Elvis was in the building

The King of Rock n Roll.
Elvis Aaron Presley.
It is practically impossible, not to mention downright rude, to visit Memphis, Tennessee without stopping by the old homestead of the great man himself. This is Graceland people, and it is another world.
To be fair, the whole city is geared around its most famous resident. I found the pool I would like for my future home in a local motel.

Driving up to the gates of the Graceland mansion, you feel a sense of expectation. You are treading the same ground as, arguably, the most famous musician on the planet. I couldn't wait to get inside, and it wasn't just because it was hammering down with freezing rain.

It's worth mentioning that although Graceland is labelled as a mansion, up close it's nowhere near as big as you are led to believe. But that only adds to the charm. It's easy to picture the place as a family home. Every room is set out lovingly and with purpose, despite the excess of everything. The pictures around show that the whole family loved this home.

And it's so fantastic to see the old photos of Elvis through the years. We see so many pictures of him in pop culture that it's easy to forget him as a real person. On a personal note, I really enjoyed seeing the younger photos and film of him displayed. What a beautiful star. Thank you Graceland.

Guided around the public areas by audio headphones, we saw so many iconic items and rooms. There was the jungle room, a room with so much decoration it made my mum's house look bare. There was dark, wood panelling and green shag pile carpet acting as a backdrop to the many ornaments. Tribal looking furniture, wooden ashtrays, animal prints and even a stone-effect waterfall at one end all combined to show the very essence of 70s decadence. I felt very at home there as it echoed back to my grandparents' home.

The senses were also overloaded by the pool room. A room where they must have had a job lot of fabric to get rid of. The gaudy, super-patterned fabric was folded like a fan to cover the walls and ceiling. Heaven only knows how it was ever cleaned.

My favourite room by far was the TV room. A yellow, black and white 60s theme decor gave Elvis the perfect setting to watch any of the several televisions on the wall or play any record he wanted from the beautiful collection of classic records on the jukebox. The mirrored ceiling reflected the colourful plastic festooning the room, huge sofa and adjoining bar area.

Kitsch cool at its finest.