Memphis- the Home of Elvis with Andy, John & Allyson

Memphis-the Home of Elvis! 

It was the perfect to start to our holiday when the pilot and his crew came to personally wish us a happy holiday! 

Our first adventure saw us walking along the famous   Beale Street and to the Hard Rock Café, where we treated ourselves to a milkshake. We admired the displays of clothes and records from various artists that were hung on the walls. It was like being in a mini museum. As we continued exploring the street we passed the local fire station where the friendly fireman Rederick, showed us the God 1939 Fire Engine, which is still used in parades today. He then showed us how quickly he could zoom down the fireman’s pole! 

A fabulous evening was had at the extremely popular BB King restaurant. We got taken straight upstairs to our table where we had the best seats in the house! Looking down at the fabulous band whilst enjoying an amazing meal was simply fantastic. The atmosphere was buzzing as other dinners danced along to the music. In true JollyDays style we soon hit the dance floor and boogied on down! 

A day that we had patiently been waiting for as we excitedly drove up to the towering white gates of Graceland. There was a brief film about how Elvis Presley became the legend that we all know today and then we were taken on a tour of the main house. Everyone was given their own set of headphones and iPad's so we could listen to the story of Graceland as we made our way through the different rooms in the house. Elvis’s home is quite modest inside and lavishly decorated. There was so much to see from his costumes, military clothing, cars, jewellery, motorbikes and even skidoos. We even got to go on his private jet plane, Lisa Marie.

A time to reflect as we stepped outside to the beautiful gardens and found the memorial garden for Elvis’s mother, father and grandma. Whilst there, butterflies flew past and we took time to remember what a talented man Elvis was. 

When we weren't sightseeing we spent time at the bowing alley enjoying some competitive games of bowling. With some lucky strikes and high scores, we crowned Scott the ultimate champion.  

 

We couldn't believe we got to visit Sun Studios, where lots of famous bands had recorded over the years.  We had a fabulous young lady take us on our tour around the studios where she enthusiastically explained about the studios history and the famous

people that had recorded there. The tour led to the actual recording studio where Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash all famously met one evening to do an impromptu singing session. We got to sit at Jerry Lee Lewis’s piano and even held a microphone that Elvis had sung into.  

Most evening's we were entertained by some live music. One of our favourite acts was an Elvis tribute act at the Rock ‘n’ Roll cafe.He performed 2 sets and we were amazed at how much he actually sounded like Elvis! We clapped, sang and danced the evening away to the fabulous music. 

 Memphis Zoo had so much to offer and it was the perfect temperature to wonder around the zoo with so many amazing animals for us to see. Our favourites by far were the two Pandas that were on loan from China. Considering there are only 300 in captivity it was a real privilege to be so close to these endangered animals. We saw leopards, giraffes, elephants, gorillas, hippos, flamingos, and last but not least penguins swimming around in their tanks.