Memphis, Tennessee - Graceland

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Our visit to Graceland was amazing. It was much more than we had expected. The cost for the self guided tour and to see the multiple museums was $79 each. We were hoping we’d get our moneys worth, and we sure did!  We spent just over three hours exploring and really could have spent another hour or two. 

We were driven to the mansion from the main attraction area. We were given a headset and iPad for the self guided  tour. The narrator was John Stamos.The tour included the Mansion, the Meditation garden; which is where the family is buried. I loved all the bright colors and the retro aesthetic in each room. It was really interesting to see the Elvis Presley style. The billard room was covered with pleated fabric, it was very cool. The media room had bright yellows and is adjacent to a yellow retro bar. It was very contemporary for that era. I bet it was pretty spendy, as well. 

Connected to the house was an office that his father used and a gallery of memorabilia and pictures. We then walked into the Music/Racket/Game room which reminded me of a man cave, there was a bar and pinball too. We then went by the pasture, where we saw a horse grazing and then we walked by the pool. 

We ended up by the mediation gardens where the family is buried. There was a beautiful fountain and a pergola of columns that faces the south side of the pool and contains stained glass panels. The whole area felt peaceful and was beautifully designed. It was created before the passing of the family as a meditation garden for Elvis. There was a memorial for his mother by a beautiful cross and statue. Elvis Presley and his mother were originally buried in another location before being moved there, after someone tried to dig up his casket to ransom. Is that crazy or what.. geez! The tombs for Lisa Marie Presley and her son Benjamin were also in the garden, but on the opposite side of the other family members. It was a touching experience, and the end of the tour. 

We were driven back to the main area and proceeded to tour the car museum, the planes, the music museum, the military museum and more. There were lots of gift stores and two restaurants and an ice cream store. Probably more that we didn’t see, but we were tired and ready to go. Overall a really nice experience that I highly recommend it, if you’re in Memphis.  


















































 

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