1st Day Extended Version

Yesterday ended up being such a full day I didn't get a chance to write everything down. We left the hotel around 9 am (Ashley is a morning person which must come from her other side of the family) and made the trek to the cascades. SOOOO many stairs later ... I was dying ... we headed to the sad looking carnival. This is where I noticed my feet and my shoes were in a fight and my feet were losing. It is true I just bought those shoes but they felt perfectly comfortable in the Payless shoe store.  I should have climbed my stairs 5 hundred times to break those suckers in.  A million bandaids suffered and fell off in the course of that day. 

We went to lunch at this place called The Grammys which I thought was pretty funny. I decided to order the cheese plate with lavish and bread and matzoun. It was all amazing except the amount of cheese they gave me could feed 5 people which is not what I am used to in Toronto especially for that price. I am used to paying 12 dollars for 6 pieces of cheese. I have been amazed how well I am able to eat here for very little money. 

After the trek and the sad amusement park and the cheese we went to meet some people Ashley had met previously to venture out to a village to watch a kid's soccer match. I wasnt too sure what we were doing but I tagged along for the ride. What ended up happening was we got to go to Ejmiatsin. I lit a few candles for the grandparents and learned you had to walk out backwards making the sign of the cross which I am guessing is a sign of respect. We weren't allowed pictures but it was very pretty in there.

The man that was bringing us was actually part of the organization COAF and he was showing us what they are doing to improve schools and the quality of life for the children of Armenia. The villages we went to were  Karakert, Miasnikian, and Lernagog where we saw all the schools that were being renovated. Karakert is where we met all the kids and they were super happy to have us there. They probably dont see many international people so they were super excited. 

When we got back I ordered too much food ... again. Drank some wine, had some dessert and went back to the hotel for some much needed sleep.