(Hi Dr. Nick!)

Anyway, hey. I just thought I'd write because, well, I get pressured into writing. Also because I don't have anything else to do. So here's the rundown:

My parents are in town. I picked them up from the airport last night, brought them to their very fine hotel (the Sorrento, in case you're interested), and sat around and had a few drinks and little appetizers in the hotel bar, because it was there. Good times were had by all. The hotel itself is just chock full of old-world charm, and the bar is a very traditional dark wood, brass fixtures type place, with one beer on tap: Stella Artois. That's really all you need. So, about 12am, I bid them adieu and came home and slept.

This morning, I went back over to their hotel for a nice breakfast (a malted Belgian waffle with honey whipped cream and fresh berries, mmm....), and then we went out on the town. We drove through downtown, I pointed out some of the more interesting sights (my favorite being the Lusty Lady peepshow sandwiched directly between the Harbor Steps apartments (a very desirable address) and the future Four Seasons. I'll bet the owners of both those places are just thrilled.

So, we drove around for a few looking for parking, found a place on the near-downtown and of Belltown, and began wandering. We wandered through the market (for quite a while), wandered past (and maybe into) Pike Place Chowder and grabbed a couple cups of soup for lunch (while being serenaded by a great a capella group singing mostly gospel and blues-type music), and then wandered some more. After that, we took a brief tour of Belltown, stopping in a few galleries and knick-knack type places, and seeing what was perhaps the highlight of the day - a black, high-backed leather settee, which was very comfortable, retailing for the low bargain price of $13,875.

It was quite comfortable.

We then proceeded back to my house, where my Mom and I played the longest, most painful game of Scrabble I've ever played (and that's saying something), and debated dinner.

We eventually decided on the Palace Kitchen, one of famous Seattle chef Tom Douglas' restaurants, and it's a good thing we did - everything was delicious. We started with marinated, apple wood grilled chicken wings (perfectly spicy and tender, mmm!), and what they call "Plins" - little tiny ravioli full of pork sausage and Swiss chard. They're a little bit like a tiny potsticker, but in a creamy sauce. A little sour, a little savory, a little bit of porky heaven. They were good.

For dinner, I decided to talk a walk on the wild side and have Tom's homage to corn - a sweet corn custard served atop a pan-fried white corn cake, atop a bed of sweet corn kernels, heirloom tomatoes, and arugula. I know, lots of corn - but it was delicious! An amazing variety of textures and tastes considering it was all corn - a sweet corn custard is actually a pretty delicious thing, and quite a neat trick.

My Mom had an entire grilled trout with new potatoes and some kind of bean, all of which was delicious, and my Dad had their burger - very well done, traditionally topped, served with a small mountain of the best french fries in recent memory. A rousing success.

Then back to my house, to watch House (I don't buy that diagnosis for a second - I'm watching you, House. The next completely off-the-wall diagnosis and I'm just going to write the *most* scathing letter. The MOST.) and sit around. Looks like tomorrow we'll ferry over to either Vashon Island or Bainbridge island - we've yet to decide.

Any suggestions? You've got almost 12 hours to let me know!