Podcast Episode Details

722. Fearlessly Failing: Nashville & Memphis Travel Guide

Righto! I was luck enough to spend 3 days in Memphis and an Afternoon in Nashville. I'm a bit of a music nerd so this is very much an musical adventure. Here's my itinerary and handy travel tips:

3 DAYS IN MEMPHIS:

DAY 1:

• Mum and I met at Memphis airport
• I got a 6AM flight out of LA then flow into Austin Texas and got a connecting flight to Memphis, all up it took about 6 and half hours.
• Explored Beale St which is full of bars and music venues
• It’s located in downtown Memphis
• Renowned for its deep roots in blue music
• Then we headed to Blue City Cafe which is known for its famous ribs, which naturally I had to try, they came with coleslaw and spies beans, so yum!
• Mum got the seafood gumbo (which comes with okra) and she got “Larry’s greens” which was more like collard greens and absolutely delis.
• I had a Tennessee whiskey and mum had a Pino Grigio from California

DAY 2:

• Sun Studio tour, ok this was incred, its $20 and you legit get to stand where Elvis and Johnny Cash wrote so much magic
• So its a rock-n-roll recording studio and it’s legit still there, the sound proof tiles in the ceiling and walls, the same piano with a cigar burn in it.
• Sam Phillips created Sun Studio and built it up to be what it became.
• They even have one of the microphones Elvis used
• This has been the place so many iconic artists have written music; Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis and Johnny Cash started their careers
• Fun fact: its also a coffee shop and the coffee is delis (local roasters called French Truck Coffee)
• In this arvo mum and I split up, she really wanted to head to the Civil Rights museum and its also the location where Martin Luther King was shot.
• I went to the STAX museum of American Soul music its where Otis Redding recorded a bunch of music. It was an old movie theatre converted into a recording studio.
• Isaac Hayes also wrote his famous Shaft theme song here, and this museum houses both his Oscar and Grammy, oh and don’t forget his Cadillac.
• I’m so glad I visited this museum, it felt really special
• Then I met mum for dinner at Flyway brewery and I had a really nice local whiskey called “Old Dominique” I got a bowl of Brussels sprouts, then mum and I shared a plate of pickles and she got some cheesy dip situation.

DAY 3:

• It’s Graceland Day!
• We pre-booked our tickets for an 11AM start time, now if you’re staying downtown like us then you’ll def need to uber to this location
• We met for a coffee first, went to a little cafe called French Truck Coffee (local roasters)
• Then we headed to Graceland, straight out of the gate its HUGE! It’s like an Elvis Disneyland and they’ve thought of absolutely everything. There’s 6 different gift shops and 10 museums outside of the the Graceland house.
• We spent the whole day here, legit didn’t leave until it closed at 5PM so my first tip is plan to spend the day if you want to see everything.
• It started with an audio guided tour of Graceland and the mansion is as you would imagine it, exactly how he would have had it. The dinning room is complete with silverware that was gifted to Elvis and Pricilla from their wedding.
• My two favourite areas were his “jungle room” which was green and inspired by his time in Hawaii, and complete with an indoor waterfall.
• I also loved his meditation area which is also where he’s been buried, along with his parents, great grandmother, daughter and grandson. I found the memorial meditation area really emotional. I popped my hands on the grass where his grave is and thanked him, I also made a secret wish.
• If you’re an Elvis fan then this place is an absolute must!
• Then w

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  Published on 5 months, 3 weeks ago