Armenia : Strolling around the Pink City of Yerevan (part 2)

As small as the pink city is and despite the ugly looking Soviet-era buildings nothing can really hide the cosmopolitan charm of Yerevan, from its fashionable people walking up and down the main streets (kahit cheapangga ang damit, mukha pa ring mga supermodel hahahaha), to the museums and parks in every corner, to the cafes strewn all over the city --- utterly charming!

I have written in a previous post about the must-do places if you are short on time......to continue;

All set for my walk-athon around Yerevan.....at the junction near Cascades

5. Parks....Parks.....and more Parks!

From one street to the next, parks are all over the place. It can be a simple park with just a few benches, some trees and flowers.....where families with kids play around, old men sit on benches or play boardgames with some friends....

To the more artsy ones like Saryan Park where local artists display their paintings......

6. Tasting cognacs at Yerevan Brandy Company

I'm a Wine & Spirits fan.....so whenever I got a chance I always go for tastings and educational tours of local beverage industries. Since Armenia is known for cognacs/brandies, we went to visit the popular Yerevan Brandy Company which produces the famous brand "Ararat". 

This might look drab and ugly outside.......

But so beautifully laid out inside.....

The tour takes you through the different stages of brandy/cognac production, history of the company, and the famous (and even the infamous) VIPs who have visited the factory and have their own brandy kept for them in a special cask.

They even have one cask to be opened only once Armenia and Azerbaijan reach a peace agreement over the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict!

The smell of the brandy/cognac can make one heady without even drinking a single drop yet....so beware ....don't inhale too much hahahahaha

The highlight of the tour is definitely the last part --- the tasting of the cognacs paired with tiny bits of chocolates. Love it!

And if you still have a few Armenian drams to spare you can do a bit of cognac shopping at their store....

With this price tag (around 670usd)....I will not even drink it, I will just inhale the smell of the cognac then close it again  and put it back on display hahaha

7. Armenian Genocide Memorial

We saved the most important item in our itinerary for last.....from the city center, it is advisable to take a taxi to the memorial as it is a bit far (unless you want to go for a long walk). From the hilltop, it offers a good view over Yerevan.

To have a better understanding of the displacement of the millions of Armenians all over the world, you should first go to the Genocide Museum (you go down a stone bunker, the museum lies underground) and walk through the history of the genocide committed through 1915-22 by Ottoman Turks against the Armenians. 

It is so heartbreaking to go through photos and read the stories of entire villages or families wiped out and massacred. You can feel the pain and horror of what they must have gone through. I admire the Armenians for not letting it go, for fighting for it to be recognized by the whole world, that the perpetrators should be held accountable and acknowledge that they have committed an atrocity.

From the museum, you can walk towards the genocide memorial (the flame is kept alive eternally), made of 12 basalt slabs standing guard over the eternal flame. With the eerily sounding music accompaniment, offering a flower or a prayer to the souls of the genocide victims makes the whole thing real and not just something you read in history book.

I really wish I can come back again for a longer visit next time......and get the chance to explore other regions in Armenia.