Tennassee

First stop in Tennassee was Memphis. Rock and Soul museum, Beale Street, Sun Studios, Graceland and the Lorraine Motel.

Sun Studios was amazing, to be in the actual studio where Elvis, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, etc etc started. I can't quite find the word to describe the feeling of being there!!

Graceland also has the same effect. I've never been one to buy into the hysteria surrounding stars like Elvis but you can see why when you go to Graceland. I came out of it feeling like a huge fan and wanting to buy all tatt I could get my hands on. The knowledge that I cannot fit anything else in my backpack was the only thing that stopped me. The decor was insane, a personal favourite was the walls covered in green shagpile carpet. So good!!

We visited the Lorraine Motel as well, I felt this was slightly odd. You could peer in the window to the motel room and see it the exact way MLK left it, rubbish and all. Even standing on the exact spot where he was shot seemed wrong.

Next was Nashville. Very cool place. Country Music Hall of Fame is the main attraction! We decided to get tickets to the Grand ole opry as that is what one does when one is in Nashville. We asked where we should buy tickets and got told where to go. When we returned that evening, we settled into our spot. It became apparent to us that there were a lot of women in the audience. Then upon closer inspection of the few men in the audience, it turned out they were actually women as well.. Never a good sign. The main act of the show was actually an aging, overweight, lesbian duo. We sat through 3 hours of them singing songs dedicated to each other which was, to be frank, brutal. The large hysterical ladies on our row did not help the situation either. We returned home slightly dishevelled, covered in spilt beer, potential black eyes due to overexcited waving from our companions, to discover we had actually been at entirely the wrong thing. The venue we were at was where it used to be held.

The Moral of that Story - always know what you are buying tickets for.

We moved on to Chattanooga, thankfully to a brilliant hostel! Large wooden beds, with curtains for privacy, a lamp and two, yes two, plug sockets. After closing the curtain on the first night and turning the lamp off I couldn't work out why I was feeling uneasy, til I realised it felt very much like a coffin. This then led to sleepless nights.

We spent a happy few days in whole foods and walking up and down lookout mountain. We discovered the worlds steepest incline passenger railway, this was absolutely insane!! It was almost vertical as you clambered away from the massive drop below you to get out!!

Now to Atlanta..