Before leaving Memphis of course we had to visit 'Graceland' the family home of Elvis we did so Tuesday 22nd April. We decided to get up early and be there when it opened at 9am. We were the first group to get to do the tour, which is managed really well. The price is quite high $37 but on reflection worth it given the amount of exhibits cataloguing his life and achievements you get to see.
The first thing that struck us was that Graceland is much smaller than you think, and it is right next to a busy main road, maybe the road wasn't there when Elvis purchased it for $100,000 when he was just 22 years old in 1957. http://www.graceland.com
Main front entrance. 'The Blighty-Boys' special guests of honour!
The Living Room..don't you love those stained glass peacocks.
The Dining Room. Can you imagine the conversations that went on around this table.
The TV Room. Elvis like to watch TV a lot, hence the 3 sets.
The 'Jungle Room' influenced by his love of Hawaii
The 'Trophy Room' this was amazing and gave you a sense of just how great his music and recording career were given he died at such a young age. The number of gold and platinum records he had was staggering and it is estimated he sold more than 1 billion records in his lifetime. More than any other artist ever!
They just keep coming, on and on. It was a big room.
Elvis loved his cars and there is a separate museum containing his collection, but the Pink Cadillac does it for me.
Here is one of his private jets named after his only child - Lisa Marie. The interior was all custom built and Elvis used this plane when he was on concert tours.
You don't get this sort of comfort on British Airways do you!
Elvis just oozed class, especially when it came to bikes!
This exhibit in another building that was his racket club (Squash Court) houses the collection dedicated to his concert touring and recordings with many of his famous stage outfits.
The Pool Room. You see all the walls and ceiling are covered in beautiful material.
His final resting place in the grounds of his beloved Graceland.
Fantastic guys, ..great pics & well worth $37
ReplyDeleteSo.. back on the road again ;)