My four-hour Greyhound ride from Nashville to Memphis was smooth and, surprisingly, on time. It was nice to see Liyu and Yongmei again, who had stopped by Baltimore about three years ago. I congratulated them for their soon-to-be-born baby.
I got up next morning with only one thing on my mind: Graceland.
A short walk to downtown and a forty-minute Route 43 MATA bus ride later, I reached the destination of my pilgrimage.
The self-paced audio-guided tour started from the front door. The various rooms on the first floor, each having a distinctive theme of decoration, were kept faithfully as they used to be: the greenish yellow TV room, the orientally colorful pool room, the fluffy jungle room and the busiest room of all, the kitchen. I liked the idea of keeping Elvis' private rooms upstairs to remain private, out of respect. So the tour went on into the basement, where lots of Elvis' personal items were on display. There I learned he was into many sports, including two black belts of two different karate schools.
The tour continued with a walk outside the house into another room where he kept his numerous awards and record-selling certificates, with which you could trace his amazing career from the very beginning.
The exhibition consummated in a hall of fame highlighting his last and biggest concert, "Aloha from Hawaii", during which he threw this American Eagle cape into the audience, as well as his achievements in both recording and performing. "Overwhelmed" wasn't enough to describe the feeling, "dwarfed" was close. Excerpts from the concert were played on a huge screen repeatedly, giving you some ideas of the show which attracted more viewers than the first man walking on the moon.
The tour ended at the reflection garden, where the Presley family rested. Thirty years after his death, fans are still sending flowers to Graceland everyday.
I then visited three other companion museums featuring Elvis Presley's belongings: clothing, automobiles and the private jet named after his daughter, "Lisa Marie".
Nothing looks excessive on the King of Rock'n'Roll.
The most famous Elvis Presley car, the Pink Cadillac.
Another cadillac in purple.
I got up next morning with only one thing on my mind: Graceland.
A short walk to downtown and a forty-minute Route 43 MATA bus ride later, I reached the destination of my pilgrimage.
The self-paced audio-guided tour started from the front door. The various rooms on the first floor, each having a distinctive theme of decoration, were kept faithfully as they used to be: the greenish yellow TV room, the orientally colorful pool room, the fluffy jungle room and the busiest room of all, the kitchen. I liked the idea of keeping Elvis' private rooms upstairs to remain private, out of respect. So the tour went on into the basement, where lots of Elvis' personal items were on display. There I learned he was into many sports, including two black belts of two different karate schools.
The tour continued with a walk outside the house into another room where he kept his numerous awards and record-selling certificates, with which you could trace his amazing career from the very beginning.
The exhibition consummated in a hall of fame highlighting his last and biggest concert, "Aloha from Hawaii", during which he threw this American Eagle cape into the audience, as well as his achievements in both recording and performing. "Overwhelmed" wasn't enough to describe the feeling, "dwarfed" was close. Excerpts from the concert were played on a huge screen repeatedly, giving you some ideas of the show which attracted more viewers than the first man walking on the moon.
The tour ended at the reflection garden, where the Presley family rested. Thirty years after his death, fans are still sending flowers to Graceland everyday.
I then visited three other companion museums featuring Elvis Presley's belongings: clothing, automobiles and the private jet named after his daughter, "Lisa Marie".
Nothing looks excessive on the King of Rock'n'Roll.
The most famous Elvis Presley car, the Pink Cadillac.
Another cadillac in purple.
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