more trip of a lifetime - and it's Elvis time today (Thankya, thankyaverymuch!)

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So today we set off for Memphis!

Just a word about our coach tour experience so far....it's very enjoyable being looked after, ferried door to door, tickets already bought, lots of info wherever you go - but you have to work to a schedule so there's no room to radically change plans and for example miss out a destination to stay longer somewhere else. This hasn't really been a big problem for us but might be for others. Our tour guide, Mike is the best! Very efficient, friendly and funny. He knew all our names within a few hours of meeting us and has a way of relating to you that makes everyone feel included, often through teasing you. He is also very diplomatic and watching him deal with tricky customers has been a learning experience.....if he's gritting his teeth you'd never know!!! Most of us have never been on a coach trip before and only booked this because it's such a good music tour, and it's small enough to not feel like a flock of sheep being herded everywhere........we travel in a small bus and all our luggage goes behind in a trailer!

But back to Memphis.......we stopped for lunch just outside Jackson TN (as opposed to Jackson MS) which may or may not be the town in the Johnny Cash song. The restaurant was based on the story of Casey Jones, and was a converted railway station. It was an all you can eat buffet and we waddled out of the place.

Next stop was Graceland. It is a very slick operation showing people around but it wasn't at all busy so we had lots of time to wander around the house, the car museum, the aeroplanes and many many gift shops!

Firstly, the house isn't all that big.....it has a real homely feel about it. Some things were very touching, like the children's swing and slide set still in the garden.

You can only see downstairs as 'Elvis always kept upstairs private' but which I suspect is really to prevent ghoulish sightseers wanting to see the spot where he died (and quite right too, although I would probably have been one of them)

Also in the very impressive display of his jumpsuits they were all displayed on mannequins from Elvis leaner years. Not a single larger size jumpsuit on display at all, so Elvis is immortalised as he was in his healthier years. When we all know the real story it seems a bit of a shame to avoid all reference to his struggles....... I don't think it would change his popularity one jot.
Around the meditation garden, where he's buried, were many tributes from fans from all over the world, proving how well loved he still is.

Staying 'on site' at the Heartbreak Hotel was quite an experience. we had Elvis films on TV, Elvis framed photos on the wall, in fact wall-to-wall Elvis! And the staff were all trained to enthuse about Elvis at every opportunity. We think Elvis is OK but wouldn't say we're big fans and lived in fear of getting found out!!!

That night we went into Downtown Memphis, and specifically Beale Street where all the Blues and other music clubs are. It was also biker night so the street was full of the most elaborate and ostentatious motorbikes and their owners. You can get a drink in a 'to go' cup and wander around, in and out of the different clubs and the music is really top notch. Every venue had a band or a solo singer who were as good as any professional big name acts. We got chatting to a biker who seemed to know everything there was to know about Memphis.....and insisted on telling us! He told us that Beale St is run by a management company but the City Council wants to buy it back which would be a good move as it could easily turn into something like Disney.

We had our first taste of Memphis BBQ tonight at a place called 'Pig on Beale' where the menu consists of all things pig! It was ......well, piggy!

We will be back in Memphis later in our trip and intend to do more justice to Beale Street then.

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