Bromance around town

A few things I saw men do in this town screamed romance to me. I know; I'm weird. ;-)

During my first week in town, I stumbled across three traditional bakeries.  Despite the time of the day, I saw only men going in; not a woman in sight.  Also, the amounts they bought were huge.  The word 'breadwinner" popped up in my head like a blinking light.  And their faces did look like that they were wearing that word as a badge, the seriousness and dedication on their faces gave out a hint of pride. 

Another activity I saw men enjoy was grooming.  Here, men and women grooming are conducted in separate venues (I could only see signage of women's beauty salons but never saw where they really are). Barber shops are on street level and open until late. Their busiest hours seem to be after dinner. The barbers, the clients and ones waiting all looked like they were old friends, chatting and laughing away. The whole atmosphere actually looked more like a social gathering than a commercial activity. I couldn't help but think that the reason why they looked so happy was the absence of women around them.

Another male-only activity here is fishing.  Since we are by the Corniche, fishing equipment shops line our neighbourhood.  My guess is that men don't have to be good anglers to enjoy the activity; the process of getting the gear or even just talking about it would be a great bonding time for them. 

When I walked past these places, what I saw was men feeling good about themselves.  Sometimes in the presence of other men; sometimes alone. Sometimes they get tactile and hold hands; sometimes they walk on their own.  Yet in this woman's eyes, they ooze a strong air of romance.