As I mentioned, the icons began to grow on me, even the ones with pigeons!
Another icon.
And another icon. I really liked this one--it was pretty big; you don't get a sense of the scale in the photo.
Kids are the same wherever you go! These boys were kicked out of the church by their mother for being too wild. I just love the mischievous grin on this guy.
This is the statue of the White Army admiral.
Another icon--I think I was starting to get a bit carried away by them!
The WWII memorial in Irkutsk.
We took a break at the "Coffee Fashion Club." Surprisingly, my mocha was better than Starbucks!
A monument to Tsar Alexander III, father of Nicholas II (the one who was executed).
The icebreaker. It's on the Angara River, which goes through Irkutsk, but I think it was actually used on Lake Baikal.
The wooden house, which was pretty spectacular.
Shutters...
More detail on the house.
It was a rainy day!
Across the street from the wooden house--pretty dreary apartments. Most we saw looked a little nicer than these.
Fish for sale at the market.
A bird's eye view of the market.
The vegetable section.
The butter and cheese ladies, my favorites.
Maria Volkonsky's house.
One of the rooms in the Volkonsky house.
The Volkonsky dining room--not exactly my image of 19th century Siberia!
My artistic "samovar in the mirror" shot. Samovars are teapots.
Two of the outstanding performers.
These guys were terrific alone and even better together!
A toast from our host.
The grand finale.
"Mozart" collecting the champagne flutes. Mikerra was trying to get him to smile--she almost succeeded!
Trying to be artistic with the sun flare at yet another cathedral.
Returning to the train after a long day.
