Fred and Valerie

It was a fun 10 days, but we’re finally back home! The full web site, complete with pictures and description, will take a while to put together, but it’ll happen sooner or later. Good night!

It turns out London’s not quite as bad as we first thought. Since our last post, we…

• Switched to Frommer’s walking tours and have enjoyed the sightseeing much more.
• Saw the play “The Woman in Black” and really enjoyed it.
• Had a decent lunch and a great Italian dinner and another good lunch at an authentic English pub.
• Got a front-row view to watch the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace.
• Got a front-row view of what happens when someone forgets their backpack outside Buckingham Palace following the changing of the guard and the police go into This-Might-Be-A-Bomb Mode.
• Saw the poor guy claim his forgotten bag.
• Visited the Temple Church, featured in “The DaVinci Code.”
• Went to Harrod’s and bought chocolates.

And that takes us up to right now. Like the other posts, there is a lot of stuff missing between those bullet points and we’ll fill in all the details later. The good thing is that we’re enjoying our time in London and are thinking of going to see another play/musical!

Can we go back to Paris?

We arrived in London today after a small flight delay out of Paris. We managed our way through the Underground to our hotel (very surprising given that we booked it through Priceline!) and took a quick nap before starting a Fodor’s walking tour.

As we walked the walking tour, the one that took us down the River Thames to see all the main sights in London, we couldn’t help but be a bit underwhelmed. Over and over and over again, Valerie and I remarked how it just wasn’t Paris. The architecture is less interesting. The sights are less interesting. Everything is just less interesting. And we don’t even feel like we’re in a foreign land. We suspect it has to do with English being the native language.

When we at dinner, everything was bland. The favorite, and seemingly only, seasoning used was salt. I had never had salty pasta until tonight. And I had never tasted tasteless soup until tonight, either.

Don’t get me wrong, we’re still having fun, but this certainly puts into perspective exactly how much fun we had in Paris. We’re already talking about taking another international trip (next year?) and hitting Paris and then Italy or Spain. No matter what, Paris will be a part of the trip and a non-English-speaking country will likely be the second part of the trip.

I want my French pasteries and food back!!!

We’re still having fun in Paris! Since our last post, we…

• Tried to visit the Louvre, but couldn’t fit it in our limited schedule.
• Tried to visit the Louvre at night, but they didn’t have the night tours yet.
• Walked another Fodor’s walking tour.
• Sat down for dinner just before it poured down raining.
• Continued the walking tour amid the wet streets of Paris at night and took some amazing photographs.
• Enjoyed a night walk from the Louvre to the Arc de Triumph, taking pictures the entire way.
• Passed out after midnight… again.

More fun is to follow and we’ll post all about it!

Since arriving in Paris yesterday morning (according to Paris time), we’ve had a blast. Yesterday, we rode the Metro/Train into Paris from the airport and then checked into our hotel room. The Metro/Train ride was pretty crazy and we’ll write more about it later. In fact, we’ll write more about all of this later. After checking in, we…

• Completed a Fodor’s “See It: Paris” walking tour.
• Saw Notre Dame when we got lost on the walking tour.
• Walked 2 hours to find a place to eat dinner and ended up at a place just a few doors down from the hotel.
• Had a delicious dinner.
• Used my limited knowledge of the French language numerous times!
• Went to Chateau de Versailles.
• Found the “super secret tour” at Chateau de Versailles that’s not only cheaper, but less FAR less crowded. We have the pictures to prove it!
• Got our shoes dirty walking around Chateau de Versailles.
• Did another Fodor’s “See It: Paris” walking tour… complete with rain.
• Figured out how to use the public toilets.
• Had an amazing dinner!
• Saw the Eiffel Tower at night. I know it’s cliche to say that pictures don’t begin to do it justice, but they don’t. Not even close.
• Got lucky enough to see the “light show” at the Eiffel Tower. One thing is certain: tourists are easily impressed by flashing bulbs.
• Waited 25 minutes for the Train back to the hotel tonight.

That’s about it for now. There’s a lot of stuff to fill the gaps between those bullet points and we already have a full text and picture web site planned for when we return. To say that Paris is wonderful is an understatement. We’re having an absolute blast and can’t wait to experience even more!

We’re back for some more American Idol fun. Last week, the contestants managed to make it through the music of Queen. This week, they’ll tackle Rod Stewart. I’m hoping we’ll get some great performances tonight. Only time will tell…

“The family unit shrinks again.” Words of profound wisdom from Ryan. Why is Simon always laughing/looking at Paula weird? Is it because he can smell her drink?

