14. November
Am in Irkutsk now. Finally. One and a half days to play with then back on the train again. Jesus, Russia really does have a problem with Pizza! Avoid ‘Pizza Mario’ if you’re ever in Siberia. From the façade you’d think it would be quite a nice place for a cheap and easy pizza but oh no! How hard can it be? You don’t have to go to Italy I think… HK managed it ok. Oh well, rant over. I’ve learned my lesson - will stick with pelmini for the duration.
I’m staying in a nice flat very much in the centre of the city which is nice. Strolling down Karl Marx street I like would I’ve seen so far. Walked down the street until I reached the Angara river which is already starting to freeze over. After that I called into the Regional History museum – no English captions but refreshingly no dead animals either. The city’s female population is winning the beauty contest out of the three I’ve visited so far – still not a patch on St Petersburg of course. After this I went to get a second lunch at a bar. Not sure what I ordered but it was super tasty! Something with pork – not a million miles away from stroganoff I guess. Tender pork, onions, mushrooms and fragrant rice on the side. Only let down was I didn’t order bread to mop up the rich smoky sauce. I like the layout of the city. Centre is quite compact and the tallest building is only 12 stories. A few cool looking cafes and bars here and there which I guess is where it gets its tag ‘The Paris of Siberia’ from.
Back at the flat, which is the smartest I’ve stayed in yet. My host is another Tatiana and her husband, a daughter and a son. And a small dog called Pierre. Husband seems like a nice guy. Daughter’s a bit of a brat. T. is the only one who speaks any English. Dunno much about her except that she’s a self-professed animal lover. Although personally I feel keeping a bird in a cage is a bit of a paradox in that respect.
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