Category Archives: shopping

Looming Large

Posted on February 10, 2019 by Liz Barron

You’ll see it as soon as you walk down the stairs in Yerevan’s Silk Road Hotel. I fell for it straight away, for this antique carpet features the blue and rust colors I love to see together. The carpet is … Continue reading →

Posted in Armenia, Armenian art, armenian carpet, art, artsakh carpet, buting handmade carpets, craft activities, Cross-cultural understanding, shopping, textiles, Things that gladden the heart, Things that make a difference, travel, Village life, Women, work | Leave a comment

Even the monks have iphones now: a return visit to Bangkok

Posted on January 1, 2019 by Liz Barron

Soi 18. Sukhumvit 36. An unremarkable Bangkok alley that we came to believe was the magical creation of Thailand’s Lewis Carroll or CS Lewis. We’d booked a couple of nights in the Rembrandt Hotel to give our spines the chance to … Continue reading →

Posted in Armenia, Bangkok, cocktails, Cooking, Cross-cultural understanding, drinking, eating out, family, fashion, Food, Local delicacies, Mother/daughter dynamic, New Year, packing, shopping, Thailand, Things that gladden the heart, Things that make a difference, travel, Vacation spots, young women | Leave a comment

Twin Peaks

Posted on October 8, 2018 by Liz Barron

Heavy lifting. It’s what bras are for, and all of mine in Armenia had proved unequal to the task. Of the six I brought with me from home , one had pinched from the get-go, two had lost a wire … Continue reading →

Posted in Ararat, Armenia, Beauty, Blessings, bras, clothes, Cross-cultural understanding, Design, Embarrassment, fashion, friendship, gratitude, Khor Virap, Mount Ararat, Peace Corps Armenia, personal failings, shopping, Social niceties, Things that gladden the heart, Things that make a difference, travel, Underwear, visitors, Women | Leave a comment

A Short Stay in Old Town Tbilisi

Posted on September 23, 2018 by Liz Barron

At first it looked very much like home, 12 hours drive away in the South of Armenia. Our Old Town Tbilisi accommodation was on a dilapidated street, unevenly paved and steep. Cars blocked every entrance. Roofs were patched with rusting … Continue reading →

Posted in Advertising, Apostolic church, Architecture, Armenia, Cross-cultural understanding, eating out, fashion, Food, Georgia, Great weekends, Local delicacies, Old Town Tbilisi, shopping, Tbilisi, Things that gladden the heart, travel | Leave a comment

Between a rock and a charred place.

Posted on September 22, 2018 by Liz Barron

Nane and her mother Knarik are tiny and perfect. They remind me of dolls who  dance on the top of music boxes, except they wear jeans and leather jackets.  Not the type for tutus, they wouldn’t thank you for satin … Continue reading →

Posted in Advice, Armenia, Arson, clothes, Corruption, Cross-cultural understanding, family, fashion, Go Fund Me, kindness, Peace Corps, Peace Corps Armenia, shopping, Things that make a difference, Village life | Leave a comment

When World’s Collide

Posted on September 19, 2018 by Liz Barron

I am back home in Goris and enjoying a perfect dinner of Irish Wheaten bread with Armenian butter, salad, and cheese. The bread comes from Knott’s Bakery in Newtownards a no-nonsense town just outside Belfast, Northern Ireland. The tomatoes probably … Continue reading →

Posted in Armenia, Cooking, Cross-cultural understanding, Food, friendship, gratitude, identity, Ireland, Local delicacies, Millisle, Northern Ireland, Nostalgia, online friends, packing, shopping, Things that gladden the heart, Things that make a difference, travel, Village life, Women | Leave a comment

The Ting About Dubai (or “Jamaica?” “No, she drank of her own accord.”)

Posted on January 17, 2018 by Liz Barron

We found what must surely be the only Jamaican bar in the Middle East. Ting Irie is in a Souk attached to the Manzil Hotel in downtown Dubai. Although the restaurant is the real ting, the Souk is not. It … Continue reading →

Posted in Armenia, Beauty, Capitalism, clothes, Cross-cultural understanding, drinking, eating out, fashion, Food, Jamaica, Marketing, Middle East, Mother/daughter dynamic, personal failings, shopping, Social niceties, travel, UAE, Vacation spots | 1 Comment

Teachable moments in Dubai

Posted on January 14, 2018 by Liz Barron

I once had a boyfriend who said I could suck the fun out of anything. Fair warning: I am about to give this treatment to Dubai, a place I, perhaps unexpectedly, now adore. Everything you have ever heard about Dubai … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Beauty, Capitalism, Cross-cultural understanding, Design, drinking, Dubai, eating out, fashion, Food, Islam, joy, Learning, life lessons, Marketing, Middle East, National pride, shopping, Things that gladden the heart, travel, UAE, Vacation spots, Women | 3 Comments

Well turned-out Tatik

Posted on September 19, 2017 by Liz Barron

Every Tatik in Armenia wears the same outfit, day in, day out: a dress or pinny with deep pockets for holding freshly picked cucumbers, new-laid eggs or the like. This is accessorized with mens’ socks pulled to mid-shin level–often two … Continue reading →

Posted in Armenia, fashion, joy, National pride, shopping, Things that gladden the heart, travel, Village life, Women, work | 2 Comments

WD-40: Now in Armenia

Posted on September 16, 2017 by Liz Barron

WD-40 is now in Armenia and could be in a store near every Peace Corps Volunteer in these (squeaky) parts. I predict both a stampede and a sell-out, for Americans who have spent months wrestling with recalcitrant locks, stubborn bolts, … Continue reading →

Posted in Armenia, Caucausus, Cross-cultural understanding, gratitude, Household tips, joy, Language, Peace Corps, resilience, shopping, Things that gladden the heart, Things that make a difference, travel, WD-40 | 3 Comments