We continued to memphis, we were staying at graceland rv park! Right opposite graceland itself! It was great, the campground itself had a different street sign for each row where the rvs were parked and they were all names of Elvis's songs!
We were right next to heartbreak hotel and next to lots of elvis souvenir shops! We quickly set up tent and went out to explore! There was many souvenir shops and a few cafes on the main road, we could of got the shuttle into memphis town but it was already 7pm and the last bus back was 10pm didnt really seem like it would be worth the $20 it would cost to get us there! We were happy just having a browse! All we really wanted to do was visit graceland and we were doing that tomorrow and we couldnt wait. Looking around the shops was great, it was all over priced! But it was great to have a look at it all! I manage to find my sister a present here that i knew she would love (not elvis related!) so was really pleased that i found that! Something unique to that part of america :) and we also just bought a few postcards! We were really lucky to get pictures infront of the gates at graceland when they had shut! They had musical notes and silouettes of elvis and they never close in the day, a few of the people taking pics said they had been waiting 5 days for the gates to close! We also got some good snaps of some other things whilst it was empty! We got back to camp around 8pm, both had showers and chatted and then fell asleep quite quickly ! It was my first night without my hot water bottle! And I felt really warm all night and in the morning!
We got up around 7.30 and the usual routine i made breaky & lunch and luke put the tent away. We then went to get our graceland tickets at 8.30 ready for the first tour at 9am! Only 6 of us done thetour the younger ones thought it was to expensive....it was $37 to see everything not just the house but the airplanes, his cars, and 3 others exhibits, so overall not a bad price! We were on a tight budget so it was quite a lot for us, but we knew we wouldnt come here again as you dont really go on holiday to memphis ! You come to see graceland! And its something we have both always wanted to see so it was worth it! We just couldnt understand the others missing it out!
We boarded the tour bus and we entered graceland it was all very organised, we had a audio tour aswell! Graceland is small in comparrison to other rich & famous peoples mansions now days but what a gorgoeous house and very grand in its own way, we couldnt wait to get inside!
When we entered we were dissappointed to discover we werent allowed upstairs, as this was Elvis's private area and it was being kept that way. We first looked at the living room, it was very beautifully decorated for that time and had a huge 15 foot sofa along one of the walls, there was a Baby grand at the end, one of the many he had in the house over the years. There were portraits of him and his dad and other lovely colourful things. Next was his parents bedroom, again very beautifully decorated, it was minimalistic but the decor was very beautiful. We then went to the dining room which had a big table in that was set out as if people would have dinner on it that day! the kitchen was next and this is where there was always something going on, there was a Tv at the end of the room which was always on, all the staff were always busy in here and lisa marie said it was a great place to be.
We headed down to the basement where we were greeted by Elvis's tv room, it was brightly decorated in yellow and navy blue and had 3 tvs, a drinks cabinet and many chairs. Opposite this room was a games room with a pool table and chairs etc the basement is where he would go with his friends to chill out, in the games room it was decorated with heavily patterned fabric!
We then went to the "jungle room" this wasnt its official name but what it was knicknamed! It had a very different decor to the rest of the house and a waterfall designed by elvis at the end of the room, there was a Huge round chair in the corner which was lisa maries favourite. He entertained in this room.
It was time to explore outside....we first went to his dad "vernons" office which had a couple of desks, pics and other arty things with elvis on them, next little room had just a small model of the house elvis was born and grew up in, then there was a Fire range room! He used this room with his friends as a fire range to let off steam.
Walking further outside and to another room....trophy room.....this was completely filled with awards of his lifetime....best record, most sold, etc etc there was so many! We spent a bit of time in here there was so much to look at and read, so many awards and then there was a section with his outfits ! It was really a great part of the tour.
...a few of Elvis's awards
....a few of Elvis's outfits!
....the wedding outfitsWe went out to the rackett ball building! He had started the building work for this in 1970 and it was finally completed in 1975! He over saw all of the building work and wanted this building to be exactly what he pictured. This room had a bar, weights room, lounge area and where the court used to be there is a huge collection of his lifetime achievements and awards it was amazing how many awards elvis had, it was very over welming they were just everywhere. This building is unfortunately where elvis was found the day he died.
