Gyumri is the 2nd largest city in Armenia. The enormous plaza and town hall, in fact most of the city, had to be rebuilt after a devastating earthquake levelled much of the city in 1988, kill up to 50,000 people. The founding date of the original city, Kumayri dates back to an incredible 8th century…

The bus station for Dilijan was 30mins away, on the northern outskirts of Yerevan. Okay, let’s see if Yandex drivers are good for long trips, and would take me the 2 hours all the way. I asked the reception at the hotel his thoughts, and he simply shrugged like it was nothing to worry about.…

The Yandex driver arrive earlier that I had expected, and the pick up point we drove to in record time; it was early and the traffic was non existent. This tour would take me to Geghard Monastery and Garni Temple. Being early I decide to wait in the park across the road, where I’d finally…

I had already decided when planning out the trip that my best option to see sights outside of Yerevan was to either take a tour, or go wild and pay a taxi driver to take take me everywhere. But the tour groups would be significantly cheaper, and ticked the boxes. And so, the first tour…

Putting behind me the horror show that was the prelude to this holiday, I found myself in a new hotel that is really fantastic, and closer to the centre of the city. Arriving just after 9am, it was too early to check in, so I dropped off my bag, had some breakfast, and a wandered…

A year ago I rushed through rain drenched suburban sidewalks, only to find myself in a slapstick comedy slipping spectacularly onto my ankle, spraining it for the welcome to my Baltics holiday. This year I was determined not to start the trip off with any drama. I slowed my walking pace down with sheer mental…