
First stop, Graceland. But before we get there I would like to say that the minute I got out of the car and walked any distance the song, "...I'm walking in Memphis" danced through my head.
Graceland. It's just as cheesy as you would expect, but given the legendary reputation of the place you can overlook that factor. There's not much to say really. I can't really believe that I was actually there, that I was in rooms that very famous people were in (i.e. the

The picture to the right is of the living room which you see as you enter the mansion. You're not allowed to use flash photography at all, and my little camera doesn't do so well inside, so these googled images will have to do.

I remember from the Beatles anthology that when they went to visit him he was sitting on a couch with three TV's on without the sound playing the guitar... I'm pretty sure that was this room.


Elvis enjoyed having people around him, and there were often parties held at Graceland. Brooke's parents were telling me that they have actually never been to Graceland since he's died. Her father went to a Christmas party there back in the day, and "partied" with Elvis. Sure... most of Memphis was invited, but isn't that wild? Maybe it's not as a big a deal to the people here as it is to us foreigners, but that's a story I'd be telling a time or two.
After touring the mansion, I hit the gift shops and spent waaaaay too much money on souvenirs for the famdamily. Then it was off to the city where we drove down Riverside Drive past the mighty Missippi and a pyramid. We parked at Peabody Place and headed to Beale Street for lunch. From my vantage point at the balcony of the Hard Rock Cafe, I could watch merry makers walking up and down Beale Street, which is the most famous street in the city, known for its "Big Ass Beers". Really, that's what they're called... and I took a picture. After lunch we headed to the Peabody Hotel for the famous marching of the ducks.

Yes. Ducks. It's been a tradition since the 1930's. The ducks live in a palace on the roof and every day they head down to the main lobby on the elevator and march across the red carpet to the fountain. Then at 5 o'clock, they make the same trip back up to the roof top. I didn't get to witness the march, but I did see the little duckies swimming in a fountain amidst cocktail sippers and fancy shoe wearers and the palace on the roof top where they live. It's really just a cage with a pool in it...
And that's about it. Nothing particularly funny or interesting happened. I came, I saw, I took pictures. It was lovely regardless of whether or not anything blogworthy happened, and now I can say I've walked where Elvis walked, as well as the famous Peabody ducks.
Though I loved that I had the chance to see Memphis, other than postcards I didn't have the chance to "make" many memories, as cheesy as that sounds. So the next time I'm going to have to bring someone along with me to get lost in the crowd and meet the bizarre people drinking big ass beers along Beale Street.
1 comment:
great you went to the peabody...one of the quirkiest places going...too bad you didn't eat at the rendevous...just the best ribs anywhere...it is hard to find the first time, you have to walk down the back alley behind the holiday inn.
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