Almost all of you have enjoyed and said nice things about the pics I’ve posted in the past from my travels. But I remember a few of you were quite annoyed with my last set of holiday photos. I suppose it’s because it had nothing to do with learning Sinhala. So rest assured, I learned my lesson…
But luckily, I have a shitty memory and I forget lessons very quickly (And it’s so much fun annoying people, don’t you think?) :)
So here’s a new set of photos from my most recent trip to Monaco:
Still under shock that I’m back drinking at Café de Paris in Monaco
A couple of beers later, things finally started to sink in
The street I used to live on, Avenue de Papalins
The area I used to live in, Fontvielle
Fontvielle port
Monaco main port
My beautiful Monaco (with my not-so-beautiful silhouette)…
Belly in…
Belly out. (erm… on purpose, if I may add)
Lunch at Larvotto beach
One of the highlights of the trip. A Toblerone pastry dessert!!!
Coffee on Rue Caroline in Monaco. And a nosy pigeon, photo bombing my sexy pose.
Last day breakfast. Bloody Marys. Breakfast of champions.
One last rosé before heading out to the airport.
No trip is complete unless I manage to annoy each passenger with my snoring.
There you go. Felt like sharing this pics with my Tribesters.
You know folks, going back to Monaco after 1.5 years was a weird and surreal feeling to say the least.
At times I’d feel like a total tourist but for the most part I felt like I had never left the region! In fact, I had to keep reminding myself that I don’t live there anymore. Would’ve been so awkward if I tried to get into to my old apartment after one of our night outs. Especially for the sweet old couple who moved in there after me…
Anyway, hope you enjoyed these pics. Feel free to leave any comments below.
Speak soon, folks!
Hi Dilshan,
Bienque je n’apprenne plus le Cinghalais, je suis toujours contente de voir que tu es “still alive and kicking”.
Pourquoi étais tu revenu à Monaco ? La nostalgie, les ami(é)s, les affaires ? En tout cas, suivant les photos je vois que tu en as bien profité !
Ce que j’ai fait de mieux la semaine dernière, c’est une escapade à Cinque Terre pour aller me balader dans les merveilleux paysages de ce coin d’Italie. Ce serait un bon plan pour toi aussi, après quelques jours, plus besoin de rentrer son ventre sur la photo :0)
I wish you good luck to answer to all your mails, I doubt you will manage it today with the new mails coming in … but you asked for it !
Best regards,
Orpha
Hi Orpha! Yeah, I suppose I asked for it :)
I went for a holiday. Pure holiday. Didn’t even take my laptop with me.
Around 5 years ago I too was in “Cinque Terre” but only for an afternoon. Would love to go back. So great to know that you were there.
Take care and speak again soon.
Hi∙thȧ∙vath Dilshan, (yes, copy and paste)
Well surprise, surprise! o∙yaa∙gé ee∙mḗl é∙kȧ∙tȧ bo∙hō∙mȧ sthoo∙thi.
Lovely holiday pics, by the way.
I had a quite mondaine week, reorganising my house and dreaming of travelling. Everybody posts holiday photos, even get some from friends of friends … lovely Mediterranean holidays … well I am only a little envious.
Looking forward to your next blog, thank you for the email phrases
Nearly midnight here in Oz, i.e. Good night
mee∙tȧ
Elisabeth
Hi Elisabeth, you know something? Your comment reminded me that I badly need to reorganize my little office room too! It’s such a mess. Like a madman works in here (well, kind of :))
Take care and good night. And thanks for the comment. Glad you liked the pics.
Hey Dilshan
Hope you had a fabulous time in Monaco..
I also feel free to visit one day, but seems impossible, But I ‘m happy that someone I know virtually who enjoyed over there..
Wish you all the best for life, your blog and all the stuff..
Nalaka
Lille..
Hey Nalaka, good to hear from you. Hope things are going well in Lille. Yes, when you do get the opportunity, you should definitely go see the south of France. It’ll be quite the experience. Take care and thanks for your comment buddy.
Hello Dilshan
Great hearing from you after very long time. I am sure you had a wonderful vacation in
Morocco. The sceneries are so breath taking. If I remember, you did say you were in
Morocco sometime ago. Did you return to Sri Lanka before ‘Poson,” being a very big day
for the Buddhist. I remember so well when I was back in SL.
Anyway, I hope you are in the best of health & keeping busy.
Take care. Will talk to you later.
Elizabeth T.
Hi Elizabeth, it was Monaco (not Morocco) :)
And yes I used to live there before. For 13 years.
Today is indeed Poson Poya but I didn’t return to it for that. Good for you to remember this day though.
Great hearing from you too. Take care and speak again soon.
