suze

Not in specific response but I love to do tacky stuff traveling. I just returned from Switzerland and we didn't go to a movie (as we had in the past) because there was nothing BAD enough playing (Wesley Snipes as a vampire killer Part II in French without subtitles caught our interest the last time)!

ira

>...one should probably go to Tussauds at least once ...<

Same is true of spending a week in the Gulag. You will know why you didn't want to go.

FromAtlanta

Merseyheart,

I guess it is TRUE then that some people really do love cheese. I wonder why I did enjoy Rock Circus...I just turned 24 - I was in London for the first time - I don't know why. I just know that I did indeed LOVE Rock Circus.

Go figure

Kayb95

We went to the Elizabethan Banquest at Hatfield House and had a nice time. <b>www.theoldpalace.co.uk</b> It's actually held in an Elizabethan Hall - nice atmosphere, enjoyable evening. I haven't heard much good about the one in London.

And Madame Tussaud's may not be the British Museum, but it's fun. And those are the pictures that get the most attention when people are looking through the scrapbook.

vcl

At Mme Tussaud's, it's not the exhibits, it's the heat and the school trips that get to me. I long ago became convinced that there are no school buildings in Europe; all students are on perpetual field trips and they are all following me.
I may be growing old and curmudgeonly, but sometimes I wish there could be a few &quot;adults only&quot; day at tourist sites. Maybe that's why I'm taking a short break in Las Vegas, soon.

allisonm

Hey, Actor, I'm from &quot;upstate&quot; and I gush when I go to NY and see Rockefeller Center, especially at Christmas time!

I went to London for a week but never made it to Madame Tussads! We walked all the way from Marble Arch to the Tower and didn't even go in. What's wrong with us? We did jog across the park (and me with a mild hangover from being overserved in that damn pub!) to see the Changing of the Guard, and I don't regret a second of that. Go to the banquet and have fun!

Clifton

Ahh... The power of cheese.

I kind of enjoy a less than dignified moment myself, from time to time.

zwho

Be true to yourself and you won't go wrong. If you enjoy cheese and recognize it for what it is, whether its wax dummies or jousting knights (or whatever)have fun. If on the other hand you are going to spend the evening wondering why all the other people there are enjoying all the corn, find some tourist activity thats not geared to the lowest common denominator. You can be a tourist and get silly, but not waste your time! Ofcourse, if you have kids with you, nothing will be cheesy enough-ever!

FromAtlanta

Zwho,
I think your response was exactly what I needed.

Here is my decision: I'm not going. I AM a big kid at heart. I still LOVE going to toy museums, places like Cadbury World etc. ... BUT I am a 31yr old female who will be traveling solo.

I KNOW I will feel out of place there. - Yes, I admit, the little that I read about it, it does seem fun ... but I am at the point in my life where I rather spend that money on a theatre ticket. (I am a theatre finatic!)

Maybe if I had someone else there with me it would be different... I must admit that I do enjoy a good snack of cheese every now and then

Thank you to everyone who answered in a civilized manner. I have enjoyed this thread! We can still discuss our temptations for cheese if you like

SeaUrchin

I think you have made the right decision, for a person traveling alone it would not be fun. The fun of it would be to see your party's reactions and to interact with your own friends and family and with those next to you.

I agree, go to a play, it will be more satisfying. I didn't realize you were a solo traveler.

Anonymous

FromAtlanta, you probably made the right decision -- but here's my 2 cents' worth in case you change your mind or come up with a traveling companion:

As others have said, most of the London-area medieval banquets will be a dreadful waste of precious vacation time and money. BUT we had a great time at Hatfield, which is outside London, but is not the one in Warwick.

Hatfield is where young Elizabeth I lived, and the hall where the banquet is held is the very place where she held her first council meeting upon learning that she had inherited the throne. Yikes, real history!

The show, based on her dad's life, is corny but the performers are very talented, especially the juggler. The humor was very impressive, being PG-rated but so full of double-entendres that it also qualified as genuinely Elizabethan-bawdy! The food was fine and even semi-authentic, they do provide silverware (which not all of these banquets do), and the mead flowed freely.

I believe that several bus companies offer tours up to the Hatfield banquet, you can probably trace them through the banquet links above. There's a train station nearby, but IIRC the last train leaves too early.

SiobhanP

I could list the things that I would find cringeworthy in Dublin....but its still a part of the fun.

When I lived in NY all my British friends were going to the top of the Empire State Building paying a fortune for the pictures they take with the silly props or cardboard drops. I was born in Manhatten and still have never been to the top and now couldnot be bothered.

Saying that when I am somewhere else I go for it if it looks fun even though it may be cheesey.

2 years ago on St Patricks day we just gave in and bought 2 green afros they were selling on the streets and just had a good laugh all day. Our friends were disgusted (secretly jealou I think) and we completely embarassed them. AT the end of the night in the pub they were all fighting to wear the wigs.

Who cares what anyone tinks just have fun!

circa2

Patrick...

I loved Madame Tussauds.
After hearing about it all your life...you have to go..at least I did.

The best thing I liked about it was it help me put &quot;history&quot; in perspective.
Not being a scholar in English history;
It was a nice overview thru the years, putting names and faces together.

Touristy...yes: Fun...yes.