We're now on our way to Colombo Airport. It's difficult to tear oneself away from the Dutch House, it's such a tranquil place, just four beautiful bedrooms, a gracious drawing room and a veranda around three sides of a square.
Our afternoon tea expedition yesterday was great success, we took a tuc tuc and were met by Gabriele Francis, another ex-pat using her initiative to earn a few bob from the tourists. We walked along a tiny path through the rice paddies to a 'paddi island' across a little bridge. Lots of palm trees, hibiscus, frangipan, bougainvilla, jasmine and lush foliage, and suddenly there was a little kind of summerhouse in the middle with a beautifully laid table, pretty china cups and saucers, freshly cut cucumber and egg sandwiches, lavender biscuits, shortbread still warm from the oven,a gorgeous crumbly carrot cake, a boiled fruit and nut cake and a chocolate cake to die for!
Afterwards we piled into a bullock cart all decorated with bunting, and trundled along the road and up the hill to the local Buddhist Temple to watch the sunset and give thanks, there were about a million steps up to the top, a welcome opportunity to burn off some calories- we had to taste everything!
The whole experience was lovely.
Later we had dinner with Geoffrey at his newest acquisition - Mamas in Galle Fort, work to be done there, he's waiting to take it over so it can have a good shake up!
Today we just relaxed at the Dutch House, we took a tuc tuc out to the beach Cafe at Wajiya Beach for a fishy lunch and then I came back into Galle to go to the Green Market and potter around the little shops, I bought beautiful sweet cinnamon, the only spice indigenous to Sri Lanka and lots of funny tin cooking utensils that I certainly don't need, lovely Henri will post them home for me.
Our flight to Bangkok leaves at 1.30 am and arrives in at 6.30 so we should arrive just in time for breakfast, were staying at the Mandarin Oriental where I stayed years ago on an earlier trip to Asia.
Our afternoon tea expedition yesterday was great success, we took a tuc tuc and were met by Gabriele Francis, another ex-pat using her initiative to earn a few bob from the tourists. We walked along a tiny path through the rice paddies to a 'paddi island' across a little bridge. Lots of palm trees, hibiscus, frangipan, bougainvilla, jasmine and lush foliage, and suddenly there was a little kind of summerhouse in the middle with a beautifully laid table, pretty china cups and saucers, freshly cut cucumber and egg sandwiches, lavender biscuits, shortbread still warm from the oven,a gorgeous crumbly carrot cake, a boiled fruit and nut cake and a chocolate cake to die for!
Afterwards we piled into a bullock cart all decorated with bunting, and trundled along the road and up the hill to the local Buddhist Temple to watch the sunset and give thanks, there were about a million steps up to the top, a welcome opportunity to burn off some calories- we had to taste everything!
Later we had dinner with Geoffrey at his newest acquisition - Mamas in Galle Fort, work to be done there, he's waiting to take it over so it can have a good shake up!
Today we just relaxed at the Dutch House, we took a tuc tuc out to the beach Cafe at Wajiya Beach for a fishy lunch and then I came back into Galle to go to the Green Market and potter around the little shops, I bought beautiful sweet cinnamon, the only spice indigenous to Sri Lanka and lots of funny tin cooking utensils that I certainly don't need, lovely Henri will post them home for me.
Our flight to Bangkok leaves at 1.30 am and arrives in at 6.30 so we should arrive just in time for breakfast, were staying at the Mandarin Oriental where I stayed years ago on an earlier trip to Asia.
