After spending a couple days in Memphis, I can't decide what's better about this city: the food or the music.
We arrived on a very rainy, chilly Friday afternoon. While Graceland is not a must-see for us, we did a quick drive-by to say that we at least saw it. Our main focus was on listening to some great blues music, and eating ourselves silly.
After checking in to our downtown Memphis hotel, we made it over to the famous Peabody Hotel, for the daily Peabody Duck March. The Peabody has a water fountain in the middle of their lobby bar, in which swim several ducks. Every afternoon, there is a big ceremony where the story of the ducks is told, after which the ducks are marched to the elevator, and delivered to their rooftop coop for the evening. It draws quite a crowd!
Next stop: drinks and music. We explored a bit of Beale Street, famous for live Blues Music, before heading south towards some other neighborhoods. Along the way, we saw some cool artwork, memorials, and statues.
We stumbled upon Old Dominick Distillery, housed in a very cool old warehouse. We enjoyed a cocktail made from their locally made spirits, and had a great chat with the bartenders. They gave us some good advice - not the least of which was to visit Gus' Fried Chicken, which conveniently was located directly across the street. Gus' is legit. Nothing fancy, just really good food.
With the cool weather and rain, we wanted to sit and relax a bit. So, we returned to Beale Street and went to BB King's Blues Club. The beer was ice cold, and the music was incredible. Nothing better than live Blues music, and we were in the middle of Blues paradise. Based on another suggestion from the bartenders, we headed to Ernestine & Hazels. This place is awesome. Great music in an old, haunted house. The bar downstairs was no-frills. Upstairs is a deserted brothel, and you can walk in and out of the rooms, and enjoy drinks upstairs. It was an incredibly unique Memphis experience.
Having only arrived to Memphis late that afternoon, we already felt that we had an amazing Memphis experience.
The next morning, we grabbed some coffees and explored a bit more of Memphis during the day time. Our first stop was world-famous Sun Studios, where so many musical icons recorded their songs. We found an amazing museum in a home called Slave Haven, where we learned that the owners hid escaped slaves and helped them continue their amazing journey on the Underground Railroad.
Craving some local food, we went to Central BBQ. It didn't disappoint. We walked across the street and found ourselves directly next to the Lorraine Motel, where Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. It is now a Civil Rights Museum. We wish we had time to explore the museum, but we had a drive to make. We were headed for Little Rock, and my 49th state.
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