Day 5 - Manly , where the men are so manly.

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Today was a day of contrasting Sydneys - the 1st part is what ur typical backpacker wud see, the 2nd what very few would experience.
For the daytime I decided not to go to downtown Sydney but hang out instead in Manly Beach for 2 reasons. Firstly I was sorta all cultured out at the moment but secondly as my legs were sore from all the walking. This is partly due to all the walking around but mainly due to the nightly walk back to Christine's parking space. As parking is so restricted over here, she rents a space from someone who has an apartment in Manly. Unfort though its at the top of a really really steep hill and this has resulted in my shin splints coming back. 😞
So Manly is ur typical Surfers area so to speak. The shops, juice bars and restaurants are very much geared towards this lifestyle. It caters mostly for the professional person living here as backpackers/true surfers tend to reside at Bondi as it has better surf.
Its funny though how different places have different different tastes. Back home after a typical night out we would have chips or pizza, english would have a kebab whereas over here its a pie. There are loadsa pie shops dotted about the place and though i had my breakfast in a pie shop I just couldnt bring myself to eat a pie at half 8 in the morn so opted for a sausage roll instead!
After a quick dander through the many roxy, quiksilver and souvenoir shops I decided to spend the rest of the day on the beach. Originally when i was packing to come away I hadn't packed my bikini (thinking Autumn weather) and only actually threw it in at the last moment. So glad i did though! I spent the next few hours just relaxing with some tunes and doing a bit of people watching.
It was a fab way to spend a thursday but reluctantly at 2 i had to pack up and start making my way back to Dee Why to get ready for this evenings activity. And this is one of the downside of life down under. As everything is so spread out you spend a big big of the time actually getting from one place to another. So I got back to the apartment, had a quick shower, and got ready to head out to catch another bus to downtown sydney for 4. (this journey took 2 hours due to heavy traffic!)
Tonight's entertainment was to go to "the ivy pool bar" for birthday drinks for one of Christine's friends. As most of u know I'm more a jeans/top sorta gal on a night out unless for special occasions but i decided i would make an effort and groom and Im glad i did as there were some styles not outta place on saturday night in New york. My eyes nearly popped out of their eye sockets when i saw this bar as it was like something out of Sex In the City or some other movie featuring celebs or wags.
Christine (CP) had told me b4 that this was a pool bar and I suppose i was thinking it would be similar to a pool bar i had been to at Torremolinos yrs ago - WRONG! Whilst that one had looked like a big fish tank this pool was like something u wud see on the OC or a typical LA house used in films cascading into the ocean. Oh btw the bar was outdoor roof terrace surrounded by sky scrappers. Totally surreal.
Sprinkled about the side where men in suits eying up all the women who walked pass and being less than subtle about it. Basically its a place where the rich boys in the city come to pull. In fact near the bar area there is apparently a bikini stand open in the Summer. A common line for men to use is instead of offering to buy a girl a drink they will offer to buy her a bikini so they can go for a swim together (could u see this line working at home? lol) Unfortunately as it is autumn it was considered too cold for a pool dip or Im sure i would have been inindated with bikini offers!. Also around the side where private booths for groups which CP and i manged to blag for a good 1 1/2 whilst waiting for the others (even thou it was reserved - the cheek of the irish i guess!)
Due to my fancy surrounding i also decided it was a cocktail night again however whilst nice did not compare with the Daiquiri made back in The Apartment. A good few people were drinking cocktails but many of them drinking bottles of Veuve Clicquot champagne (NOT A BOTTLE of beer in sight). I almost shate myself at the $160 price tag - which was served in an orange jacket displaying the name. However, when Amy one of the other girls arrived she bought a bottle of it as a birthday treat. It turned out that the actual champagne she was drinking cost $50 and they just stuck it in the expensive orange jacket to make it appear to b something it wasnt. How pretenticious. And that could pretty much sum up the bar. It totally looked the part - the pool, booths and the most amazing toilets but there wasn't much substance there when u scratch below the surface. I got better bored by the conversatations , you could easily have better craic with a guy back home at the bot!.
So slipping out of my high heeled shoes and back into my flip flops (which i had brought in my bag) like some sort of modern day cinderella we headed back to the wharf to catch the ferry back to Manly.
Oh and just for all u fact fans out there :
Many was so named as apparently when Captain Cook 1st arrived there he said "Goodness how these men are so manly" FACT!!!!

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