If we were to explain our trip to Armenia with one word, it would be: Perfect!
We have made the best powerfull perfect organization before our trip. For exemple, the day before we went to Armenia, we hadn’t the number and the address of our contacts in Yerevan, we got the three sleeping bags at 23h00 the same day.
But, this technical question didn't stop us ! The 10 of September at 11h, we left for Armenia in martchoutka from Tbilisi.
Our driver was very rude towards the passengers but we arrived safe at Yerevan. After purchasing a sim card, we had called Anahit (the Armenian trainer from our “On Arrival Training”). In her office we found the phone number of Adela, our EVS contact in Armenia (Thank you Anahit).
We met Adela and she showed us where we could sleep.
Adela cooked for us a delicious slovad dish
Emelie, Albin and I, we did some shopping and visited some beautiful places in Yerevan for the first four days. We met some other volunteers in Armenia (Michaela, Pauline,Tania an Irish drunk man and one girl from Germany), and some Armenian inhabitants ( Taron, Lilith, David and some more).
Albin and Emelie and Iron cow
Garden at Cascade in Yerevan
The fifth day we went in Garni and Geghard with Pauline, our taxi had a flat tire, so another taxi had to pick us up. In Garni we made the Perfect picture ! So now, you can stop taking pictures, we have THE perfect picture!
THE perfect picture
In the evening we sought for the restaurant “caucavsus restaurant” to eat Armenian food. After a long time we finally found it with the help of three Armenian guys because Taron drew for us a nice, but very wrong map and we walked around in many streets in Yerevan. Tolma and Armenian spaghetti were very good. For us, It was the perfect day (I broke a pot of sugar in the morning, Emelie was eaten by mosquitoes, our taxi had a flat tire, a bad map, a violent storm with lighting and big rain felled on us during our walk in Yerevan etc…).
We came back the 16 of September by martchoutka again but with a better driver. Seven hours later, we arrived at our flat in Rustavi, tired but happy !
Perfect trip with perfect people !
Three monkeys on the road (Pauline, Albin and Emelie)
If you want the perfect reciepe to make a perfect trip, contact us ! (perfect.gye@gmail.com)
Number of pictures : 1/3 lost on the way (usb flash broken!)
Gorgeous memories and landscapes : unlimited!
It all started when my best friend told me she wanted to go back in vacations to Malta around may. Then I had this other friend with who I made agreement to participe in a european youth exchange in Germany. Then my best friend got invited to this music show in Malta, it was one more good reason to go. So it was settled. And I would escape from Rustavi going to Istanbul (because it's cheaper but also beautiful) and the lovely Paris on the way.
Part I
24 may - 26 may : Istanbul!
I am waiting at the aeroport and I meet Dato, one volunteer from Tbilisi's Droni organisation, telling me he is going to Ukraine for one day to prepare a project. He has his tickets paid, in first class! Getting on the plane is something else. Outside it's very windy, and everybody is pushing to be the first in the plane. I can't wait to get away, after almost 8 months in the same town, and I have of course butterflies in my stomach!
I arrive at 6 am in Istambul, everything is really colorful, the morning clouds covering the top of the highest business towers. Also a lot of mosquees with strange arrows surrounding them. The bus shuttle to the town center is really comfortable and the road without any cracks, I am definitely in the right country. I get out at "Taksim" station the last stop where our evs friend Ibo is supposed to pick me up (or one of his friends). For those who don't know the story Ibo was one couch surfer who wanted to stay 2 days in our place but ended up staying 2 weeks!
Süleymaniye Camii
I wait for an hour and a half, calling and calling again but nobody in sight. He picks up finally, saying "sorry totally forgot! Go to this hostel they are my friends they will take care of you and I will join as soon as possible". So here I am walking in the busiest street of the country (6 million people/day!) : Istiklal Avenue. At the hostel I meet one australian whose is travelling a lot of course, one german and austrian guys who are writting an article about fashion and social inclusion in Istanbul. I feel really tired but great! 2 hours later, Ibo is out of the shower and taking me to his lovely 3 bedrooms appartement giving me indications on where to go for what as quickly as possible as he has to go work.