Boy, Rod Stewart isn’t looking all that good. But his fiancee is! I’m sure she’s in it for his personality. He looks a bit old to be having a tiny baby.

Chris Daughtry
Wow! He’s going first! And he’s singing “Oh, What a Wonderful World?!” I’m a HUGE fan of Louis Armstrong’s version. I hope I like this. I’m okay with the song, but he looks too much like a 1930′s gangster for me. It’s weird watching Chris without any strobe lights flashing. I have to admit that I like him showing a different side of his singing. It’s not too vocally challenging to this point, but it’s good. I think that went over very well. Valerie said, “I think he did good, but I don’t like his outfit.” Kind of funny given that she’s not reading what I’m typing. “Oh my God! Look at her boobs!” That was Valerie’s comment on Paula’s outfit. I actually agree with Simon. I think Simon was the one to push Chris to sing that. Why is Ryan so concerned with Chris’ eye makeup? Or lack thereof.

Paris Bennett
I’ve never heard this song before, but I definitely like it! “This is the type of album she should record,” says Valerie. I like the look, too! Not too old, but not too young. I think she’s really shining this week! I love her range. I could listen to this for hours upon hours. Look out McPhee, Paris might be taking over as the best voice in the competition. Wow! That was just outright spectacular! You go, Paris! I completely agree with Randy, dog. Paula just agreed with Valerie about the album. I also completely agree with Simon. Awesome all the way around!

Taylor Hicks
Ugh! It’s the tired Taylor Hicks again. Where the Hell did the Taylor Hicks go that we saw last week?!?! It’s good enough singing, but it’s not Taylor. It’s not the Taylor that I enjoyed listening to; the one I wanted to buy tickets for his concert. Well, there was a little bit of the old Taylor, but I don’t know if it was enough. Good stuff at the end. I suppose he pulled it off. Good song overall, but I wish he had picked something where it was him for the whole song. I think I’d agree with Simon: “It started and I thought, ‘lame cabaret’ and then [snap the fingers] magic.”

Elliott Yamin
I’m not too impressed with his practice singing, but it’s the right type of song for Elliott. “Oh, drop the girls,” says Valerie. I agree. They’re a bit too much and they’re taking away from Elliott’s singing. I like the way he’s coming on strong at the end. I actually believe the singing. I liked it. I really liked it. Valerie thinks Paula’s boobs are growing… during the show. “In the ‘American Idol Zone?’” What is that, Paula? Unfortunately, I think Simon might be right. Elliott might be in danger simply because he can be forgettable.

Kellie Pickler
I’m digging the practice singing. “You took a load off my chest?” Kellie, stick to singing. Valerie thinks she took a load off her chest and gave it to Paula. Wow, I’m really impressed with Kellie’s singing tonight. She may be the most developed singer of the competition compared to where they started from. Valerie, of course, doesn’t like it. I think she still has something against Kellie. Ooh! That last note wasn’t that good. Valerie pointed out that Simon has his head on the table. Overall good, but she did get a bit pitchy. Randy noticed the pitchiness. When Paula points out your fashion, you know you’re in trouble. Simon clearly didn’t like it. Kellie might be in trouble this week.

Ace Young
“He gave me a stamp of approval,” says Ace. That’s more than he got from Queen, that’s for sure. What the…?!?! He looks like a bad rendition of Antonio Banbadass. And his singing is just okay. He’s definitely doing the hand hold stare to the camera with this song. I’m waiting for it. The falsetto was okay, but i’m not feeling it that much. Valerie thinks he looks like a waiter and I’m inclined to agree. Dangit! No hand hold stare! But we did get the fake sincerity. No, it’s not a whole new Ace, Paula. It’s just the same one with a bad hairdo. Nah, I have to disagree with the lot of them.

Katharine McPhee
Okay, so maybe she still does have the best voice in the competition. This is definitely her kind of song. I’m liking this. I’m not as into it as Paris’ song, but it’s good. It’s certainly CD-quality singing. And she looks quite the professional singer there at the end. Overall a top-notch performance. She can’t hear for the cheering. She deserves it. Did Paula just say Katharine was eloquent? Paula, stop interrupting Simon because he actually has something to say. Rock on, Katharine!

Quick Recaps
I actually like this version of Chris. I’ve always liked this version of Paris! Dangit! Our stupid DVR cut short the recording! Oh well…

My bottom three for this week are Ace, Elliott, and [surprise!] Kellie Pickler. I think Ace is going home.

Valerie and I went to Food Lion tonight to pick up an onion, a can of soup, and a lottery ticket. The latter being Valerie’s attempt at us being able to retire early.

