Caravan to Yerevan

We had a long weekend for Easter (Friday and Monday off from school...yahoo!) and decided to go with friends to Yerevan, Armenia.  We made a few stops on the way, so in total it took about 6 hours to get there. 

Lake Sevan seemed to be endless.  It was especially foggy on this day, so I kept waiting to see if the Loch Ness Monster or maybe even Jason Voorhees would emerge from the steamy water.  I looked up the measurements of the lake and decided I wouldn't bore you with the exact km squared and billion cubic meters. So let's just say that is HUGE! 

In recent years people lowered the water level of the lake (a much simplified explanation). As a result, this peninsula was created.  It used to be an island that tourists visited by boat.

We also tried to go down this one road, only to discover it was no longer driveable.  We drove through the fields and ended up on another highway. Gotta love it!

The city of Yerevan was beautiful. The sun was shining and the temperature was perfect. Since it has been raining for the last five weeks in Tbilisi, this may have colored my view of this magnificent city.  My favorite part was Republic Square. The buildings were tall enough to be impressive, but not so tall as to be oppressive. The streets were wide and clean and people happily walked all over town.

These are pictures from Republic Square.

This was a bazaar that was about 2 blocks behind our apartment.  I was amazed at all of the handmade items from authentic Armenian artists.  We bought a really cool clock for our house!

This was the view from our apartment.  Doesn't that mountain look fake?  It's not.

The ride back home was a bit brutal. Going up and down the mountains on winding roads caused both A & L to throw up in the backseat.  Now that is what I call a fun time...simultaneous puking! The fog was also unbelievable.  I tried to take some pictures when it was not too foggy.

 People stopped alongside the highway and got water from this barrel.

Can you see the guard rail?  This was the crazy fog!  I don't know how Giorgi managed to see the road while driving.

Since two of the friends we traveled with are Armenian, they took us to all of the hot spots.  We ate fantastic food, saw amazing sites, and just hung out with good friends. 

Yerevan has made it on my list of top 5 favorite places.