Beyond BBQ – Graceland in Memphis

Upon my last trip to Memphis I finally had time to see the awesomeness of Graceland.

I didn’t know much about the house before this visit except that it is kitschy and on most must see lists of the south. I arrived to find that you wait for a van to take you to the house upon a scheduled time. That day they were about an hour behind schedule. I had a plane to catch and started to get very nervous about time.

The van drops you off in groups in front of the house. You have an audio tour to follow at your leisure.

It is hard to really get a look at things at first with the crowd. It is best to hang back and wait for the crowd to move on a bit.
We started the tour in the living room. I love the peacock stained glass but the white couches and carpet have to go. Can you say wine stain?

Here is his picture in case you weren’t sure whose house you were in.

Staircase up to the private rooms which are off limits to non-royalty like us.

Purple-y spare bedroom

Dinning room

Now this is when the fun begins, kick ass carpet….

And carpet into the kitchen.

And more fun when we get to the jungle room (Note the green carpet; It carries on to the ceiling).

Then we go downstairs to the TV room where I guess you are supposed to watch TV. You have a creepy drugged out monkey looking at you.

And the last room in the basement is the pool room. This is where things go psychedelic. I really like the wall curtains.

After the house tour you move on to the back buildings that hold studio offices, stables, and his personal racquetball court (which is now an Elvis shrine).

Memorabilia museum

His gold records….it goes on and on

Costumes

At the racquetball building

Suits from the last part of his career.

Raoooar

Yeah, here is another wall of these.

I like some of the wall writing at the estate entrance.

After the tour I went back across the street. I still had time to tour his car museum and airplanes (yes two of them).

Barbie jeep

The bigger plane

And then the little plane.

I was hesitant to visit but I am glad I did. It is a time capsule of a big part of pop culture that shouldn’t be missed!

London – Hyde Park

One great thing to do while visiting the great city of London is to take a stroll around Hyde Park.
Hyde Park is one of the largest parks in London. It contains many trails and some waterways.

You can spend all day wandering around this park but one part that should not be missed is speakers corner.
At speakers corner you will find lively debaters hashing out topics on any given day.

Discussions sometimes get heated but they never get violent. Spending some time here makes me long for a time when we can have spirit debates in the USA that don’t result in violence.

Even kids can listen in on the action.

Carlos had a lively debate with this fellow.

This sweet looking lady was full of opinions and could hold her own.

Someone even took a break from penny-farthing to watch.

Hyde Park and Speaker’s Corner is a must see for any London visitor.

Spain: Sightseeing in Madrid

Spain was always on my bucket list of travel places to visit. However when I dreamed of Spain my thoughts leaned towards the Seville and Barcelona. I thought Madrid would be my least favorite part of my recent trip there but I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the sights and food.

We started off our most recent visit checking into the modern style Hotel Regina (see room above). The hotel was affordable and in walking distance to most areas of interest – including Puerta del Sol where we saw these ladies below trying to work the crowd.

We also saw elmo and others but could only deal with so many poorly made character costumes so we headed over to Plaza Mayor where we saw this really weird goat thing.

Bubble fun…..

Interesting frescos in plaza.

Later on in the evening we happened upon a used book store.

And a store all about SHUTTING YOUR MOUTH.

Puerta del Sol was much nicer in the evening. Many people gathering around socializing. Madrid is a very social city.

Walking back to our hotel.

The next day we set out for the Royal Palace.

Official designs of the royal palace.

After we visited the palaces we stopped for tapas. Olives and sardines are a staple of tapas cusine.

We also had some chicken and tripe soup.

And Churros con chocolate

If you wander around the city enough you will happen upon small markets like this one. I liked the war machines made out of bullets.

There was also a great supply of Greek sweets.

And some fur accessories if you need them.

Nice fountain near the market.

Some beautiful night views of Madrid.

And back to our hotel to bed.

If you want to experience more of the food night life of Madrid, visit the past posts of Mercado de San Miguel and Tapas in Calle Cava Baja.

Varanasi: Aarti

We traveled to Varanasi by small airline. We arrived mid-day and were given some time to rest at the hotel before attending an Hindu Aarti ceremony by the Ganges.
The ceremony was at one of the ghats, or stairs, along the Ganges. A car could only take us so far so we had to walk the rest of the way to the river. We saw many bike commuters and rickshaws

And some cows in an argument.

Some half constructed buildings.

An american who now lives there makes an offering to a temple.

Crowds start gathering for the best seats.

We had the choice to sit in the middle of the action but instead we chose an aerial view and watched from a balcony.

As the sun set, the ceremony began.

People watching from boats

Making an offering

Short video of the ceremony.

Beyond BBQ – Downtown Memphis Day 2

During my last visit to Memphis area I finally got to explore more of downtown Memphis. I wanted to visit the Civil Rights Museum however the day I chose to come I missed the opening hours. It is supposed to be a fabulous museum and I am sorry I missed it (I will have to catch it again on another trip). Fortunately there are some things to see outside the museum that I was able to catch for free.
The museum is located at the site of the Lorraine Motel – the hotel where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr was shot on April 4, 1968.

Informative podiums line the sidewalk in front of the hotel and tell the history that led up to the day and after the day.

The impact of racism and this time is still felt today evidenced in this table set outside the exhibit.

This powerful message given right before his death lines one of the museum entrances.

After the visit to the King site, I decided to take a walk down Main Street. I took note of all the nice brick buildings and street cars that are in use today.

This old building is ready to be demolished. It made me sad because I think it has a lot of character and would have been good to keep around.

Almost at the famous Beale Street I came across the Orpheum Theater. Many notable acts perform there. I found out that I was going to miss out on Morrissey who was to perform there later in the month.

Turning the corner and walking a couple blocks takes you to the famous Beale Street that houses many blues joints. I stopped in to BB Kings for a bit to catch a couple songs of a live band.

Walking further down the street you can catch live musicians.

And interesting architecture….

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After the music I wanted to stop for a brew. I walked a couple blocks over to the Flying Saucer to taste a local beer. Flying Saucer is a chain that has food and a great selection of foreign and craft beer. I would say I wish we had one of these in Orlando but Orlando has a pretty great selection already. It is nice to know I can find a place to try new things when I am traveling though.