Nick is away this week -- and again for the two following it -- so I have to admit, I was feeling a little lonely last night. But thanks to the miracle that is Facebook, within minutes of posting about my sad, sad little life, I had an invite out with a friend.
A few weeks ago, Yerevan's first cocktail bar opened - Speakeasy. Because Nick and I are cool and awesome, we went to the grand opening. I have to say, I was impressed. While I *still* can't find a place that can make a dirty martini to my liking, they do however make a nice mojito (which is a rare find in this part of the world.) So last night when my friend from work asked me to go with her to "Ladies Night" at this bar, I didn't hesitate.
What exactly is "Ladies Night" in Yerevan? Apparently it's a bunch of women, mostly English-speaking and/or Western educated (the bar owner is American and his wife is a US Government program alumna) drinking sugary cocktails, screaming and clapping while some pour soul gyrates in a g-string. Oh, I wish I was kidding. It took two weeks to find a guy willing to do this -- Armenia is a pretty traditional place and there are no strip-clubs that cater to women. Where they found him, I don't know. But I'm sure he was scarred by the experience, even more so than we were.
After the entertainment, an Armenian friend and I went for another first: sushi. Yerevan has a few sushi places, and I've been a bit skeptical about them since arriving. I mean, have you *looked* at the map? We're totally landlocked, surrounded by mostly hostile neighbors and the flight schedule into and out of Zvartnots is not exactly plentiful. But what the heck? The rolls at Sushitoria were pretty good, so I take that as a promising sign (no mayonaise on them like in Kyiv). I'd be interested to go back and try the sashimi.
To top off an already interesting evening, around 11pm I got a text from a friend about karaoke. American Peace Corps Volunteers had taken over an underground karaoke bar and I was invited. Yes, please! Again -- a surprise hit.
After butchering everything from Serduchka to Bon Jovi, we called it a night and I walked home under the glow of the super moon. Just another Saturday night in Yerevan.
A few weeks ago, Yerevan's first cocktail bar opened - Speakeasy. Because Nick and I are cool and awesome, we went to the grand opening. I have to say, I was impressed. While I *still* can't find a place that can make a dirty martini to my liking, they do however make a nice mojito (which is a rare find in this part of the world.) So last night when my friend from work asked me to go with her to "Ladies Night" at this bar, I didn't hesitate.
What exactly is "Ladies Night" in Yerevan? Apparently it's a bunch of women, mostly English-speaking and/or Western educated (the bar owner is American and his wife is a US Government program alumna) drinking sugary cocktails, screaming and clapping while some pour soul gyrates in a g-string. Oh, I wish I was kidding. It took two weeks to find a guy willing to do this -- Armenia is a pretty traditional place and there are no strip-clubs that cater to women. Where they found him, I don't know. But I'm sure he was scarred by the experience, even more so than we were.
After the entertainment, an Armenian friend and I went for another first: sushi. Yerevan has a few sushi places, and I've been a bit skeptical about them since arriving. I mean, have you *looked* at the map? We're totally landlocked, surrounded by mostly hostile neighbors and the flight schedule into and out of Zvartnots is not exactly plentiful. But what the heck? The rolls at Sushitoria were pretty good, so I take that as a promising sign (no mayonaise on them like in Kyiv). I'd be interested to go back and try the sashimi.
To top off an already interesting evening, around 11pm I got a text from a friend about karaoke. American Peace Corps Volunteers had taken over an underground karaoke bar and I was invited. Yes, please! Again -- a surprise hit.
After butchering everything from Serduchka to Bon Jovi, we called it a night and I walked home under the glow of the super moon. Just another Saturday night in Yerevan.
1 comment:
Not so bad for an average Sat night! I wanted to try a mojito in one of the bars here the other night, but when I saw that they spelled it «мАхитА» on the menu, my enthusiasm for trying things in new places sort of evaporated))
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