A Hunka-Hunka Burnin' Atmosphere (Memphis)

Member Name: KathrynMackinnon

Product:	Memphis
Date:	29/09/01 (136 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Atmosphere, People, Music

Disadvantages: Drunks, Tackiness, Drinking age limit!

Memphis was my sixth stop, just after Nashville, on a two week trek around the Eastern Side of America. I had expected to be confronted with a town full of 'hicks' and wannabes singing in doorways. Instead I was greeted by a crowd of totally mental and lovely people who certainly knew how to party.

The centre of it all is Beale Street. Lined with bars, souvenir shops and horse-drawn carriages, you'd expect it to be very tacky - but it was very atmospheric, music streams from every bar and restaurant and very drunk people carry plastic cups of liquor through the streetswhilst singing along.

As our trek van drove in the pouring rain into Lonely Street, which was of course next to Heartbreak Hotel (couldn't believe it!), I became sure that I was going to find the place incredibly tacky and decided that I didn't like it.

Graceland did leave me with a strange insecure feeling, it was a spooky place where you walked around zombie-like, attached to a pair of headphones as depressed looking guides pushed you in the direction of the next room - it also smelled like pee.

If I thought that the house smelled like pee, I wasn't ready for the private jet-planes yet, yucky.

Graceland is worth seeing and isn't as grand as you would imagine, which makes it even sadder. The walls are lined with carpet, running water features, t.v's and mirrors and the place is strewn with really bad portraits, scary figurines and moth-eaten soft animals.
It is a tacky, kitsch heaven at a price of $19. Try not to laugh out loud if you're ever there, because you will not be made welcome by the obsessive fans who line the corridors and gravesides, just remember to have a little respect and cover your face when you snort.

My evening out there was great though and totally changed my mind about the city. We rode the 40 minute tram around town for about $1.50 each and managed to see quite a bit. I just wanted to g
o and see an Elvis impersonator - and I did, great photos with him, I had a bit too much Jack Daniels and coke though and got a bit red in the face.

Those of us who were 21 had no problems getting into bars, but most of the trek members were underage so I stayed with them. The other oldies went to see a great band and brought back a really cool C.D which proved it. So I regretted not going into the grown-up bars to hear some proper music. I really wished I'd taken a ride around town on a horse drawn carriage as they were decorated with tinsel and fairy lights, as were the little doggies that sat in the front of each one guarding it. I suppose it would have been about $20 for 20 mins, but i think it would have been worth it...maybe next time.

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