Breakfast selections today included cauliflower with cheese and mixed vegetables. I didn’t have much of an appetite but Paul had a Nutella and peanut butter on toast and fruit. 

We walked to the Armenian Gum Market which is in a Soviet-era building that I remember from 30 years ago. Fruits, vegetables, aisles of lavash, dried fruits, meats, cheeses, spices, dried flowers for tea, and even more dried fruits. Lots of vendors offering samples of their products to entice you to buy. 

We then took a Yandex to a sports complex 20 minutes away to watch the USA girls team beat South America in volleyball. 

After a brief rest at the hotel we went to the History Museum of Armenia which was impressive and well laid out. The museum did a nice job of framing the history of the land from the Bronze Age to the present day. We saw the world’s oldest shoe, a 5,500-year-old leather shoe discovered in the Areni-1 cave, and much more.

Afterwards we walked through Yerevan stopping for a chocolate gelato, iced cappuccino and affogato….the cold drinks were refreshing as it’s very hot again today. At 5pm when I checked the weather it was 101 degrees. 

We caught up with some new friends sitting outside a boba tea shop so I attempted to order a peach iced tea but instead got something with cucumber chunks and slices in it (and cucumber is not my favorite!)

Finally we made it to Idillio, a home decor store that Paul and I had stumbled on earlier in the trip. I had been thinking about a piece that I saw in the window so we returned to buy it. The two ladies working in the shop took such great care packaging and wrapping my item, even using a hot glue gun to seal the wrapping paper instead of tape. It was like shopping at a high end store in Paris which is not surprising since we’ve been trying to think of what the city of Yerevan reminds us of. With all the traveling we’ve done, we feel it’s most similar to Paris. Most buildings are under three stories tall, there’s a ton of restaurants and shops on every corner, lots of people smoke, and it’s buzzing 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. 

We were back at the Mika Sports Complex by 5:15pm to watch the USA East A team play the USA West A team in the semifinals. It was an amazing atmosphere with so many fans packing the gym, and while the game was very close, unfortunately, the USA East A team lost. The entire competition has been a great experience for D, and we’re so proud of how D played…he didn’t come off the floor once the entire game. 

Dinner tonight was at Anteb, where we ate earlier this week. This time we were with a group of 20 people from Texas and MA, so we shared a bunch of appetizers, and Paul and I both ordered the manti which was delicious.