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January 05, 2006
Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum + St. Paul's Cathedral
The man who emancipated slaves in this free country and realised public universities, example of which includes Purdue University, from laws of land development grants which he enacted during his presidency, Abraham Lincoln has always been my role model. Not surprisingly, his wax figure was seated among famous counterparts around the world in Madam Tussaud's wax museum. Thanks, Mr. Lincoln!
December 20, 2005
I was bedazzled by the presence of Julia Roberts standing behind a couch, with George Clooney sitting nearby with his outreached hand as if offering a glass of wine. Hugh Grant was standing across the hallway flashing his million-dollar smile; J. Lo was shying away from the Rock's glaring look; Brangelina became prince charming and wicked queen respectively while Jennifer 'Snow White' Aniston stood alone, looking forlorn; Bush and Blair acted cow.
I was in the first gallery of Madame Tussaud's wax museum situated at Baker Street (yes, THE Baker Street where Sherlock Holmes lived). It featured most celebrated people in the world. In the subsequent galleries there were:
1. famous singers/rockers (Michael Jackson, Elvis Presley etc)
2. actors (Robin Williams, Harrison Ford, Arnold Schwarzenegger
3. Sylvester Stallone, James Dean etc), politicians/leaders (Saddam Hussein and Adolf Hitler were there, among other famous leaders)
4. Old English monarchy (King James, King George, Queen Victoria, Queen Elizabeth I etc)
5. artisans/poet/artsy-fartsy people (Oscar Wilde, Shakespeare, Picasso etc)
6. people with great contributions (Albert Einstein, Stephen Hawkings, Issac Newton, Ghandi, Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King etc)
We even went to Live Chamber of Horror, a special part of the exhibition where notorious murderers and methods of execution were displayed. I personally thought that the walk through the dark tunnel filled with 'dead' walking corpses (they were actually actors) a bit cheesy and senseless, but the displays on guillotine, hang rope, infamous murderers and the French revolutionists' executions were amazing. I learned that Madame Tussaud, the little lady who started that museum, lived during the French Revolution and was responsible to take death masks of those condemned to death by decapitation. with her collection, she consequently had the idea of establishing a museum of famous figures of the world. To learn more about Madame Tussaud, click here.
We had lunch at brother's apartment. He cooked cheesy chicken and spinach with white rice. Which tasted good by the way.
Next, we toured St. Paul's Cathedral, built after the old cathedral was heavily damaged in the Great Fire of 1666. It's pillars, statues, tombs, and the majestic dome rising up to 150 feet tall, were all chalk white in color. Upon entering through the cathedral's vestibule, we were greeted with the sight of vast tiled floor, high ceiling decorated with golden linings, frescoes and Christian scriptures, windows with tinted glass, and huge tombs around the place. We attended the traditional Catholic Evensong, a service of singing hymns. I felt that it was too proper for me to follow.
It was dark by the time the service was over. We walked across Thames River on Millennium Bridge and strolled around the area by the bank. It was filled with bars and, surprisingly, a prison museum. Bro was actually looking for London Bridge but we didn't realize we passed through it until a few miles later. Hungry but unfazed, we double backed and finally walked on London Bridge. Tower Bridge was just nearby.
Took a bus back to bro's place and had dinner (chicken wings and chips). Brother performed his best magic tricks while Joyce came up with some tough Math puzzles and games. Bro's friend from Shanghai chipped in with a bit of professional magic tricks too. It was fun :)
Satisfied of the tour for the day, we retired back to hotel and headed for slumberland.
To be continued>>
Posted by peixin at January 5, 2006 01:17 PM
Comments
Hey I also went to the Madame Tussaud's in NYC. But it originated from London. And there's a St. Paul's Cathedral which I didn't go.
Good luck with studies!
Posted by: Khoon Yu at January 6, 2006 02:12 PM