Monday 9th September

Today was Graceland day, the main thing we came to Memphis for, and .... we were not disappointed !

Arrived at Gracelands by 9.30 am as it was only 16 mins away from our apartment. Purchased the Elvis Experience plus Planes tour, which got us on the 10.45 am tour of the mansion. This whole setup is certainly a money making busines, with the parking lot, museums, exhibitions, souvenir and food shops all set up on the opposite side of the highway to the Gracelands property. After a short film, you then get a shuttle bus across the road and an audio guided tour of the ground floor of the house and yards. Apparently Lisa Marie Presley still owns the grounds with the mansion and all personal items that belonged to Elvis. She also inherited EPE - Elvis Presley Enterprises- but sold off most of her share of that and now retains 15%, of the $300 million of it's value. Graceland is the most visited private home in USA and the world.

We both thought that Gracelands was a lovely retreat, right in the centre of Memphis. It was built in 1939 on 13.8 acres by a neurologist and Elvis purchased it at the age of 22 in 1957 for $102,000. Car parking is $10, with entry tickets ranging from $40 - $150.

After the tour of the main house there were multiple exhibitions and museums to explore. There were not many cars in the carpark when we arrived ...and there were not many cars in the carpark when we left .... 7.5 hours later !! Tania was in her element.

One great exhibit I found was the original pair of blue suede shoes ... made and owned by Carl Perkins ! How good is that.

Great day !