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Sun Studio
The famous studio Walking in Memphis……
Yep, we were walking in Memphis and finding it easy to get around! The main area of interest was only a half hour walk away so that was real handy. Left Memphis a few days ago (we are in Houston at the moment) and loved it. It was such an awesome place, friendly and relaxed, great nightlife as well. Neither of us were massive Elvis fans either but the first leaflet we picked up was the Graceland one!
Boring stuff first…hotel was great (and cheap), clean big room, free breakfast, greyhound trip was ok….as ok as they can be I guess! A bus journey anywhere isn’t exciting, just sweaty and uncomfortable! Anyway everyone knows that Memphis is the home of Rock n Roll so I wont bore you with the history blah blah blah…but what I will say that it is definitely worth a visit for anyone who likes music, and if you don’t-there’s still loads to do! First stop was Sun Studio where Elvis went when he was 17 and where he recorded his first song. On the tour of the studio they walk you around the studio where he sang, and where many other
Camp
Nice pose...! Thats the mic that Elvis used..apparently! people came to record, Cash, lee-Lewis, Perkins etc. The amount of stars that have recorded at the studio is staggering. The tour was great, and you get to stand in the same spot where Elvis stood to record his first single and they still have the original microphone which was so cool to pose with! By the end of the first morning I was already becoming a fan!
After lots of cheesy posing and photo taking we were done with the Sun Studio and we decided to get the free mini-bus from the studio to Beale Street where there are dozens of bars and good places to eat. Beale street is the main entertainment district (not sure if one street can be called a district!) and you can catch hip-hop, rock, country but most of all blues! We wanted to try some famous Memphis pulled pork and I had some amazing ribs, so nice, at a place called Alfred’s on Beale. The evening was spent doing nothing which was fantastic!
Next day we both got up early and were a bit excited……Graceland today!! Elvis had a lavish house and it didn’t disappoint. I had heard so much about
his house and to actually be there was so surreal but so worth the rather expensive price you pay to see it. Worth every penny, even if just to see the jungle room with the shag carpet on the ceiling, crazy. We saw his car collection and his two aeroplanes along with his grave which is round the back of his house. Took a good 3 or so hours to see everything and its such a shrine for many of his fans…we met one couple who were on their ninth visit….bit much perhaps! Unfortunately I didn’t see anyone dressed as him, I so wanted to see some fanatic’s! It was a great thing to do though and I would recommend anyone with a slight interest in Elvis to visit Graceland. The evening was spent down Beale Street having a few drinks and catching some live Blues-we were lucky and saw some really good live music (Aaron-you would have loved it man-some awesome mouth organ work!). We also had some wicked BBQ pork-I enjoyed my pulled pork sandwich, it was so good.
We visited the Civil Rights Museum on our final day, didn’t leave our hotel room till late afternoon
Graceland
Front of the house though as there was a huge storm…and we were being lazy and relaxing as well! The museum was split into two sections, the main museum is housed within a replica of the Lorraine Motel where Martin Luther King was assassinated and the other half is across the road in the building in which the fatal shot was fired. The whole museum was excellent-to actually see where he was shot is a very moving experience and once again I was moved by the struggle black Americans had during the early part of last century. We stayed in town after the museum and went to Beale Street again, this time we went to club 152 and had some food and then watched this dude doing his ‘E’ factor show! Really good Elvis impersonator even though I’m not that fond of his music! Spent quite a long time here and a teeny weeny bit of alcohol may have been consumed!! We had a great time in Memphis and would happily go back there again, there was so much we didn’t even do including the Staxx Museum and Mudd island (Rob and Alex-we were annoyed that we didn’t go there-and you really said we
Famous entrance
Elvis walked through that very door the first time he ever went into the Sun Studio should go!). We also missed the ‘Memphis in May’ music festival that was then starting the day we left, gutted! Luke-3 6 mafia were there-you would have loved that! Anyway-hope you enjoy the pictures, keep on leaving messages-its nice to hear from y’all and take care.
Up the Spurs
Thommo
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Great photos
Son , really loved these photo's, you are visiting some fantastic places. especially like the one of you both cos you look so tanned, relaxed and happy!