I finally booked my plane ticket to Yerevan today. I’m leaving DC on the evening of July 4 and coming back on July 15. On my way to Yerevan, and my way back to DC, I have 7+ hour layovers in London. As such, I intend to hop the Heathrow Express and have a few pints at a pub in Paddington in between my flights.
Why Armenia? I have two friends that currently work there – one for the U.S. State Department, and another for NDI. And how could you pass up the opportunity to visit a former Soviet republic? If all goes as planned, we may make a quick trip across the border to Tbilisi in order to enjoy some khachapuri and Georgian wine. My roommate, Laura, will be joining me (her first time in the former Soviet Union…always an interesting experience) and Crystal might fly out to Yerevan for a few days. Should be an interesting trip.

Also, I’m thinking of flying to Kiev for the Thanksgiving holiday so I can go on the Pripyat-Chernobyl tour. It’s actually cheaper to fly to Ukraine than to Palm Springs (figures, eh?) If anyone out here on the east coast is up for the trip, let me know and we’ll start hashing out the details.