The Armenian part of the weekend involved exploring some of the city. Megan had heard of a market in Shengavit, a district of Yerevan, so we took the Metro and ventured off to find it The vegetables and fruits were amazing. I couldn’t resist some asparagus but it was really bitter. In the afternoon we walked to the city center to see the big weekend market., I forget the name, but it’s a combination of flea market, selling everything from old electrical fittings to old sewing machine parts to old dishes and glassware. The rest is arts and crafts like jewelry and pocketbooks, paintings, carvings, etc. Pretty cool place for souvenirs. My gut still hadn’t regained its composure so I was pretty pooped by the end of the day.
On Sunday I started out by myself to locate a couple of museums, and perhaps visit one, Fate had its way and I stumbled on the weekend art festival in the park. That detoured me for at least an hour looking at the various paintings. The day was warm and sunny so it was quite lovely. I returned home at 1pm to meet up with Shahid and Megan. We walked to the “Cascades”, a monument of wide stairs that includes small museums, fountains and sculpture along the way. This Sunday in Armenia celebrates Victory Day rather than Mother’s Day. Various dances and performances went on all afternoon. A few veterans from WW II were present in suits with their medals and decorations on display. I didn’t.count the stairs but we took several breaks along the way up for photos and breathing. There is an elevator and an escalator but that would be too wimpy. At the top, by the monument of Mother Armenia, there were many wreaths and bouquets of flowers….a really beautiful memorial. And also an amusement park.! It took a bit of convincing to get Shahid on the ferris wheel but he eventually agreed. That was my treat. Shahid bought us some popcorn and Megan indulged in pink cotton candy…another new experience for Shahid.
I’ll try again to attach a few photos to this. Pics didn't work. I'll try in a separate one.
