Gracelands

The hotel is packed with Ohioans down in Memphis to watch their team, Iowa State, play Memphis tomorrow at the Liberty Bowl. Their college sold 15000 tickets so there are at least that many and more in town at the moment and I guess that is one of the reasons why accommodation is expensive this weekend, that and the New Year. Expensive and difficult to find when I was looking just 3 weeks ago.
We were not sure about heading to Graceland today with so many of them here, instant crowd and all. The shuttle out there from Beale Street is free so we thought head out there and if it’s too crowded we’ll head back into town and return tomorrow. Luckily Ohio State had a prep rally in the morning and a parade in the afternoon so the crowds weren’t too bad.
Thankfully we took cash as well as our travel card as our ticket payment with the card was declined.
The Elvis Experience Tour - a tour of all the exhibit halls which included his cars, his costumes, his career, icons influenced by Elvis and his early life in Tupelo, an introductory film about Elvis and Gracelands and a Gracelands itself.
The exhibitions were interesting and really well presented. This tourist attraction is a real money spinner and money has been spent to present everything well. And Gracelands ......... in a word - kitsch. Kitsch, yes, but tacky to the point of being totally over the top and cool in a way. It was certainly a product of that era, the 60s and early 70s. The green shag pile carpet on the ceiling was a shocker but I rather liked the jungle room.
The shuttle returned us to Beale Street. Beale Street was jumping. The bright lights, the load music from each restaurant and bar and chaotic crowds in the street reminded us of Khoa San Road in Bangkok, a very cold Khao San Road.
After a stroll through it we continued on to 2nd Avenue for dinner at Las Magaritas.
A good day.Read more