So I am now home after a fairly uneventful although tiring trip back. It was such a treasure to touch down in Port Angeles and see Jake, Kyle and Sarah's smiling faces waving at me from the terminal and also knowing that Kristina was on the way.
The last day in Yerevan, I mostly walked around and did a little shopping. I brought home some incredible dried fruits that are stuffed with honey or nuts or other delicacies. The man selling them was an absolute fleece master and I had a lot more fruit than I wanted by the time I'd left. However, we will enjoy it tremendously.
I said goodbye to many of my favorite landmarks in Yerevan: the Opera House; the statues of Alexander Spendiarian, Hovannes Tumanian, Aram Khatchaturian and Komitas; the Cascad stairway, the fountains in the park and my apartment. I'll remember them always.
The night before I left, Anahit, my landlady and friend and I went out to dinner and dancing with William (U.S.), Alyce (Great Britain) and Michael (Germany). We had a great dinner in an open-air restaurant that was down in the gorge of the Hrazdan River. This river runs through Yerevan, but we were so deep into the gorge that we couldn't see the city and it was like we were in the forest. A waterfall ran through the center of the restaurant. There was on open oven that made lavash right in front of us. There was also a great dance floor made of stone and lots of people (including us) danced. The dancing is a modern take on traditional Armenian dancing (arms up in the air - sort of like you may remember from the movie Zorba the Greek). But some people did some traditional Armenian set or line/circle dancing. I had a wonderful time.
By the way, check out the two photos I took at London Heathrow Airport. The first one is sort of, "Oh, damn, I got to the airport and forgot to bring my Sea Scooter (a personal underwater propulsion device) with me, but, 'ere now, what's this? They have them at the airport. Oh what luck!"
The second is a no-nonsense message about smoking on a display of Marlboro cigarettes.
I'm sad in some ways to be done with my journey and there are many things left undone. But I am so happy to see my family again. Thanks for being such a great audience for my blog. I took great pleasure in writing these articles.
Now, onto the next phase.....
Sirem,
Bob