We picked up the onion and proceeded to the soup aisle. I was hitting Valerie in the butt with the onion. For fun. We looked at the soups and I pointed out a 98% fat free version of the Cream of Chicken soup we were looking for. Valerie got a can and then we found the regular version and went to put back the first can of soup. Unfortunately, they have these new contraptions in the soup aisle to keep a can of soup ready and waiting for the next customer. I tried to put the can of soup back in the top of the contraption, but it wouldn’t fit, so I stood it on its end and put it in. Well, apparently this is the way to trigger the contraption to fail completely because cans of soup came flying out at us.

One of the cans fell and the edge landed right on the meaty part of my hand (right behind the thumb). It hurt pretty bad. In fact, it still hurts pretty bad.

We decided to let the management know about the dangers of the contraption. Afterall, we were just trying to put back a can of soup. Then again, maybe that’s how they keep you from putting back cans of soup.

We told management about the incident and they asked if I wanted to fill out an accident report. Thinking I might find out later that the injury is worse than first thought, I agreed. They proceeded to ask about a billion questions and we walked out of Food Lion about a half hour later than we originally intended.

The funny part was when the woman typing up the accident report asked another manager if there was surveillance camera for aisle four. Valerie and I later got a good laugh about the thought of them watching me hit Valerie’s butt with the onion over and over and over again.

[NOTE: Valerie wants me to clarify that it was a bag with an onion in it, not just the onion itself. It was completely sanitary, folks.]

[NOTE #2: Valerie has informed me that we didn't use the onion nor the soup tonight. So, basically my hand is killing me because Valerie wanted a lottery ticket. We better win that frickin' jackpot now. Otherwise, I'm gonna be pissed.]

Time to hear the Top 8 sing their stuff. They’ll be trying to match the extraordinary talents of Freddie Mercury tonight by singing songs from Queen. Something tells me this is going to be a massive train wreck.

Let’s meet the judges. Whaddup, Randy? Dog? Paula already looks drunk and has her straw ready to sip her “mystery juice.” Simon looks like he enjoys watching Paula drunk.

On with the disaster!.. er, show.

Ucky Covington
If Ucky can’t say his B’s, then he’s “Ucky” from now on. Ucky’s going to be singing Fat Bottomed Girls. This should be interesting. Or not. Go figure, he’s putting a country twang in it. What the hell is he saying? If I had never heard this song before, I wouldn’t have a clue what the words were. Remove the marbles, Ucky. Whoa! He’s doing the mic toss again tonight. Fancy stuff tossing the mic from one hand to the other. You go, Ucky! He did good enough, even though I have no idea what he said. I don’t think he’ll get booted based on that. Ucky’s wife is kind of pretty. I wonder if she can understand what he says. Put one in the column for Paula telling someone they, “stayed true to themselves.” Um, what did he just say to Ryan? Seriously, does ANYBODY know what he’s saying? Is there a translation guide somewhere?

Ace Young
Ace is taking on “We Will Rock You.” Seems the band didn’t like his “arrangement.” He’s spreading his arms like he’s going to fly or something. He’s actually doing an okay job with the song. Okay, I didn’t like that little “going low” part. He should have gone high, like Freddie Mercury would have. Yeah, it was okay overall, but it wasn’t really exciting. His brother seemed to like it. Why is the guy from the Monkees there? I’m with Randy, dog. It was definitely about a 5 or a 6 and karaoke. Uh oh, you know Ace did bad when Paula didn’t tell him she’s his biggest fan! Simon certainly didn’t like it. And yes, Ace did forget some of the words. Not a good performance for Ace.

Kellie Pickler
“Bohemian Rhapsody.” Can anyone top Wayne and Garth’s performance? Okay, she’s sung the first two lines and I already don’t like it. I’m feeling parts of it, but overall I’m scared for Kellie. I’m totally picturing the Wayne’s World scene right now and Kellie isn’t really doing it justice. And this arrangement is god-awful. Ace might actually get saved by Kellie. That wasn’t good at all. Randy’s on crack. C’mon Paula, tell her she’s a breath of fresh air. Dangit, she didn’t. Wow, I can’t believe the judges actually liked it. Kellie and Simon trying to talk through their accents is quite funny.

Chris Daughtry
Chris is doing “Innuendo.” Don’t worry, I had never heard of it before today either. This is definitely a Chris song. Wow, look at those strobe lights go! Turn away if you have epilepsy. He always seems so angry. Good performance overall. Not my type of music/singing, but I don’t see Chris going away after that performance. Did Paula really say that the only reason Queen had never performed that song live was because Chris is the only one who could sing it? She’s stupid. And drunk. I do agree with Simon. The song was indulgent.

