Mr. Tour Guide

 Now i took a $2 yandex to go to a tour with a boring group and a mentally unstable guide. He was very nervous, anxious, made bad jokes, said all the wrong things to offend people and he really needed a fact checker on him like they have on facebook. I asked one question and he said he would get back to me and that moment never came.

Do I enjoy tours? Usually no, but sometimes Yes.
It does benefit to do a “Free walking tour” on your first couple days in a city because you get a general overview of things and then you can walk around freely on your own, but it is not a requirement.

This tour guide was very entertaining and the group of people were fun because we were all getting a good laugh about it. I met this beautiful couple from BRAZIL.

Oh when I see the South American’s I just gravitate towards them and I love to hear about their life, travel plan, and experience thus far. These two had a baby at home and this was there first trip since having a child. They were a “power couple” and they were so happy. Love exists everyone….it is real….reminders to keep your heart hoping to one day find that person. connect to which in this case it was a beautiful couple from Brazil.  

I also met another nice girl from Dubai who was a 45 year old unmarried woman who had traveled to over 100 countries. She was questioning everything the guide said and was rolling her eyes at every opportunity. She was actually very offended because he said they make the best rugs only in Armenia and she was Persian so she strongly disagreed.

I usually am the center of attention on tours, but i took the backseat on this one and was just quiet as this guide was just getting weirder as time went by. He just got divorced a couple weeks ago and i think it definitely took a toll on him. The guy needed to go drink some brandy and watch Netflix -not do a tour.

What did I learn from him talking a mile a minute and mentioning marriage every chance he got. Armenia does not like Turkey and Azerbajan. Armenians like to ask you if you are married- not proven. Say Merci because Armenian thank you is too difficult. I always have my notepad on my Iphone open to take notes like a good student….

I had nothing to write about from this tour, but wanted to find him a good therapist in Yerevan or offer my services lol

After the 2 hours, he managed to take us to the last spot on the street I was looking for all morning- Abghan street. Upscale restaurants, bakeries, boutiques- the super nice area i love.

I stopped at the winery and the tasted some sparkling white wine sitting next to a group of Armenian winemakers. The lady was so sweet taking time for me even though she was very busy with them. She let me try some white wine as a “present” and gave me some special cinnamon pecans that I love so I made sure to tip her as a “present.”

Next local, I met another man upstairs. It is a restaurant, gift shop, winery-everything all in one. A pond in the back with fish, a garden, and benches decorated with lights-romance in the air here.

 The crafts, the creativity and art in Armenia and Georgia has really blown my mind. This man was teaching me about some local traditions and the meaning of the pomegranate- which the seeds mean how many fertile eggs a woman has and represents a woman having/desiring many children. Armenia is known for apricots, peaches, and mulberry. They make specialty brandy and vodka mixed with these flavors. They love bread. They enjoy drinking, but it seems much more controlled than Georgians who are just drinking like it’s some kind of competition or drinking to injure their liver. The streets were filled with live music mostly Russian and classical- great performers. Great shopping.

I saw Paul which is my favorite little café with a wonderful breakfast and delicious Almond croissants. This location was so cute with pumpkins and fall theme. All the stores and streets were decorated for fall. I could feel that fall was in the air!

So many cute spots to eat and drink- could never get to them all in the fall! Haha Lots of Indians working and coming on a visa as medical students. Nice city. I started to feel my nose stuffing up so I stopped for the famous Spars soup in a bread bowl-delicious. They were such a cute innocent bunch asking so sweetly where i was from and do I like Armenia. I love when they group together and get shy like highschool teenagers with a crush- it is adorable.  I left a tip for them and they were very confused and then grateful.  Love these people- love these people:)