I take a 2 hours nap, later I go for a walk here and there in the neighbourhood. It's really sunny and warm compared to the Georgia I left! There are also a lot of hills to climb up and down (worse than in Tbilisi) but I've had good practise. There is the Bosphorus really blue, and again all the mosquees. I walk also next to one University : all those who don't have the special card don't come in. Really different from mine in France!
Galata Tower
Then I come back to the appartement - going around for 1 hour because of course I don't remember exactly how the entrance door looks like! - to find Mustafa (Ibo's roomate) who kindly cooks me a lunch (it's around 4pm... ). During the evening I will go out again in the busiest street - it's crazy, because it's a week day but there are already so many people, so I can't imagine what's it's like during the weekend!
The next morning I take my time to wake up, and go around the city again. Ibo shows me where to buy a scarf, and sunglasses (because of course mine just broke)... A little shopping. I'm discovering the small shops where you can buy ice cream (in the very special noisy way they are making it):
(please don't mind the title of this video- which is not even mine) - but in general a very european way of life. I feel like a total stranger (and I already look like a hobo compared to other girls ^^) but very calm and charmed!
I took the tram to go Saint-Sophia mosque at the end of the afternoon. It was a bit too late to visit the citernes (apparently amazing but almost quite expensive entrance as I fixed a 50 turkish liras budget for those 2 days). I don't go inside the blue mosquee (just across the street from saint sophia) because I don't have the proper outfit, but from the outside it looks already amazing. Then I finish my walk in the park in front of Topkapi palace. Not many people (lovers mainly, on hidden up benches by some wooden structure), but nice atmosphere. And still in the air you can hear the monks singing, calling for prayer. I call it the sound of Istanbul, because it's very loud and it brings this special atmosphere (thanks to cheap speakers probably!) when you hear it.
I go to bed quite early since I have to get up early to take the plane to Malta. But my adventures in the city are not finished : I didn't check twice from where the plane leaves so I arrive in the wrong airport (Gokçen instead of Attaturk). I have 2 hours until my plane, but it's traffic jam time. I have to take a taxi. Finally I make it quite on time, but during taxi time I was really freaking out! I think I managed to limit the payment (already 65 euros) because one 'information' lady in first airport told me "you should paid this amount". So now I got the idea from Georgia to deal the price before going in. When I gave the money taxi didn't look so happy (I think on the counter it was 90euros), but hey that's what we said, and anyway I'm in such a rush that I don't wait for his answer. It's also good that during my stay in georgia I could manage to cumulate so many euros in cash. But this is a valuable lesson : I will always check 5 times from now on, and never assume something!
To Be Continued...
PS : As I haven't recovered my pictures yet (and maybe I won't ever) I scanned some postcards I bought. Sound by my crapy phone, video found on youtube!
We left Rustavi around 11am and we arrived around 12.30 but first we visited one women's monastery. Then we went in "Holy Spring" part. Going down the hill was the easy part. At the bottom we could drink some holy water and also get a bath, and that would make us pregnant. Tomasz wanted to try, but out of respect for the orthodox religion we decided to climb up back to the monastery. Easy for the others, quite hard for me, but in the end we all managed with some red chicks.
As we were all hungry we decided to eat in that 'refectory' called "Pilgrim". Not only was it cold, but they took an enormous amount of time to bring us our rhinkalis and katchapuris (in all the other restaurants we went to, it was pretty quick). In that great summer day, it was the least enjoyable part. And since they brought us some 30 more rhinkalis just when we were all full, we decided to take them home in a plastic bag (it is allowed and common in Georgia).
Then we took the marchroutka to go to Signari: the center of the town has been rebuilt entirely, and after getting used to Rustavi and other Georgian architecture, it definitely didn't feel like Georgia. More like mediterranean Europe.
We climbed (again) on the top of a small church, and from there we had an amplified view of the mountains, eternal snow on top of them. Afterwards, we went down some road were we had a perfect background for our group pictures : some chinese style wall on one side, the valley full of fields and some lakes and mountains above. I had for my part a great feeling of quietude, that I hadn't felt in a long time. Georgia must be incredibly beautiful under the snow!
