We arrived early morning in Irkutsk and were transported to our hotel on the Angara River, the only river that flows out of Lake Baikal. Everything was draped in fresh white snow - the beautiful powdery white stuff of scenes on postcards and Christmas cards. Our room overlooked the river and parkland running beside it. We eagerly awaited daylight which eventually washed over the city around 9:30am, then donned our winter layers to go walking in a winter wonderland. When you don't live with something everyday it's newness stirs excitement. We were like frisky puppies dashing here and there, oo-ing and ah-ing at each beautiful tree and the way the snow clumped on branches. I'm sure if we had tails they would have been wagging wildly all the while. The air was cold and crisp, but we hardly noticed as we were so wrapped in the beauty around us, so white and peaceful. Well, there was Elvis playing over some loud speakers at a square we came to, but that even seemed to fit the scene.

After snapping hundreds of photos we returned to enjoy our first Russian lunch - one of many to come that included plenty of meat and potatoes. It was hot and hearty and set us up with the energy we needed to explore the city on an afternoon tour.

Irkutsk is a pretty city full of old wooden houses and beautiful churches. And the women are draped in the most gorgeous fur coats imaginable. The women are very elegant in their dress, draped in their fabulous furs, but also fashionably attired under the coats and wearing stylish high heeled boots. They are mostly tall and slender and very attractive.

We finished the evening dining on more meat and potatoes in a quaint restaurant which we thought set a lovely mood with candlelight. It turned out there was a power blackout, but the lights eventually came on and we were able to complete our meal while enjoying being able to see the lovely surroundings.

Christmas eve ended with a bang as fireworks exploded over the icy white river outside our bedroom window. This was our first day on the tour without a blue sky, but with gentle snow falling all all around us in this white snow dome world we wouldn't have wanted it any other way.