Over the last few months, we have met other "crazy" folks like us who have picked up their families and have moved to Armenia either temporarily or permanently. We have become friends with these crazy people and have gone over to each other's homes for dinner, gone to concerts together, etc. Our first mini-get away was to the Tufenkian Hotel in the Lori Region. The hotel sits on the edge of the Debed River and is really beautiful. It is a boutique hotel designed in a medieval design with a touch of New York cool. We have visited it for lunch a year or two ago, but it was very nice to stay overnight in. Cool thing is that you can rent the entire 34 room hotel and all the facilities for a flat rate of 1,000,000 amds or about $3,000. We had a nice two days and evening. Swam in the indoor pool, ate drank then toured the historical sites of Sanahin and Haghpat Monasteries the next day on the way home. Our adopted daughter Tammy came along as well. It was a very fun time. On the way, we stopped for a second in the town of Alaverdi, which has a tremendous pollution problem because of the copper smelting that takes place there. The shot of the girls and Tammy is on a foot bridge from the 13th century.
