11:59 p.m. | 2004-12-30 A Perfect Day. UA (a colleague and friend) and I set out on our adventure today. We've been planning this trip for a while so we were both excited. We had tickets to visit a historical place (the one with historical gardens, if you�re a regular reader) in TheBigCity. We knew that the weather might mess with our plans but, trust me, there are a ton of other things to do in TheBigCity. We weren�t worried. And, initially, the weather was positively beautiful. The historical place? Very fascinating. The historical gardens? Absolutely beautiful and incredibly amazing. Surprisingly, we pretty much had free reign about the place so we did the tour thing first and then went exploring. As soon as we stepped outside, it started raining. However, we were prepared for that so we didn�t really care. Afterwards, we walked back to the car to retrieve UA�s cellphone and such. Oh, did I tell you about the great parking we found? No? Oh yeah. Great. Parking is a HUGE issue in TheBigCity and normally a very expensive � if not the most expensive � part of any trip. However, UA immediately spotted a great parking lot only a couple of blocks from where we wanted to go. (Typical charges are $6.00 per hour; we got all day parking for $12.00 total. �All day� was up until 11:00pm. We arrived at noon. Great deal there.) Better yet, UA had arranged for us to meet up with a friend of hers that lives in TheBigCity and she lives within walking distance of the parking lot. So we headed there next. We actually got to UAFriend�s (UAF) house before she got home from work so we sat on her stoop for a short time. I�ve been to TheBigCity many, many times but I�ve never known anyone that lived in the downtown area there. Like me, UAF has to park on the street only it�s way more complicated there than in MyTown. But UAF�s placed? Way totally cool. The view? Oh. My. God. You could never have a bad day with a view like that. From the front and the back. Parking and carrying groceries? Um, not so cool at all. But the view� good Lord. Fantastic. By then, UA and I were very, very hungry and ready for a drink and whatnot. We took complete advantage of UAF�s knowledge and had her take us to local joint. Well, she didn�t really �take� us there; we all walked. It was only a couple of blocks from her place. The local joint appeared to be a small corner bar. They had a bar area and some small caf� tables along the wall. And absolutely fabulous food. I had the cannelloni, UA had eggplant pizza and UAF had a turkey sandwich on foccacia bread. UA and I couldn�t decide if the place was a restaurant with a bar or a bar that serves great food. I love local places though. I hate going to other towns/cities/countries and eating at chain food places or hanging out in the tourist areas. Anyway, we hung out chatting as other friends of UA and UAF joined us. After a while, the bartender brought UA, UAF and I drinks on the house. Which was very cool. Eventually, UA and I left and headed home. Fortunately for me, UA did all the driving. She always does when we go places. I love her for that and I really love her for driving today since we had to go a distance and it was dark and pouring rain on the way home. I think she was actually excited to drive today since she got a new (two years old) car from her parents for Christmas. I paid for gas. It�s an arrangement that works well for both of us. It really was a perfect day. And, I think I like myself a little bit more now. your thoughts? seed flower