My birthday was amazing!!! Best birthday yet. I had a fun filled day ahead of me, so I took all the time I wanted getting ready. Kristen (my best friend here) wanted to do something special for me so she invited me over for breakfast. She made the most amazing, good for you, smoothies I have ever had. There was absolutely everything in it from spinach to Greek yogurt. We just relaxed all morning long while the boys were at class. It is so nice to have a friend here that I can spend some good quality time with. She had her ultra sound to go to so I headed home, put AJ down for a nap and enjoyed a few hours to myself. AJ's gift to me was a good long nap!
I had been waiting all day for Joe to get done with school so I could open my presents and head to DC for our birthday adventure. It was finally time! I packed up the baby and headed down the street. We got back and I ripped through my presents: there was a lovely card from Grandma Collier,
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| Pie essentials from Joe's parents |
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| Temple slippers (knit of course) and some cash from my parents |
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| And a very tasteful umbrella, that I can't wait to use, from Joe! |
Thank you to everyone for the gifts and the sweet birthday calls. (Even if they were a day late. :)
Off we went. I was starving because Joe had told me to wait to eat until we left.
We drove by Red Robin and picked up my traditional Birthday Burger. This time we had it on the go. It isn't quite the same experience to eat a gourmet burger in the car, but it still tasted great.
On our way we stopped to get my birthday "cake" at the Moo Thru. Cake batter and caramel ice cream with rainbow sprinkles on top. Just like a cake, only better!
We sang our way into town. Cruisin' down the road to Disney tunes and movie sound tracks. This trip seems to be getting shorter and shorter. We pulled up to our hotel sooner than I expected. It was beautiful!
The Fairfax at Embassy Row. The foyer was amazing, and the staff was so helpful, but it was also $40 to park your car! we opted out and decided to drive to our next location and figure out parking later. We found a parking garage about 3 blocks away from Madame Tussauds Wax museum for only $7. As we walked closer and closer the parking got more and more expensive. The one the website suggested that we park at cost $16 an hour! Totally worth the little walk.
We walked in and began our celebrity tour! It was kind of creepy at first. They are surprisingly life like. I felt like all these people were just staring at me. I even poked one of the presidents in the eye to be sure he wasn't real.
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| Abe Lincoln even let AJ sit on his lap. |
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| AJ fought in the trenches...the hat was made of metal so I didn't want to just drop it on his head, he would have fallen over. |
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| J Edgar Hoover |
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| The Kennedys |
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| AJ made and important announcement from the White House that there would be free ice cream for everyone on his birthday every year! |
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| I guess AJ doesn't like him so much! |
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| Joe took on The Rock, |
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| While I got flirting tips from Marilyn Monroe |
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| One of Joe's favorite actors, Morgan Freeman |
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| I got to spend a few minutes with my movie crush, George Clooney. Definitely one of those men that aged very well. |
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| J Lo...what more can I say! |
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| This picture is for you David! |
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| This one got us. We were in the museum with 3 different groups from Asia. We stopped and waited for a few seconds while this lady got her picture...turns out she was made of wax too! |
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| This one was very impressive. Did you know they install all the hair one piece at a time? do you know how long that would take on this hairy character? |
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| My favorite section of course, me and my all time idol, Ella Fitzgerald |
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| I even got to sing away with Duke Ellington. |
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| This is Madame Tussauds. She was the beginning of all this. |
From housekeeper's daughter to royal tutor, master figure maker and thriving business woman, the life of Madame Marie Tussaud has all the ingredients of a best selling novel. Add in French Revolution, escape from the "guillotine" and a spell making death masks of former aristocratic friends and employers and that life has all the ingredients of a Hollywood blockbuster!
Undeniably, the life of Madame Tussauds' founder was as colorful as any of the celebrities who have been posed for the world famous attraction in its illustrious 200 year history.
- 1793: Imprisoned with her mother in the notorious Laforce Prison, Paris. On her release she was forced to prove her allegiance to the Revolution by making death masks of executed nobles and her former employers, the King and Queen
- 1794: The French Revolution ended and Marie inherited Dr. Phillippe Curtius' wax exhibition
- 1795: Marie married Fracois Tussaud
- 1835: With her sons, Madame Tussaud established a base in London at the Baker Street Bazaar
- 1850: Madame Tussaud died
- 1884: Marie's grandsons moved the London attraction to its current site on Marylebone Road
This really was amazing. I had so much fun with all these characters. I think I could have let loose a little more if there weren't so many people there taking pictures of us and the baby. I don't know what it is about AJ, but everyone just loves to talk to him and take pictures of him.
Next we had dinner plans. We went back to the hotel to freshen up and give our feet a rest. We just happened to park across the street from our hotel when the meters stopped. The street filled up within minutes. I guess this meant we would be walking to our dinner appointment. We went up to our room for about a half hour.
Joe gave me a foot massage while the baby played in his rented crib.
He loved his little white jail cell. He doesn't enjoy his crib at home as much as this one! Maybe being in the room with him made him a little happier. I was so excited for dinner I couldn't wait. I kept checking the clock to make sure we wouldn't be late. We strapped the baby into his stroller and headed into the night. There were so many city folk out enjoying the nice evening. We took about a 15 minute walk to The Cajun Experience. Joe had done a lot of research online to find the perfect restaurant...and this was it! I couldn't have asked for anything better. This was a New Orleans style Cajun Restaurant in the basement of another building. It reminded me of an old speakeasy. Small tables, low light, crowded but not over stuffed. People talking in low voices while the music playing in the background. Yes, that is right, Joe found a restaurant that had a live jazz combo. They were very good, and very entertaining.
They are called The Laissez Foure. They played almost any jazz song you could throw at them. AJ loved them. He danced away all night long. When we would clap he would slam his hands down on the table. The combo leader even made a comment about playing him a lullaby before we headed out. Cute kid catches everyone's attention.
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| He thought he wanted everything spicy like his dad! |
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| The Hush Puppies were out of this world. I would go back there and order 12 more if I could. This is what we had as an appetizer. |
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| Joe ordered the Jambalaya: shrimp, sausage, tasso and chicken cooked into a steaming pot of rice with rich cajun spices. I went all out for my birthday and ordered the Steak Dianne: blackened rib eye grilled to perfection with craw fish entouffee served with collard greens. I don't care much for collard greens, but the steak and sauce were absolutely amazing! I ate to my hearts content. Joe however didn't know that asking for your food spicy at a Cajun meant committing stomach suicide. His Jambalaya was a little too spicy, but he made his way through it. |
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