Our European Adventure June 2 - June 4

June 2 - We arrived in Armenia in the wee hours of the morning and were so glad to see the familiar face of our driver who had assisted us during the adoption process at the airport.  He took us to our apartment for a few hours of rest and after breakfast we headed to Rex's former orphanage for a visit with another friend from our adoptions as our translator.

The very spot where the love was sealed between Craig and Rex in 2010

Rex in the hallway leading to his group room

Rex at his favorite perch by the changing table: 2010 and 2017

After lunch, we set off on the two hour trek north to Gyumri to visit Ella's former orphanage as well as her friend Lilit who is now at an older child facility.  Ella was welcomed back like a celebrity and given great access to see where she used to live and she had a wonderful time with her friend.

Ella with her favorite caretaker Naira and with Satenik

Ella next to the bed in which she slept for years

Friends reunite

June 3 - Venturing south of Yerevan for over two hours to a beautiful part of the country we had never been, we visited Ella's birth family in their home town.  We were about 30 mins from Azerbaijan at that point and maybe five hours from the border pass to Iran.  Crazy to picture us on the map there.

We had wonderful views of Mt. Ararat along much of the way

We were warmly welcomed by Ella's birth parents and siblings who had a whole day planned for us, including an Armenian barbecue and a visit to the cave at Areni and to Novarank.  We also got to meet grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins.

Ella and her birth mother and brothers
picking delicious cherries
in the family's garden

Ella's birth father cooked a big Armenian BBQ for us

Rex pigging out on lavash - #notGF

The cave at Areni - this is where the famous shoe was found

Novarank may be the most beautiful place I have visited in Armenia

Our big group of 15 lit candles at Novarank
and then Ella decided to put all of the candles together as one -
telling, isn't it?

June 4 - After a morning walk to the Cascades (Craig made it up the steps in 3 mins 29 secs- just 14 seconds slower than his 2011 time), we had breakfast with a friend and shopped at the Vernissage market.

Later, we met up with Rex's and Ella's birth families at the Yerevan Children's Railroad for a fun afternoon.  It's been over three years since we first met Rex's Armenian family and it was a joyous reunion.  His birth parents and grandparents were so impressed with his progress and happy to hear about all of his new accomplishments and adventures.

Rex and his Armenian mom on the rollercoaster

Ella and her Armenian mom on the rollercoaster

We ended the wonderful day with lamajun and shwarma and peach juice and CCCP icecream - a feast.