Hello Dilshan
Sorry for the miss from ‘Monaco’ to ‘Morocco”. I think I am getting old.
Yes, I do remember many precious things from my birth country,
because “I WAS THERE ONCE, THERE I WAS” in the most beautiful
country in the world.
Elizabeth T
“You are only as old as you decide to be” – I think I saw this floating around some website somewhere :)
Funnily enough, when I made my first visit to the US, the immigrations officer kept thinking I was a resident of Morocco. When I said Monaco, he told me he’s never heard of it, haha.
Then the Immigration Officer must be from a different planet, which
you & I have not heard of.
Take care Mr Handsome.
Bye till I hear from you.
Elizabeth T.
:)
Bye for now.
Hi Dilshan,
very nice photos. I have been in the South of France some years ago but never in Monaco. The toblerone pastry dessert would definitely be something for me. Last weekend I had two concerts together with my choir. We made some show with singing and dancing parts and the general topic was “film music”. We had a lot of fun together and we were happy to be successful and that the audience enjoyed our performance. This “team-feeling” is great. That was my highlight of last week….
Back to Monaco: I was astonished that your moving to Sri Lanka was 1 and a half year ago. Time passes by very quickly….
Have a good time
Andrea
Hi Andrea, thanks! Sounds like you had a fun week. If there is a youtube clip of your choir performance, please email it to me, I’d love to see it, especially since you said “film music”.
And I know what you mean, 1 and half years already!!! Unbelieeeeeevable!
Tu attrapes un bon petit ventre!
“petit”? Haha, tu es gentil, Jean-Jacques. ça me rend heureux :)
Simply superb my dear sir ;)
Simply superb of you to say that, Abdur :)
Hi Dilshan,
I’ve recently found your blog while searching for the ‘I love you’s in Sinhala’ and I have to tell you I love everything about it. Great pics from Monaco too, btw. :)
Thanks so much for everything you’ve posted so far, you do actually make the language seem ‘learnable’, which was not the impression I got when I first heard it being spoken. :)
I visited Sri Lanka in March this year, and needless to say I fell it love with it. Well, not just the county, to be honest. ;) Therefore, I’m going back for a month in September, and I’m excited to get to know it better – the country, the people, the language. I am humble enough to know it would take me years to learn to speak it properly (if ever) but it’s good to know the basics which help you throughout the day. My boyfriend speaks hardly any English so I’m trying to teach him some English at the same time, as well. ;)
I do have a question for you, though. I’ve done some research but haven’t found anything useful so far, so I was hoping maybe you could help me with some guidance. Are there any rules tourists should abide to? I know all about the PDA, and smoking and drinking alcohol, but I was thinking more general – are there things that we do that are considered offensive to the Srilankan people or their culture? Do you shake hands and/or kiss when you meet/greet someone? Who is the boss of the house, mother or father? If I bring a present from my country as a friendly gesture, do I have to bring something for everyone in the family? Is it true that children should not be patted on the head as that’s understood as offensive?
I do realize I have a ton of questions and I know you don’t have time to answer them all in detail, but I would appreciate your input on this as I clearly want to do the right thing and not offend anyone with my lack of knowledge. :)
I appreciate your help in advance, and best regards from Slovenia! :)
Katka
Katka, thanks for the comment. Appreciate it.
I don’t think I’m the best person to consult about the “do’s and don’ts” in Sri Lanka. You’ve certainly
got the basics right (for example, avoid PDA) but for the rest I’ll need to think about it. Patting kids on the head? Funny. I don’t think I’ve ever done that. Done it a thousand times to puppies though…
Will let you know if I find out anything. Thanks again for your comment. I wish all the best to you and your boyfriend and I’m very happy that my blog is helping in a tiny way.
Désolée de ne pas être revenue plus tôt vers toi depuis ton dernier post en mai dernier. Les jours passent vite. J’espère que tu n’as pas fait escale à Paris pour aller à Monaco, sinon je serai déçue de l’entendre. J’aurais aimé te rencontrer si cela avait pu se faire. J’espère que vous avez bien profité. Que d’événements là-bas : naissances, mariage…, on ne s’ennuie jamais si on suit l’actu princière !
Bonne continuation Dilshan.
Hi Elisabeth, nice to hear from you. No, we didn’t go to Paris. Just Monaco (and a little bit of Nice and Cannes) and it was indeed a great time. Next time we’ll certainly do Paris too. Yes a lot of things going on with the main family from Monaco. And since the Prince is such a humble nice gentlemen, I remember how all of us residents used to keenly follow the events in the family.
Speak again soon Elisabeth.
Great Dilshan, hoping to see you one day in Paris. I’ll be happy to show you around some very nice places.
A bientôt.
Thank you Elisabeth, looking forward to it.