Today was our last day in Armenia (and on this tour) and as a special treat we had a later start to the day as our first stop (the History Museum of Armenia) does not open until 11am. However, we decided to use this time to visit Yerevan’s “flea market” Vernissage. There was very little…

Today (I am up to date!) we headed into Southern Armenia (let us not mention proximity to the border with Turkey) including through the Azerbijani enclave of Kaki (internationally recognised as part of Armenia) and in the shadow of Mount Ararat. However, we started with a visit to the Cafesjian Centre for the Arts in…

Yesterday, we started our day in the capital of Armenia, Yerevan. Yerevan is known as the pink city (or to be more accurate, pinkish) as much the city is made from tufa and basalt (types of limestone), often in a patchwork pattern. It is also relatively small, with an inner circle (surrounded by a ring…

Today (well yesterday) we drove the short distance to the Georgian-Armenian border and joined the long queue of people waiting (firstly) to be given our exit stamps, it was then a few minutes walk across no man’s land to the Armenian border. Thankfully, for those in the group unable to manage their luggage, this walk…

Today, we headed off to the mountains. We were planning a long drive today, all the way to the border with Russia (not that we would be going through it!). Our first stop was the Zhinvali resevoir, which was created by the Soviets in 1985 when the Jvari river (and the villages along this river)…

Yesterday was, I suspect, the day Keith was most looking forward to – as it was trip to winery day! However, we had a few stops planned before then… We headed off to the Eastern region of Georgia, which is the main winemaking area. It is also where Stalin is from, but we shall skip…

And so that was goodbye to Azerbijan. It was a short drive to the border as the scenery got greener, and then we left our guide and bus at the border and entered through the exit gates. We then climbed up, and up, and up – I was fine with my rucksack (and being firmly…

I have finally left Baku! Whoop! Today, we set off bright and early to Shaki and all was going well until we had a slight unscheduled stop outside the city – we had a nail in our back tyre (this is a problem apparently). So there we were, sat in the bus whilst a young…

Well, I am now safely installed in my new hotel. Slight issue on check-in as they did not have a reservation for me. It turns out Mum had a room, and Keith had a room, but I did not. All was quickly resolved, and I checked in later that afternoon. It feels a bit weird…

Well, I have learnt that 10 days of “rest time” is too long… It was good for a couple of days, but I am definitely ready to move on now. Today is Friday, so tomorrow I shall be leaving my AirBnB and transferring to a hotel before the tour starts/Mum and Keith arrive on Sunday.…