Beautiful Baikal

Thanks for the advice Ezio. Although, I don't know what you are trying to imply... I am well known for my sober, celibate lifestyle and so advice about "minding the gap", whatever that is supposed to mean, is completely uneccessary!

Oh yes, congratulations to the Italians on the World Cup win. I saw highlights on the news (including Zidane's sending off, which looked extremely well deserved to me) and scenes of celebration in Roma. It sounds like you've all been having a bit too much fun in my absence, if you ask me! I can't believe that you went and 'did the double' in my absence (bastids!). The only explanation is that I have negative knowledge and when you subtract it from the team it becomes more intelligent! If I ever meet anyone with some real knowledge, the world will implode (or something). But seriously, well done. I'm also dissapointed at having missed a really gay party but I look forward to seeing the pictures... And Dave, you really should take Edo up on his offer, I mean, you never know how much you might enjoy it. It could be the start of something wonderful...

Irkutsk seems like a nice place, I've wandered around a bit, and yes, the women are stunning. What can I say, I feel like I'm surrounded by models the whole time. Yesterday I headed off to the lovely village of Listvyanka on the picturesque shores of Lake Baikal. In the morning the weather was cool and cloudy but then it brightened up in the afternoon (leading to my second bout of sunburn - dammit!). I wandered around on the shore for a bit and went for a paddle in the icy, but crystal clear, water (I was later told that it's about 6C at the moment, brrr). It was really nice to have a wander in the countryside and there's so much interesting to look at in a naturey kind of way. There were tons and tons of butterflies (I think I counted at least 10 different species), lots of birds and some of the most bizzarre insects I have ever seen. Of course, plenty of trees and flowers too. Baikal is a unique environment (so all the guidebooks keep telling me) and apparently over 80% of the species native to it are found there and nowhere else. I would probably know more about this except I decided that over 3 quid was more than I wanted to pay to get into the Ecological Museum (Russians only pay about 1 pound). Anyway, it was a lovely day by the lake!

I'm off to Yekaterineburg this afternoon (not stopping in Krasnayarsk Ezio, I'm afraid) and should arrive there in a couple of days time. Before I go, I shall leave you with my thoughts on Russian men (I'm sure you all want to know after having such fun at Edo and Tom's party ;-)):
Whilst it is not unkown to spot some very handsome specimines over here (ah, Sasha, Roman, I remember thee well...) the are not as ubiquitous as the beautiful Russian female. The fact that Russki men don't quite live up to the standard of the girls is not helped by men's fashion over here; highly patterned shirts in summer and what can only be described as 'Christmas' jumpers in the winter, incredibly pointy shoes and man-bags (that is, male handbags) No offence to the Russians (or to those of you from Italy, where I believe such bags are also popular) but they look REALLY silly. I'm sure they could be useful but in my experience a man either has pockets enough for what he needs to carry (taylors being kind enough to furnish male clothing with pockets) or he has too much stuff to fit in a small bag. So, I think, handbag = uneccessary. So, all in all, the girls are hot but dress like hookers and the boys are not so hot and dress badly. Here endeth the lesson.

That's all for now but I'm sure I will be in touch soon.

Lottie x