Graceland's

Well, we  made it there, and I must say, even if you are not a huge Elvis fan. it is well worth the visit. so much history, feelings, and just a part of our history now. the world over knows Elvis and it is nice to be able to say 'I have been to Graceland'.

Memphis is not what i expected, it is very run down, and has the unkempt feel to it, down town is sad, boarded up stores, police station, restaurants, littler on the ground and not much foliage about the place. I have spend a few days now in Memphis and it is not coping well with this recession. There is  homeless people and you feel sad at how it is looking, but the tourists sections just keep rolling, although they are not kept clean or vibrant either. so i hope Memphis does manage to pull through and regain some of its vibrancy.
Gracelands, which is named after the aunt of the previous owner. aunt Grace gave the house to her niece as a wedding present, when Elvis bought the house, for $102,500 he loved the name so kept it. It sits on Elvis Presley boulevard, also a badly maintained road, area etc, and across the way is a tourist trap for you all to spend loads of money. in such a small area, it is amazing how many shops they managed to fit in. It is where you get your tickets, ride the shuttle across to the main house, see the cars his two airplanes, and other exhibits to do with his clothing, movie career and Elvis himself.
It was laid out well, and you can get around it all easily, yes we shopped, i of course, got myself a christmas decoration, and then some bits for the kids, but over all we ahd a wonderful time.
I was pleasantly surprised by how small Graceland was. it truly was a  family home and although his money would have bought him much more, from the family videos and notes , you get a feeling he loved Graceland's so much, it was his sanctuary.

i will post many pictures so you can all see, you can not go upstairs at all. that was for Elvis and his close family. It is said still today nobody has gone up there unless they are close family. it is kept private, as Elvis kept it. he never came downstairs unless he was ready to be seen, i like the fact they have kept part of him private.