Katharine McPhee
Valerie already asked, “What’s she wearing?” In a bad way. Ooh, ooh, I wanna join the VIP section of AmericanIdol.com! Okay, maybe not. Why is Katharine changing the lyrics? Why not just pick a different song? Ugh. Katharine clearly has the best singing voice in the competition. This is pretty nice. Holy crap! She’s singing the hell out of this song! Valerie doesn’t like it. She, “feels like [Katharine's] screaming at me.” I liked it. Valerie didn’t. What do the judges think? Randy thought it was okay. Is that Fantasia behind Paula?! I agree with Simon. That was “probably the strongest one tonight.”

Elliott and Taylor coming up. I really can’t picture either one singing Queen. This should be… well, we’ll see.

Elliott Yamin
Yeah, he’s a better singer than DJ. He’s singing a song he’d never heard before last week. This could be bad. Whoa! Elliott might actually sound the closest to Freddie Mercury out of all the contestants. He’s actually doing okay. Valerie’s face seems to suggest she doesn’t think so. I think he might be helped by nobody knowing the song. This could make things interesting. Elliott was near the bottom last week, but he might have pulled it off this week. Even Randy thinks he sings like Freddie Mercury! Looks like the judges liked it.

Taylor Hicks
“We are the Champions” Or so we thought! He’s singing “A Crazy Little Thing Called Love.” Hell yeah! You go, Taylor! This is the Taylor that we used to know and love! Okay, the whiff on kicking the mic stand was bad, but he’s recovering well. For weeks now I’ve wondered where the old Taylor Hicks went and I’m happy to report HE’S BACK!!! WOW! That was totally and completely unexpected! Taylor rocked the house and made everybody else look lame! Randy agrees with me! Woohoo! Paula finally called someone a “breath of fresh air.” Simon’s an ass. It wasn’t ridiculous, Simon. It’s called fun! I agree, Randy, maybe Simon’s drunk.

Paris Bennett
It’s going to be tough to follow that performance by Taylor. With Paris having been in the bottom 3 last week, she’s going to have to have a stellar performance to avoid the bottom this week. The guys from Queen think Paris is “damn good!” I have to agree. Let’s hope she rocks it. Here comes “The Show Must Go On.” I’m not sure I like the older looking Paris, but it fits for this song. Valerie think she “has Paula’s hairdo.” She’s singing well, but she’s not really commanding the stage. She actually looks a bit lost up there, which is surprising for Paris. That’s the second time she had to pause and look at putting the mic in the stand. Overall, a good performance, but that was tough following Taylor. I love how Ryan alludes to Simon not saying anything useful. He clearly doesn’t listen to Paula

Quick Replays
Bucky did okay. Ace was okay. Kellie might be in trouble. Chris was Chris. Why are they showing the part where Katharine was off key? Elliott did surprisingly well. You rock, Taylor!!! Paris was okay.

This is going to be a tough bottom 3. I’m going to call it Katharine, Ace, and Paris. I think Paris will be voted off. I would have put Kellie in the bottom 3, but she seems to have a good fan base.

Valerie and I are American Idol fans. We’re even in a bit of an American Idol office pool.
Please stop laughing.

Anyhow, Valerie suggested I should blog about what we think of the singing as it happens, so that’s what this is. Let the singing begin!

Taylor Hicks
We’re not feeling it. It’s not Taylor’s usual spunky self. I’m a fan of Taylor’s, but not tonight. When will Paula say something useful? The only really good thing about Taylor’s performance was the snappy comeback by Ryan. It may be his first funny comeback of the year, which really isn’t saying much.

Mandissa
What’s her last name? I’m digging it. Not sure it works for her, though. Valerie thought it was just okay. I thought it was pretty dang good! The judges didn’t really like it; Simon especially. Will Ryan and Simon just kiss already?

Elliot Yamin
Kenny Rogers said he should make people want to cry. It looks like Elliot’s about to cry and, as Valerie said, he looks pretty bored. I’m bored by this rendition. Pretty bad, in my opinion. Watching grass grow might be more fun than that. Paula finally told someone they were a breath of fresh air. It only took her until the third singer tonight. I wonder how many singers before she labels someone a ray of light/sunshine. She also managed to say absolutely nothing about his singing. The judges were nicer than we were. Why is Elliot still nervous at this point in the competition? He’s right, he should be used to it by now. Wimp.

At this point in the competition, Valerie thinks the best part has been Simon saying that Ryan looks like he’s trying to get a spot on Desperate Housewives. Nice dig at Ryan’s newly exposed relationship with Terri Hatcher.

