Beautiful stroll this afternoon at the Dutch Fort ( Galle Fort) Best to go at 4pm when its cooler and wait for the sunset !  Walk the whole wall and it’s just beautiful – the water, the waves, the sun.  First built in 1588 by the Portuguese, the Galle Fort was extensively fortified by the Dutch during the 17th century from 1649 onwards. Once a busy port, trading with Greece, China and Arab countries the Galle Fort is a historical, archaeological and architectural heritage monument – a living and breathing UNESCO Heritage site with a colorful history, and a multi-ethnic and multi-religious population. #gallefort #srilankrew #srilankainstyle

About Galle Fort (UNESCO)
Galle is the country’s oldest living city and is sure to capture your interest, with its historic sites and its unique fusion of European and Arabic cultural and architectural influences. Galle rose to prominence as a port of call for Chinese, Persian, Arab and Indian traders, later followed by Portuguese, Dutch and British colonialists, all leaving their indelible mark on this enchanting seaside town. According to James Emerson Tennent, Galle was the ancient seaport of Tarshish, from which King Solomon drew ivory, peacocks and other valuables. Cinnamon was exported from Sri Lanka as early as 1400 BC and the root of the word itself is Hebrew, so Galle may have been a main entrepot for the spice. Galle had been a prominent seaport long before western rule in the country. Persians, Arabs, Greeks, Romans, Malays, Indians, and Chinese were doing business through Galle port. The ‘modern’ history of Galle starts in 1505, when the first Portuguese ship, under Lourenço de Almeida was driven there by a storm. However, the people of the city refused to let the Portuguese enter it, so the Portuguese took it by force. In 1640, the Portuguese had to surrender to the Dutch East India Company. The Dutch built the present Fort in the year 1663. They built a fortified wall, using solid granite, and built three bastions, known as ‘Sun’, ‘Moon’ and ‘Star’. After the British took over the country from the Dutch in the year 1796, they preserved the Fort unchanged, and used it as the administrative centre of Galle #galle#srilankrew  Gas station 🙂  

According to Carmina @thecrazycook 75% of #srilankrew are shoppers.  The hardcore ones skipped all the tours and just went shopping haha!! Mainly for gems and precious stones 🙂  It’s very hard to shop for jewelry especially if you are not knowledgeable about it. So make sure you go to a reputable store – the only one recommended to me was Aida by @jonathanmatti The places where the girls went were Multigems, Ibrahim – they went back several times looking around before actual purchase Aida inside the Fort though Jonathan said he went to the one outside which might be better because less touristic
 Multigems  Ibrahim  Back in Colombo – photo from Steve

Love this shop – 
SPA CEYLON – Heaven! 🙂 Quaint cafes and restaurants  Love these rice sack bags
Love the vibe in the fort

Our home for 2 nights – The Sun House at Galle @thesunhousegalle

The Sun House, built in the 1860s, was a forerunner of Galle’s boutique market and set impeccable standards from the outset. This stylish boutique property, situated on a quiet, leafy hill, glows with lightness and subtle style. It overlooks the harbour of Galle, the Sri Lankan south-coast town that has become a haven for the discerning traveller. #srilankrew#srilankainstyle #galle

 It was beautiful but I think that they need to fix some minor details – preserve the house but at the same time fix some kinks like rust on the bath tub, hooks that are falling off and I think they should air-condition already the Cinnamon suite.  Also, this place is outside the Galle Dutch Fort, I would suggest if you have only a few days in Galle that you stay inside the Fort where you have quick access to shops and restaurant
There are 2 master suites in this house – this was one of them though I was not able to see it 

 And this was the other one.  This was where we were assigned.  You need to climb up stairs to get here.  It is a beautiful room and maybe the most beautiful but it has no air-conditioning.  They did not inform us in advance so it was quite upsetting.  They offered for us to stay in they other house across the street but we wanted to be with the group Rust in the bathtub So another option was for us to sleep in the smallest room in the house and this was it

Checked out today from Amaya Langdale and journeyed for around 6 hours to Galle to arrive at our home at the Sun House #srilankrew #srilankainstyle

Lunch at Kitulgala Rest House in between our road trip from Nurawa Eliya to Galle – K
itulgala Rest House is located 2 km’s off on the Hatton-Nuwara Eliya road bordering the ‘Kelani’ river, the 4th longest river in Sri Lanka. Kitulgala area is famous among adventure lovers travelling from all over the world specifically for White Water Rafting and number of other adventurous activities located a stone-throw away from the resort. The resort represent a finest location and has been in existence for over 4 generations offering an affordable accommodation, wine and dine options. Hotel is located in a greenly-elevated banks of the Kelani River with instant access to nature and tranquility ( website) #srilankrew #srilankainstyle#kitugalaresthouse
 Leftover pizza hut! haha!!

#srilankrew Happy hour by the pool at Amaya Langdale @amayalangdale amidst beautiful tea plantations  #amayalangdale#srilankainstyle

Continuation inside by the living room

Lunch at Hill Club ( since 1876) A membership club. They allow lunch for the public but dinner is for members only and attire is suit. Happy to have British fish and chips 🙂 #nuruwayaeliya #srilankrew#srilankainstyle.

Click below to go to their website

There are around 600 tea factories in Nuwara Eliya tea country!  We visited a factory producing high quality tea – Pedro Estate #nuwaraeliya #ceylontea#srilankrew #srilankainstyle

 I did not get up early in the morning but I should have 🙁  It was beautiful according to the early risers.  Here are the photos from Steve, Cherina, Tahnee, Andre, Jose and Tin

 We had set meals for dinner since we were a big group Heart shaped bread 🙂 We took up the whole dining room 🙂 Celebrated Tin’s birthday for 4 nights 🙂 because we love herBreakfast was at your own pace

Ceylon tea with milk everyday !  In 1819 when the British  took over Sri Lanka they tried growing coffee but there was fungus and so they grew tea. Ceylon tea is the most popular tea in the world. The income from tea comprises 12% of the country’s GDP

Yum !  Curd with treacle at @amayalangdale #srilankrew#srilankainstyle #amayalangdale #curd#treacle #h2hbreakfast