We were coming to the end of the tour and the last stop was the meditation garden and the graves sites of elvis, his twin bother, his mum and dad and grandmother, his mother and him had originally been buried in another location but have been moved to graceland, and as his twin brother couldnt be moved there was a plaque placed in his memory with the others so they were all together at graceland. It was really amazing to be able to see this and read the lovely words on the stones. We had now finished the tour of the house and would go on to see more of the exhibits over the road. It was quite an experience to walk around Elvis's house, quite sad aswell what a great house and family he had, he made many great memories in this house and seemed this was his retreat from all his fame and the place he could be with his family and friends and just be himself, as we worked our way around all the exhibits we realised that in this house he had many laughs and had a lot of fun surrounded by the people he loved.
We made our way to the sincerely elvis exhibit which had his costumes in and had a few tvs in there which were relaying different parts of his life, there was a table cloth in there which elvis and a co-worker had written a contract on over dinner! It was for some shows in vegas ! We then went to his car museum! And this was filled with all the different cars he own over the years and it was so interesting reading about how particular he was with the interior design! When he bought the cars he would then spend a lot more money having the interior redecorated to his specific taste! One car had a gold snake skin roof, others had bright red leather interior! When you first walk into the museum you see a car that elvis had bought priscilla and it was her favourite....
.....a mercedes roadsterThere were so many cars in here all very grand, including the famous pink cadillac which is one of his first purchases and stayed in the family for many years it was never sold or exchanged.
There was also as section which had all of Elvis's "toys" go carts, golf buggies, snow mobils and a few other "toys" that elvis and his friends used to race around in the grounds of graceland and quite often they used to take the golf buggys out onto the road and race them! But strangely they never got arrested! There was a old stlye limosine which elvis bought for himself to be chaufered around in and even a tracter which he bought to be used in graceland! He also had a love for motorbikes and had a few of these!
The next exhibit we went onto was the airplanes.....elvis had developed a fear of flying after a flight he once took that nearly crashed and after that he drove everywhere, to all his shows and all rehearsals etc however the pace of driving everywhere could not keep up with the demand of his shows ! And he started taking flights on a small aircraft which he had remodelled to how he wanted it! And then he decided he would purchase a plane, a huge plane.....he bought a old delta passenger aircraft and made it his own calling it....lisa marie....after his only daughter. He bought the aircraft for $250,000 and spent $750,000 remodelling it! He said it was like a second graceland! It had a lounge area, bedroom, bathroom with half bath, bar (with mostly fizzy drinks as elvis did not have a taste for alcohol!) and many other features, it even had gold seat belt buckles! And gold sinks! And elvis used this plane for mostly business and getting to shows but also for occasional personnal journeys! Once he realised that lisa marie had never played in the snow so he flew her to a place in america that has snow so she could play in the snow for 15minutes and then flew back! She also celebrated her 9th birthday on the plane. When the plane came to permanent rest at graceland it took sometime to get it from the airport! about 13feet off each wing had to be cut off to allow it to fit in the roads! It was put back on when it reached it final destination! Many people came to see it be put in its permanent residence. We really enjoyed this plane exhibit and how very interesting it was.
...elvis even had a personal plane number authorised! N880EP!We only had about 30 minutes left and 2 more exhibits to see! We quickly went to "68 special" this exhibit was about his return to the stage in 1968 after 7 years away, he was spending more time on his acting career which was slowly becomming less popular so he returned to what he loved....singing! And he was welcomed with opened arms, he spent a lot of time in vegas doing many shows. In This exhibit priscilla talks about how nervous he was but once he performed the first few shows he was over the moon at the reception he recieved.
We then went to the elvis hawaii exhibit we only had about 5 minutes left :( so litrally went in and went out again ! Hawaii was Elvis's favourite place after graceland! He had many holidays here and made lots of memories here with his family there was a family home video on show of a holiday that was taken there it was great to watch.
Elvis was born on January 8th 1935 in Tupelo Mississippi and died August 16th 1977 aged 42 at Graceland, Memphis.The ultimate verdict of death was heart attack however it is thought that prescribed drugs may have contributed to his deah along with ill health. He is regarded as one of the most significant cultural icons of the 20th centuary and of often referred to as the king. Elvis has left a massive imprint in music history and will forever be remembered.
....this is where elvis, his brother, his mum, dad and grandmother lay to rest ....in the grounds of gracelandWe really enjoyed our morning at graceland, we could of spent the day there! It was so interesting and what a great experience we may never get to experience again, it was quite sad walking around his house and trying to imagine him and his family living a happy life there, its sad he was taken so young but so amazing he is forever and will be forever remembered.
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