Day 9 - Rock and Roll

Today was spent in the steps of stars. First up, we collected the car and drove out to Graceland. The land opposite the house, on the other side of Elvis Presley Bld, has now been transformed into an enormous site for the Elvis museum, memorabilia, eateries and parking. This has avoided turning Graceland itself into something that Elvis would not recognise. The house is slightly smaller than you might imagine, decked out in 70’s decor, including the obligatory carpet on the ceiling in places. It was a good tour, giving a real idea about how he lived there. then we drove back to Memphis, via the site of Martin Luther King’s assasination. The motel is now part of a civil rights building. Left the car at the hotel and walked to Sun Recording studios; another very interesting visit which I would recommend. Mrs SoL was particularly pleased to find they sold PG Tips tea, with fresh cold milk, for one dollar. “Best tea we have had all week”. The Studio has a courtesy bus which took us back to Beale St, where we had a couple of drinks, ate massive spare bbq ribs in a marvellous bar, all accompanied by a live band. Left with a take-out box of the meat I could not finish: now tomorrow’s lunch. Great day. Talking of being in the steps of stars, not a single sight of a Blue Suede Shoe.
Pics are of Elvis’ pink cadillac, a pair of his stage shoes, MLK assasination site and the Micophone from Sun Recording Studios, used by all the stars. Off to Nashville tomorrow.