Did you know that the building where Madame Tussauds is situated in London was built in the 1880's? At the time nobody thought about inclusion or the fact that someday it would be an attraction that requires several hours long wait outside on the street in order to view the collection. For certain nobody thought about disabled entry.
And why would the compassionate traveler spend a day at Madame Tussauds anyway? Would that add to the compassion in action that we are looking for in this blog?
Well, it would be an interesting day, to say the least.
Our experience
Last I visited Madame Tussauds in London was approximately 10 years ago. The collection on view is totally different from that one I saw then. Even the setting has changed. Certainly, I have never visited it with someone in a wheelchair. So, this time around our experience was totally in it's own category.
Due to the fact that the building is so old, some very inventive modifications have been made to allow for lifts, ramps and such and still it leaves for some places where it is just not possible to accommodate for people who cannot walk. Only three visitors with wheelchairs are allowed in the building at any one time. For the visitors, this is both good news and bad news.
Firstly, there is a booking procedure where you have to go the entry door and negotiate a time to enter. Good news is that you do not have to be cuing for hours to get in, you can do something else, like visit the rose garden at the near Reagent Park.
Secondly, you need to prepare for somebody watching over you at all times and rushing you on to keep to the two hour timeframe that the museum has predicted an average visitor spends there. Unless you remember to tell them that you want to shop at the store, you will miss it.
Otherwise, everyone at Madame Tussauds wants you to have a wonderful experience. They are very helpful and attentive. You get to see really finely fitted lifts and even have to walk around the whole building outside with a guide to get to the amphitheater. But all in all you'll have a very enjoyable time.
Why compassion in action?
Ten years ago, while visiting Madame Tussauds, I was struck by a one single doll. Then, it was the oldest doll in the exhibition called 'The Sleeping Beauty' and it was made out of the death mask of Marie Antoinette, the beheaded Queen of France of the French Revolution. The historian in me was intrigued.
What is pictured here is a replica on exhibition now and wait for it, it breaths. Just keep watching and the breastplate moves.
Marie Antoinette was a friend of Madame Tussaud's before the revolution. The doll artist, namely, had been modeling wax representations of famous people even before the revolution.
During and after the revolution she was ordered to collect and make death masks of the beheaded people, many of whom she knew. Marie Antoinette was one of them.
It has always intrigued me of why would all the macabre scenes of horror be so carefully kept at display at Madame Tussauds in London. Now I know. It is that we do not forget. That they might strike someone as what they are, a tremendous memory of suffering.
After spending a day at the overcrowded Madame Tussauds peaking at the famous wax people being photographed with exited modern visitors, I look at it as a testament to a lady who managed to turn her horrible war experiences into the art of fun and excitement. That would be compassion in action.
In my mind a visit to Madame Tussauds in London is a must for a compassionate world traveler. It is worth waiting in the cue and trying to fit into a room filled with excited people. It brings a smile on your and your companions' face, whoever they are and inspires to think about the fine art of wax doll making as a truly spectacular trade.
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