Elvis Week hits Memphis

Posted by Amanda Woods Aug 8, 2009

As the 2009 Elvis Week gets underway in Memphis, Tennessee, I have to admit I'm feeling a little jealous of all of those people who are discovering that fantastic city for the first time.

The first time I went to Memphis, it was as part of a driving trip through the southern states that took my friends and I from Dollywood in the Smoky Mountains, all the way down to Key West.

I was looking forward to visiting Graceland for the first time, and was thrilled that we'd managed to book a few rooms in the Heartbreak Hotel (for those extra kitsch brownie points) where we'd be able to unwind by the heartshaped pool. But I didn't really grasp just what a fantastic and interesting place Memphis is.

Of course, there's Sun Studio and Beale Street, and all that jazz. But I didn't realise the Lorraine Motel, where Dr Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated had been turned into a museum. And what an incredible museum it is at that.

Don't get me wrong, Graceland is extraordinary. And the Graceland Automobile Museum was great fun, especially when you're able to walk onto the Lisa Marie jet and marvel at what a Flying Graceland is like. But the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis is one of the most powerful places I have visited.

My friends and I barely spoke throughout the entire museum, instead we were just taking it all in, feeling incredible emotions, and getting an intense education along the way. Ever since that day, if someone has told me they're going to Memphis,  I insist that they take the time to go to the National Civil Rights Museum.

One of my other top tips is rather silly, but a lot of fun. The Peabody Hotel Ducks. I thought it was a bizarre joke when I first heard about them, and it wasn't until I saw the elevator doors open, and the Peabody ducks waddle their way down the red carpet with my own eyes that I believed it was true.

Yes, Memphis this week is in full Elvis mode with the Annual Elvis Week Celebrations. There will be those who will have seen and done it all before, and make the pilgrimage to Memphis regularly. Then there will be those who are in Memphis for the first time and discovering its many charms.

I hope they all have an absolute ball... and will put it in my own diary to return next year so I can put the green eyed monster to bed and join in all the fun!