Not What I Expected

Upon arrival in Sydney one of the first things on my list was to get myself a pedicure. I hadn't worn thongs (translation: flip flops) for months so you can imagine how desperately I wanted to get some lively shade of pink painted on my toes! I made a booking (translation: reservation) to get one at the hotel salon.

Let's just say it was not what I expected.

When you get a pedicure in the U.S. the person doing the sanding, buffing and polishing generally sits on something like this:



The customer usually sits in a chair, or if it's a nice place you might get a fancy massage chair like this:


So you can imagine my surprise when she walked me to a back room and told me to lay down on a table like this:


I almost stopped to ask for clarification:
I'm here for a pedicure so my feet will look good in thongs, not for a bikini wax so I'll look good in a thong, right?

I climbed up, awkwardly bending my legs (while wearing a skirt) to soak them in the foot bath placed at the end of the table. The rest of the process was pretty standard although it took at least twice as long as any U.S. pedicure I've ever had. The whole ordeal cost me $75 plus a tip (which I later learned is not expected in Australia).

And, of course, my pretty pink toes were smudged no less than 3 hours later while traipsing through the Botanic Garden.