The husband is officially sick. We both started out yesterday with a runny nose and tickly cough, but I got over mine and he got worse. Neither of us got enough sleep last night, but I got up and went down to Boots for some cough syrup. It didn't really help him too much, though. I did decide while I was out that we should try to go to Stonehenge. We've been told it's disappointing, but before we got here it was the one thing I wanted to do outside London. I think I'll regret not going more than any possible disappointment. Maybe on Sunday...
We made it over to Madame Tussauds Wax Museum today. The title of the blog kind of sums it up. There was a long line to get in and it was fairly expensive. The first room was all of the movie stars and it was a madhouse - the people taking pictures were so obnoxious. Maybe I'm jaded working in the industry, but I just didn't see the thrill of having a picture taken with a wax figure of somebody I've worked with or may work with in the future. I did take a picture of Simon Cowell, though. My cat Darby thinks he's dreamy.
We got out of there as soon as we could and headed into the room with the historical and political figures. I really wanted the husband to take my picture with Bush, with me flipping him off or giving him bunny ears, but he wouldn't. We did notice that Saddam's plaque had undergone a renovation...
Skipping the chamber of horrors (husband steadily declining, me not really enjoying that kind of stuff), we took the ride through the history of London. Our audio track didn't work most of the time, but it was an ok ride. Apparently the guy loading the "taxis" flirted with me, but I never really recognize it and the husband had to point it out before I realized it had actually happened. It's an issue that Shrink and I have been discussing.
By that point, it was time to go. We were disappointed in the whole thing. The wax figures looked impressive from a distance, but you can get right up next to them and it's not a good thing. They just don't hold up. And the "shows" they put on were mostly audience participation skits - I've never been a fan of that sort of thing. For the money I pay, I want to see some semblance of professionalism. And I've always had a fear of stuff like that coming to life - dolls, marionettes, puppets, etc. Gaining consciousness and trying to kill you in your sleep. Creepy.
I did see a t-shirt I liked in a gift shop on the way to the tube station. I'd been waiting to buy one until I found something really good. It's got the map of the underground on it. Since it was a sunny day, the husband suggested we go to Trafalgar Square and try to get better pictures of the lions around Nelson's Column. I was up for that so we did, but it really wore him out. By the time we were heading home, he was done. I sent him on and went to the store for more drinks and some cold medicine.
It was a quiet afternoon then. Not much to say about the rest of the day. But I do have some disappointments I'd like to mention, since the wax museum opened the door:
1) I really hate smoking in restaurants. It's not allowed in California and I'm glad for now that I've been subjected to it while here.
2) Ordering food in a pub should not be a guessing game. Will someone come to us? Do we order at the bar? Are there any seats? Do they even serve food at this hour? I can't wait for the host station to reappear in my life.
3) Christmas pudding. I bought a "luxury" Christmas pudding at the store today. Yes, I know Christmas was 2 weeks ago, but I don't think that would have made a difference. Christmas pudding seems to be fruitcake in a bowl. Blech.
4) Everything shuts down around 7pm. Unfortunately that's not too much different from home, but I don't like it anywhere.
5) British TV - we have 12 stations here in the apartment. Not a lot, but we do have all the BBC channels. They suck. There is rarely anything on worth watching. Most of the time it's a rerun of something American. And stuff shows at the weirdest times. They must skim the cream to send over on BBC America. The rest is just awful.
That's it for today. Don't want to leave the impression I don't like London, because I really do. I just seem to like the past more than the present.
Breakfast was a bacon, egg, & cheese muffin from McDonalds. I really wanted a biscuit, but they don't seem to do that kind of biscuit over here. Also had an eclair - yummy, and tried a hot cross bun - didn't like it and tossed it out.
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