The street that our hotel is on is quite dull and grey, but a few streets on, heading towards what I think is the historic town centre, things start to brighten. The place is fairly quiet, on the whole, but I’m glad of a little downtime for a while. I can see the brightly coloured rounded turrets of a church in the distance and feel myself drawn towards it. There is something very beautiful about the over-the-top gaudiness of the Russian Orthodox churches. This one is called Kazanskaya Tserkov – and it looks like a cross between a gingerbread house and a children’s painting of a castle, all red brick and green chequered turrets. I stop at the entrance and take a few photographs, but I decide not to go inside. The sun is shining, and I need to stretch my legs and blow away the cobwebs.

Carrie was interested in finding out about the Decembrists – those revolutionaries who were exiled to Siberia in the 1800s, but as I’ve no idea when she’s likely to surface, I decide to visit the area myself and report back. It’s not my fault that she slept in and missed the chance to do the only thing she came here for. I take out the map that I picked up from the surly receptionist, briefly checking that I am going the right way, and it’s not long before I come across the streets filled with ramshackle wooden houses where they set up their new community, under much suspicion from the locals. It’s interesting enough for a while – I try to imagine what it must’ve been like, although it’s hard to believe that it’s almost 200 years ago. But without anyone else to talk to about it, I get bored fairly soon. I’m not particularly interested in the history, but at least I can tell Carrie that I have been. For both of us.

Back in town, I pass another fancy church but I don’t bother taking a photo of this one as it’s not as impressive as the one that I already have many photos of. I’m craving some human interaction now, and I consider heading back to the hotel to see if Carrie has woken up yet, but then I see a sign for a market and decide to pop in there first. I didn’t eat a huge amount for breakfast, spending more time wrapping up a pretty little parcel of food for Carrie – I hope she’s eaten it and not let my efforts go to waste.