Knowledge is Power

A Few New Words Make a Big Difference

We went to the big market near us again today (see Sept. 9 post) armed with new words, two Onion River Sports carry bags and a big tote. Being able to ask for and insist on a quarter of a kilo ("korots kilo") or a half a kilo ("kes kilo") meant that we did not have to overbuy or forego items we wanted--like last week when we finally had to walk away from the lady trying to sell us figs. (In fact, today we came home with these very figs!)

Kes kilo green beans

No question the sellers would prefer to sell larger quantities and most people are buying for families. When we asked for a quarter of a kilo (about 1/2 pound or 8 ounces), they would immediately try to get us up to half a kilo. But we could say, "voch, korots kilo" (voch=no) and get what we wanted. We have also learned some numbers and so could actually understand the amounts being asked or incurred. The ever-present calculator is a helpful crutch though, I confess.

Leaf lettuce and radishes lady with DJ

Today we discovered leaf lettuces as well as bacon and a seller who would slice it! This meant we could hurry home and make BLTs for lunch! The bacon is good--not salty and very meaty. It is more like the bacon you might get in a full English breakfast than ours at home (in fact, sort of "hammy"). The tomatoes are reliably superb with robust flavor.

Beware the smoked meat!

The bacon lady wanted to sell us some local smoked meat of some kind and insisted we taste it. Oy! I don't think I have tasted anything so dreadful in years. I wanted to swish my mouth with mouthwash immediately, but that not being available, I just drank some water. Definitely need to avoid that stuff.

We also bought whole walnuts in bulk and plump dried apricots. Nuts and dried fruits are displayed in large sacks and we were welcome to taste one before buying. The walnuts were both fresh and very large. They should go nicely with the figs and goat cheese salad we are planning. A couple of vendors on the outside where we bought most of our items (fruits and vegetables) permitted me to take their pictures.

We are still converting the prices to dollars (divide by 400) to see if they are reasonable and they almost always are. One exception today was a bath towel we priced in a multi-story mall next to the market. At 16,000 AMD, this one so-so towel was going to cost the equivalent of about $40.  There doesn't seem to be any middle range pricing. There are very cheap thin towels that you can practically see through (likely imported from India) and then slightly better ones at high prices. Oh, for a Land's End beach towel!

Googling Store Locations

A friend gave us a couple of tips on stores to try for shoes and clothes. Finding them is made much easier by the fact that I can type an address into Google Search and up comes the location. The vast majority of stores are very small shops that do not take credit cards or who take credit cards only from one bank. I have yet to see anything remotely resembling a department store. A few British-owned chains have clothes for the whole family, but that is about as departmentalized as you get.

Today we searched out and found the Bugatti shoes store, about two blocks from the Opera House, an area we feel we are getting to know well (and where we would buy real estate if we ever moved here). That turned out to be the first of maybe as many as eight shoe stores we hit. Denise wanted a pair of black flats. Now how hard is that? Well, it wasn't easy and not especially because Denise was being a difficult customer. We finally found a pair that fit at the Clark Shoes store AND they were on sale. All's well that end's well.

Right now sales are everywhere--from 30% to 70% is splashed across store windows. The problem is that, at least for shoes, they are likely to have one pair left in a style and you can bet it is not in your size.

In general the afternoon explore was productive. We found a place to buy tablets for my meeting portfolio at long last and saw several stores that had been recommended, including Promod on stylish Abovian Street.  I found a cute black tee with chiffon top and short sleeves and a lacy cami for underneath. Can we say concertwear?

Mesmerized by the clock! Check out the hair jewelry!

Along the way we passed a children's puppet theater just as a performance was ending. Mothers and children swarmed onto the sidewalk just as the hour was striking on a very special metal animated clock. We stopped and stared, as delighted as the little kids, at the moving parts and the cock who moved out and crowed four times; before and after he was bracketed by martial music (reveille, for example).

At the end of the day we collapsed in the outdoor cafe at the Marriott where we managed to avoid sitting downwind from smokers and tested the freshly squeezed fruit juices (it was a recon mission for Tom, who arrives in the middle of the night Monday). Unfortunately further recon objectives were frustrated. We have not found a place to buy the International Herald Tribune and the Marriott gym is for guests only.

How can they walk all day in these shoes?

On the way home by taxi (feet feeling like cement blocks by this time despite sensible shoes), we thought we were pretty hot telling the driver the street and number (tahss=10) and then to turn right (atch). He teased us about our pronunciation but it still felt good not to be tongue-tied! 

Tonight we will try out our new, if limited, skills on the Georgian restaurant on our street. Locals have assured us it is very good. We are curious about how they can tell the difference between Armenian and Georgian food, but perhaps we will find out.