Madame Tussauds

Hello again, everyone.

As promised, I'm back with another post to tell you where we went after seeing the 9/11 Memorial.  Naturally, due to the serious tone of the memorial we were ready for some more upbeat fun. 

We left downtown Manhattan and hopped the subway to the heart of Times Square where we went to Madame Tussauds Wax Museum.  This was another place none of us had been.

After paying admission we took the elevator to the top floor and worked our way down as we were directed.  Our first sight upon the elevator doors opening was a huge RuPaul atop a fountain in the center of the room.  What an outfit!  Not many could pull that off, for sure!

Here's one of Jim and Tyra Banks.  Notice the smile on him.  LOL

Logan has read Ozzy's autobiography so he was happy to see Sharon and Ozzy on display.

I was milling around the room enjoying the exhibit when I heard a voice call, "honey".  I knew the voice and turned around to see Jim posing with a Rockette.  Do you see that smile on him? 

Here's one of Robin Williams and Logan.  

 Here's one of Cat and Bruce Willis. 

 There's Elle McPhearson and my again smiling husband.

Didn't realize Einstein was so short.

 What wax museum would be complete without Marilyn?  Actually, this museum had 2 Marilyn's.  Need I point out the smile on him?  Are ya starting to see a pattern here?

 

 Nathan Lane and the Gang.

   

A lotta leg here and Jim was drawn to her like a moth to flame.  And again with the smile.

What is it with him?  

Cat and Brangelina. 

 Some astronaut action.

Here we have Jim and Iron Man.  This was a very cool room for Jim.  He was in Superhero heaven with Spidey, Thor, Captain America and Superman all on display.

 That was one really big Hulk. 

We spent a couple of hours in the museum and saw lots of other celebrities from Louie Armstrong to Barbara Walters and countless others in between.  Some were spot on in likeness like Leonardo DiCaprio who I half expected to move and shake my hand and others were just a little bit off like Harrison Ford who I had trouble identifying at first.

It was an interesting exhibit and it really is amazing how the artists create these out of wax.  It's truly life-sized art.  Ok, in the case of the Hulk, larger than life but still art.

After all this walking we'd worked up quite an appetite.  We took the train back home and then went to dinner at my favorite Mexican restaurant.  It was a great day and we all had fun.  

Here's hoping you all take a day to be a tourist in your own town!

9/11 Memorial Visit

Hello, everyone.

It's been more than a while since I blogged but thanks to a gentle kick in the pants from my friend, Lisa, I'm here writing a long overdue post.  Thanks, Lisa!  LOL 

I hope you've been having a good winter.  We've had our share of both cold temps and snow so far but we didn't let that stop us hearty New Yorkers.  School has been closed this week for winter break.  Jim is on vacation so we've had a very much needed week to have some fun and reconnect as a family.  

We decided to take a trip into Manhattan and finally go see the 9/11 Memorial.  None of us have been down there yet so I guess it was time.

Here are Logan and Caterina on the subway as we headed into the city.  

Here are Jim and the kids while we waited in line to enter the memorial site.  It was windy and cold out there.  My eyes were tearing from the wind.  Happily, we didn't wait too long in line.  We didn't know it at this point but once we cleared this area, we had to go through security screening like that at an airport.  Ever so thankfully, the security screening was inside a building so we didn't freeze when we had to take off our coats prior to being screened.  The security process was a tad annoying but it was also quick and efficiently organized. 

Here's a shot of the Freedom Tower.  We saw this as soon as we came up out of the subway.   They're getting near the top with window installation.

 

Here's a picture of the Memorial.  It was a very powerful scene.  The sound of the water was loud.  I'd seen the Memorial on TV but I never thought of what it would sound like.  Due to the cold, there was a coating of ice on the walls beneath the water.  

  Another angle of it.

The roses in this name made us all stop and reflect for a moment.  Seeing the flowers made one realize these weren't just names cut into the steel.  They were loved ones for whom people still mourn. 

 This building will be the museum when it opens.

My memories of that awful day are still very vivid so I was unsure how visiting the site would make me feel.  I'm glad we went.  We were all affected by the site and I wonder if that isn't because we are New Yorkers and this was our city that was attacked.  We saw many people there who were not so respectful of the solemnity of the memorial.  I even saw a guy attempt to sit on the ledge where the names are so he could have his picture taken.  I was just about to say something but a security guard beat me to it and stopped him.  The guard even went so far as to chastise him for not having respect for where he was.  

I wish the events that caused this memorial to be built never happened but I'm glad there is a memorial, and a beautiful one at that.

This was just the beginning of our day.  I'll write about where we went after this later.

Wishing you all a peaceful night.   Thanks for reading.