"SRI LANKS" - DEC. 20

You know those stray cows in the sketchy field that I was referring to earlier? Well, one of them chased me this morning. It was horrifying...and Colleen and Emily saw it from a distance and LAUGHED! I didn't find it that funny, until a worker witnessed the incident and chased the cow in revenge! That made me feel better. As did Lal's birthday present of three miniature elephants at breakfast!



Today was a busy day. We visited Nalanda temple (where we met a dog named "dog"), Dambulla Cave Temple (famous in Sri Lanka), a spice garden in Matale (where Phil - I mean SPIDERMAN- climbed a coconut tree), and Aluvihara temple (where we got our names written in Sinhalese on palm leaves!). But the attraction we had all been waiting for was the "GEMMMMMMM" factory (which must be pronounced with an exaggeration on the "em" part of the word!).





Let's talk about GEMMMMMMMMS. Sri Lanka is known for its many precious and semi-precious stones. Sapphires are among the most popular, but the "land of gemmmmmms" also bears rubies, pearls, garnets, opals, moonstones, amethysts, and so on. At the factory, you get to learn about the process of making those shiny stones that jazz-up our finest jewellery. (Side note: the ladies on the trip may have been too excited to see the final product and failed to appreciate the hard work of the factory's beautifiers).



The part that comes after the making of the "gemmmmmmmms" is the BEST part (well...maybe not for Phil). We were taken to an older, but lovely, building where we were seated in those fancy office chairs at a fancy conference-like table. There were various other tables with tourists engaging in the same thing as us - "gemmmmmm" shopping! One by one, large boxes of jewellery were revealed - earrings, necklaces, bracelets, and rings - both silver and gold. The lighting in the room was bright and there was no mistaking the exquisite "gemmmmmmms" before us. We tried on ring after ring, held up earring after earring, and awed over the selection of charms. While Colleen and "Gemily" (her trip nickname, dictated by her knowledge of gemmmmmmmms) browsed their own rings and necklaces, Phil told me to pick out a "6 month-iversary" ring! And so....I did! My newest ring (which I couple up with my silver wedding band) is also silver and has 30 blue sapphires placed in two long rows on the front of the ring. It is absolutely beautiful (and Leafs colours, Dad!). I also was spoiled with an elephant charm that has sapphire eyes and pearl toes! I will try to post photos of these soon...

Going back to the hotel, called the "Majestic Tourist Hotel", was a MUST after this shopping spree. And so we settled in to our rooms and Emily surprised us with an Asian craft while we waited for our meal of rice and curry! The craft was origami stars that would eventually be sewn together to make Christmas garland! It was tricky to learn at first (Phil had to order a few beers to survive the learning process), but in the end we were all quite good! In fact, Phil went from hating the activity to being a team leader when it came to star problem-solving and repair! (WAY TO GO, PHIL!!!)

The night concluded with some hilarious matches of Catchphrase. I think Emily and Phil were particularly "bad" at the game this evening (sorry, pals!). But really....Colleen and I were leading the series 6-0!!! (Phil - had you have been the one to blog this, you could have expressed it differently).

Then it was off to bed to dream of "gemmmmmmmmmmmms".