Paris Bennett
Why is Ryan so interested in her hair style? Taking pointers? Paris singing country should be interesting. Okay, Paris has taken over the competition in my mind. Valerie, “isn’t feeling it.” She also, “sings that better than [Paris] does.” I can’t say I disagree. “That hurt me,” was Valerie’s response to Paris’ high note. Maybe it’s just me. I still like the performance. Valerie thinks, “there wasn’t any emotion behind what she was singing.” Paula saying something negative?! Oh my word! Valerie has “lost all respect for Simon.” Personally, I agree with him.

Ace “Prettyboy” Young
Twenty bucks says he holds his hand out and holds a note to the camera as he stares with a “deep” look at some point during the song. Valerie likes this and says, “that sucks.” She doesn’t like Ace. Personally, I think it’s okay. Not much of a wow to me. Nice falsetto work, though. Dangit! I lost twenty bucks. First week he didn’t do it… ever! I agree with Randy, dog. Paula looks (and sounds!) drunk. She also looks like she wants to jump Ace’s bones. Apparently he’s single. I guess he just hasn’t found the right man, yet.

How funny is it that they advertised American Dreamz during American Idol?

Kelly Pickler
“Look at my boobies,” says Valerie… in reference to Kelly’s dress. Valerie’s not too happy to find out that Kelly’s real. She thinks Kelly’s fake. She’s never lived in the DEEP South. I have and I believe Kelly. I had friends like Kelly in college. Scary. I’m liking this performance. Hell YEAH, Kelly! You go, girl. Kelly’s really brought it on in recent weeks. Funny that she seemed almost on the outside looking in a while ago. Wow! Someone else got strobe lights other than Chris! The producers must think Kelly has a chance to win. Valerie noticed that Bucky also does the squat-and-point thing. Yeah, I liked that. The performance, that is. Not the squat-and-point thing. Valerie said, “that was good” as if she was disappointed. She thinks Kelly’s fake. Did I mention that already? She cites some crappy voting for the worst web site as her proof. They never lived in the DEEP South, either. I once knew a guy who didn’t know how to fill out a blank check. Seriously. That’s the kind of place Kelly’s from. I believe her.

The results show is at 9 pm? Oh, hey! Chris Rock shows up for Country night. Interesting.

Chris Daughtry
Chris is going out on a limb by not rockin’ it tonight. I’m not sure what I think of it right now. He looks a bit too intense for the song. Definitely NOT the typical Chris song. I haven’t been a big fan of Chris, but he’s done okay. Just okay, in my opinion. I bet Paula wants to jump his bones. Yep, she does. I tend to agree with Simon. I did think the song was kind of boring. Okay, but boring. No wow factor. I think Ryan wants to jump Chris’ bones, too.

Katharine McPhee
I’m scared by her song selection. Damn, she’s singing the heck out of it, though. She’s probably the most professional looking and sounding one of the bunch tonight. And thankfully she’s got a decent outfit on! She seems more like the guest star singer than a contestant to me. She’s separating herself from the group in my opinion. “I liked that,” said Valerie… in a good way. I think I might have McPheever. Paula just called her sexy. Weird. Katharine actually nailed Simon; he just doesn’t like Country music. I think she’s right. Even Simon agreed.

And now we have Bucky, Mr. Country, closing out the show. “Crap, who are we going to vote off,” asks Valerie. Maybe it’ll be Bucky. Wouldn’t that be ironic?

Bucky Covington
I hope he’s taken the marbles out of his mouth for tonight’s song. Valerie “hopes he keeps them in” because she needs someone to vote off. She doesn’t want to vote for Paris. Don’t let us down, Bucky! They’re showing the practice and Valerie thinks we’re okay. It sounds like he’s saying, “moring” instead of “morning.” Did he just say I’m “only the West he’s ever had?” Seriously, what the heck is he saying? “It’s not so ad?” Yep, I’m definitely only the West he’s ever had. Valerie stuck her tongue out at him. I don’t think she liked it. Yep, Paula’s drunk. They “probably” shined? Did they or didn’t they? Well, I suppose that’s pretty close to being a ray of sunshine.

Quick Replays
Taylor is struggling. Mandissa rocked it. (Elliot was forgettable, again) Paris was okay. Ace was good. Kelly was awesome. Chris was okay. Katharine was good. Bucky still thinks I’m the West he’s ever had.

The bottom three are Taylor, Elliot, and Bucky. Bucky’s out. Valerie thinks the bottom three are Elliot, Paris, and Bucky. “God, I hope Bucky’s out,” she says. We’ll find out tomorrow.