Yerevan

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Yerevan, a surprising city….I spent 3 days walking it until my feet hurt.

I let you discover through some photos (in fact, I enjoyed strolling in this city so much, that I did not think too much to take out the camera…)

And here is the progress of these few days … in 3 acts :

1/ The finish…

I wanted to spend the night in the mountains… but, but the storm was part of it, and then especially my clutch cable almost broke. So I decided to rally Yerevan to find a way to fix it. I arrived at night. I took the first guesthouse that came… which turned out to be a kind of backpacker to the exclusively Indian clientele. Average age: 25 years… and only dormitories. But the place is nice, the young nice even if many do not dare to talk to me too much… I stay….

2/ Clutch cable repair:

Well, I like it when everything goes according to plan… so reminder: yesterday I broke my clutch cable for the second time. I take at random a kind of guesthouse which turns out to be a backpaker to the exclusively Indian clientele. No room only dormitories…. This morning I get up with the idea of making one cable with two using cable ties… I walk around to see what I can find as a garage or DIY store. When I keep knocking on doors, they point to a closed garage door just 50 m from the fireplace where I am. Coincidentally the portal opens the moment I arrive (I swear it’s true) and I stumble upon a gentleman, in his fifties who turns out to be the president of the Armenian bikers club. He is also a former enduro champion… I explain my problem to him and he starts again to make me a new cable by recovering the necessary parts on the old one (including the cable head) ..
To crimp / weld it he dragged me into a dark cave which is the place where the master repair car radiators. In short, I find myself with a new cable thicker than the old one and whose ribs were so well taken that I didn’t even have to adjust the clutch… and a cake that I was given when I talked about paying (3rd time in 4 days in Armenia…) and now, I have to take a shower because if I understood correctly we will test my resistance to vodka… I like it when plans go according to plan.

 

later tonight:

Vodka’s good.
… I drank for peace, I drank for the ancestors, for friendship, for the missing, for the women,… and I don’t know anymore… But I drank and the vodka is good and the Armenians fantastic….

(Homemade apricot vodka, 60 °…)

And once again: a huge thank you to Arsène who helped me out!!!!!! And the little evening on a coffee table in his garage with his friends… I’ll remember..

3/ The visit of the city…

The first day, I left at 11am and came back at 2am… I walked, walked, walked… (and yes, I also ate…;)

Two museums not to be missed (forbidden photos) :

The Museum of the History of Armenia. They have an incredible collection and especially in a state of conservation that has left me wondering (relics from 1500 BC among others)
The genocide museum.
I’ve been a little less attached to the Cafesjian Center for the Arts, but I’m not a fan of contemporary art in general.

 

 

 

 

The second day, I went to the Alliance Française. Vernissage, concert, etc. Oh, yeah, I ordered business cards too…

In the end: I loved this town. In my personal top 5, with Cape Town, San Francisco, Vienna and Lisbon.

 

 

 

 

 

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