Sorry Mom, it's Friday

I was having late lunch on Friday when Sara saw me and invited me to join her and a few others to a rooftop bar in Makati. I thought, why not? I didn't have plans for the evening anyway (and I didn't want to eat dinner alone that night). Wait, come to think of it, the last time I was at a bar was when I was with culinary arts classmates at Distillery in Eastwood City almost a year ago... And I've never been to a rooftop bar.

Anyway, that Friday evening, I was fetched in Calamba by Sara, Man, Ando, and Hedia. We then picked up Zia and Marinel in Alabang before proceeding to Makati. Man's friend, Gab, met up with us when we reached Gramercy Tower. The group, then, became complete.

First stop: Greenbelt, for a bite at a tapas bar. This tapas bar, Cerveseria, did not resemble the tapas bar I've eaten at in Sydney, Australia. Cerveseria had dark interiors and loud techno music... Not the Spanish-themed music (and probably dance performances) I was expecting for this type of resto. While the food was good, the place was not conducive for conversation so talking was kept to a minimum and we concentrated on eating.

Second stop: 71 Gramercy along Kalayaan Avenue. I was telling Sara earlier (over lunch) that I knew the venue because my dentist's clinic was just around the corner. But good thing she insisted that I didn't drive over because the general location looked really different now compared to the last time I stopped by (that was last year and Gramercy was still in soft opening stage). Good call on the attire by Sara because we needed to dress smart to enter the venue... It's all about appearances; being really smart wasn't enough, if you get my drift. Anyway, the bar's located on the 71st floor and the balcony offered a bird's eye view of Metro Manila, even as far as west Manila Bay and as southwest as the airport in Sucat. I didn't venture onto the other side of the balcony though, but I'm betting that the view wasn't so good: A.Venue, Best Western, and the Quezon City skyline might be blocking the view of the mountainous areas of Rizal province in the east.

                          

After a few hours of admiring the view of the city skyline, people-watching at the party hosted by Raymond Gutierrez, bumping into several famous (read: I don't know many of them but they were name-dropped) people, and dancing to the techno music played by DJ Euric (a batchmate in Chalk Magazine's Bright Young Manila 2010) and one or two more DJs, we called it a night and went home.

It was a fun thing to try out, especially with the group that Sara invited. Thank you all for the great evening! 

Thinking back, this country mouse cannot stay long in the heights, borrowing the words of Peregrin Took in LOTR: Return of the King. This experience confirmed that I am not designed to be an urban girl. The sophisticated and chic club/bar scene isn't really my style. I prefer something more rustic: long walks (yes, count window shopping there), watching the sunset, driving on scenic routes... More importantly, this bar night confirmed that I prefer staying for hours in a coffee shop conversing with friends and drinking chocolate milkshakes (flashback to the Ronchie-Digi wedding after-party with college friends at Starbucks Tagaytay!) to listening to the deep bass beats and watching flashy light beams in a dark lounge area.