took pictures documenting Beaker’s journeys.  Apparently he has set up a website to follow Beaker but we couldn’t find it J The walking tour was led by cheerful Apartha (I’m sure we are messing up her name).  We headed down the main drag (Mashots Ave) and saw the only mosque remaining in Yerevan and also the main cathedral in the city (St. Sarkis Cathedral).  From outside the cathedral there is typically a view of Mt. Ararat, but it was cloudy today so no luck.  Our guide pointed out the 2 brandy factories located here as well.  Although wine is pretty big business in Armenia, brandy is much more so.  The 2 guys on our tour signed up for a tour of one of the brandy facilities for later in the day.  We continued walking through the parks of the city and arrived at Republic Square – which has been known since Russian times as square of pink building and blue skies. As always, we enjoyed hearing perspectives from the guide that offer glimpses into life in Armenia.  The flag, for example, is 3 broad stripes – red, blue, and orange.  The red is for all the blood shed by the Armenian people, the blue is for the hope and promise of the future, and the orange for apricots, the most important fruit.  Unfortunately we were there too late in the season to catch the fresh apricots, but she recommended we try the dry ones.  Other topics covered are some curiosities about Armenia.  We heard similar discussion as we did in Georgia about the nature of the relationship between the 2 countries – overall very positive, but marked by a distinctive rivalry.  Of a more serious tone is the relationship with its other neighbors.  Most of Armenia’s borders are 100% closed – those with Turkey to the west and Azerbaijan to the east.  The source of the conflict with Turkey goes back over 100 years to the Armenian Genocide which we will learn more about later in the day when we visit the museum.  The issue with Azerbaijan is somewhat more recent and relates to the contested region of Nagorno Karabakh –disputed territory recognized internationally as being part of Azerbaijan but populated by Armenians and considered an integral part of their territory.  This led to war in the early 1990s and the conflict is still simmering to this day.  Our guide lamented that although Armenia has trouble with its neighbors, it is the only country in the world with good relations with USA, Russia, Israel and Iran.  In fact, Armenia borders Iran to the south, and we would find that Iranians are very common as tourists in Armenia. The tour concluded at the Cascade.  Since we already scaled to the top we didn’t feel the need to do it again, but the 2 guys on the tour with us went to the top.  We grabbed a coffee at one of the many cafes at the base of the Cascade and decided to plan to grab lunch at Anteb and then look for a way to get to the Armenian Genocide Museum located on the outskirts of town. We arrived at Anteb tired and a bit cranky, but they had a great table for us and we ordered some traditional Armenian dishes.  Veggies, lavash, BBQ pork (better than last night’s) and a dish kind of like pizza (cheese and spices melted between lavash) all were delicious.  Anteb advertised that it provides Western Armenian cuisine.  We soon learned that Western Armenia refers to the current Eastern provinces of Turkey that were once the home of many Armenians.  More on that at our next stop, the Armenian Genocide Museum.  After lunch we started looking for a cab to bring us to the Armenian Genocide Museum.  We noticed that all the streets around Anteb and all the way up towards our hotel seemed to closing off.  We also noticed all sorts of military personnel congregating on the streets.  At first we got concerned thinking there was some kind of crisis occurring, but we soon learned that the hub-bub was all positive and was Armenia rehearsing for its big 25^th anniversary of independence party that was coming up in a few days.  Patriotism aside, this greatly complicated the process of getting a cab as all the streets were closed.  We wandered around in vain for awhile, and finally as a last option stopped at the Envoy Hostel to see if they could help.  Our tour guide from this morning was there, and she said she wasn’t having any luck calling a cab using the normal apps.  Never fear, however – she was friends with the guy across the street who has a taxi (sort of) and would take us to the Museum for a bargain!  Soon the friendly driver showed up all smiles and brought us to the museum – only about 15 minutes away, but access complicated due to the independence preparations. The museum is set on a hillside overlooking Yerevan.  Upon entering the grounds you first notice a stand of pine trees – each one with a plaque from a country or organization that officially recognized the Armenian Genocide.  There is little debate that millions of Armenians died in the former Ottoman Empire during the WWI period – the disagreement and source of conflict today stems from the recognition behind the circumstances leading to those deaths.  Beyond the trees is an aluminum spire that reaches toward the sky.  At the base of the spire is the eternal flame meant to represent and remind all for those who perished. A staircase leads down into the museum itself.  The entry is free, and the museum is incredibly compelling and moving.  Regardless of your political vantage point, there is no denying the incredible suffering experienced by the Armenian people, and even as non-Armenians, we felt a sense of pride and an immediate and deep connection with the people who have withstood so much, but have had the strength and tenacity to survive, thrive and welcome us to their current homeland. We finished up at the museum just as it was closing, and it dawned on us that we might be unable to find a taxi back.  We stood outside for a few minutes with no luck.  Craig tried to download the gg app (the Armenian Uber), and just at that moment a cab came into the driveway to drop off some people.  We got into the cab and asked to go to the Marriott.  The driver crossed his arms.  At first we thought he didn’t want to take us because the ride was too short, but we soon realized he was saying that Republic Square was closed to traffic.  We asked him to take us as far as he could, which basically was just down the hill on the outskirts of the old town.  There he let us out indicating that that police wouldn’t let him drive any further into town. Now what?  Craig checked google maps and saw it was about a 30 minute walk to the hotel.  Not ideal given our sore feet, but doable.  However, just at that moment, the police opened up the street to traffic.  We jumped in a second cab that couldn’t take us all the way to the hotel, but got us within a few blocks – much better.  As we got to the hotel we saw what the issue was – there was probably the biggest parade we’d ever seen going on in Republic Square. Military plane flew overhead and literally thousands of soldiers stood in formation in the square marching to the rhythm of the band.  As different regiments marched through the square, various tanks, military vehicles carrying missiles, etc proceeded through the square.  What a site!  This went on for at least 2 hours.  The highlight was the elite troop of soldiers who twirled their guns and performed other stunts in complete unison – amazing! We observed the parade first from the level of the executive lounge at the Marriott and then at ground level.  Just as the event ended, the skies opened up with buckets of rain, bolts of lightning and crashes of thunder.  Glad we were back at the hotel.  It was interesting to reflect on the differences between independence celebrations in Armenia vs. in the US.  In Armenia, since independence is so “new” – only 25 years old, there is still a lot of intense patriotism and pride in the event.  In the US, people are definitely patriotic, love their country and all that, but many look at the 4^th of July as a day off of work, a chance to have a family picnic, and the opportunity to see some fireworks.  It will be interesting to see if when Armenia reaches its 240^th anniversary if they still celebrate it with as much verve as they do today! After this long day we were ready to crash.  Tomorrow we are signed up for a tour with Envoy to visit Lake Sevan and some monasteries around the lake and nearby.  More on that next….