Jan 23-25 First Impressions of Yerevan

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Yerevan is pretty different from Gyumri. As the capital city, there are naturally more international restaurants (Italian, Korean, KFC, etc.), products at grocery stores (napa cabbage, Doritos, etc.), and international banks (HSBC, Byblos Bank, etc.). It feels like the restaurant economy is more burgeoning and a smaller percentage of restaurants have a homey feel. 

Cool upside down spider

Also, I appreciate the more plentiful and arguably more cheerful (aka not just the stern / sad men in Gyumri) sculptures as well as the art in the archways between buildings (the archways are called dalans). While there was a nice painting on a building near Gwoog in Gyumri, here the art is much more commonplace. And I pass by a painted dalan every day - right by more apartment!

I have seen many more pet dogs, whereas in Gyumri I only saw one dog on a leash my entire there. In addition, there are many more cats here, maybe as rat protection for stores or because there are relatively fewer stray dogs. 

Furthermore, it is not uncommon for drivers to wear seatbelts here. In terms of area and population, Yerevan is comparable to Boston + Cambridge, but somehow it feels more face paced. But perhaps the experience of sitting in a taxi trying to cut lanes and trying to cross the street skews my impression of the pace.

The difference in the setting is also reflected in the students. Even students who are not comfortable with English understand what I'm saying if I keep it basic. Furthermore, perhaps the English abilities explain why students are better able to debug on their own and are subsequently moving faster. The logical reasoning also seems to be slightly stronger than in Gyumri.

JAN 23

JENGYLOV HACS

The greens in this jengylov hacs were delicious! Well salted and just enough oil! Thin dough like the one I had at Herbs & Honey.

JAN 24

CASCADE

I went on a quick run to the Cascade, which is a Soviet-era monument with 572 steps. I didn't make it all the way to the top, because I was quite satisfied with the view near the top. But maybe another time...

View from basically the top. I couldn't get a picture from the bottom of the Cascade but search it up.

Underneath the steps is an art exhibit. So as you stand on the escalator, you can admire some cool art. There were lots of interesting chairs, like this piano-shaped couch.


BAKERY ON TUMANYAN STREEET
  • Gata - flaky, but not as airy as croissant. close to Chinese Wife's Cake, except dough is not as tender. smaller pockets of air in the inner layers of dough. not too sweet!
  • Walnut (?) cookie - crunchy more or less all the way through but still some bite to it. tastes like a peanut butter cookie to some extent
  • Mrchnabuyn - like Uzbek chak chak, dough with egg, flour, and butter. but denser and sweeter (held together with caramel)

KHINKALI RESTAURANT

To me, khinkhali is basically giant Georgian soup dumplings.
  • Meat khinkali, boiled - meat and herbs, peppery
  • Mushroom khinkali, boiled - I was surprised that even the mushroom one had broth, since I expected only the meat ones to have it. However, the broth was not too fatty. Also had fine black pepper
  • Egg and tarragon khinkhali, fried - such fragrant dough (almost sweet, like nutmeg). more tarragon than egg
  • Imam bayaldi - eggplant, peppers, tomatoes
Look at the pretty fried dough - even better in person. Glistening, crackly, air bubbles

JAN 25

KOND NEIGHBORHOOD
I went for a run to the Kond neighborhood. I was hoping to find the Kond pedestrian tunnel but was unable to / didn't have the time to. Anyway, Kond is one of the oldest parts of Yerevan and the narrow concrete streets contrast with the wide stone-paved boulevards that make up the rest of the city center. It is located on a giant hill and entering and leaving requires traversing many steps. It reminded me a bit of Gyumri, but what makes it special is that it feels like a quiet village admist a bustling city.



LUNCH
  • Sujuk - "fermented beef sausage". to me tasted like ground beef that is a little drier and slightly funkier (like liver taste). also cumin and coriander
DINNER



  • Bread from Tumanyan St Bakery - light & crispy but also incredibly chewy! Can watch the gluten slowly stretch when pull apart
  • Lahmajun from Mer Taghe - has red peppers and parsley, also some lemon for acidity



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