For today’s breakfast roulette, there were pork cutlets, lentils with mixed vegetables, village potatoes and sausages. Paul and I stuck to our failsafe selections of toast with jams and fresh fruit, especially since today they had ripe figs.

We hired Hyur Service to take Paul, D and me to Lake Sevan, but I scheduled it for the wrong date. Luckily, they were still able to accommodate us, and we had a nice half-day adventure. Our guide shared a lot about Yerevan and the surrounding area on our way to the lake. As we approached Sevan, we saw several vendors on the side of the road selling water floats, fruits, snacks, and corn on the cob, which is a product of the Georgian influence in the region. Several stands also sold bottles of a neon orange drink made from sea buckthorn, which grows wild here and has anti-inflammatory properties. 

Upon arrival at Sevan, we climbed up a lot of stairs to reach the two remaining monasteries. Inside one building there was a unique khatchar with Jesus being crucified on the cross and only six of that style are known to exist (out of the 80K that have been catalogued.)

We then had lunch near the lake in our own open air gazebo, including fish local to the lake. It was nice to catch up with D as we’ve only seen him in very small doses over the past ten days. The boys rented a jet ski to briefly cool down in the water. Before heading back to Yerevan, Paul purchased the bright orange drink which was very sour as the tour guide warned us. 

After a brief rest at the hotel, Paul and I walked to the St Gregory Armenian Cathedral in Yerevan built in 2021. The church is impressively large, probably the largest Armenian church I’ve ever seen, but sparsely decorated. Next to the church is a skate park, a small amusement park, and a small area that could really use some landscaping. It’s both in an odd location and yet centrally located in the city.

We walked past the Vernisage (outdoor flea market) which was closing for the day and went to Tun Lahmajo for dinner which consisted of a lamejun with cheese, a plain lamejun, a skewer of the best beef kabob I’ve ever had, two beers and two sparkling waters for $19.

After dinner we walked back to the square, watched the fountains dance to the piped in music, and grabbed a table at the Marriott’s outdoor bar where you can see who is coming and going in the square. Our friend Michelle met us there, we saw our new friends from MA who joined us for some watermelon and ice cream, and a few tables away there were friends from Belmont who are in town for a wedding next weekend. Even D made an appearance for a minute. We sat there for three hours catching up with folks before calling it a night.