Oh, I forgot to post this. Technically I should have posted it first to make chronological sense…but oh well. I’m not entirely sure what building this is, but it was on the street I stayed at in Nashville. It was so much bigger than I expected, and grander. It’s a really cool city, it has a unique vibe and it’s alive.
I’ve loved visiting the Southern states after years of visiting the more commercial, tourist driven parts of America. It makes me sad to think that it’s all gone so quick, but I’ve had such a great time and done some of the coolest things, that I will always remember.
This is New Orleans’ skyline, or the French Quarter part of it, taken from a steamboat on the Mississippi. It was taken on my last day, in New Orleans, and in America. After heavy rain and thunderstorms the day before the sun was out and it was wonderful.
Ok, so this is the view out of my hotel room window in Lafayette, Louisiana. That’s the Vermilion river in the background, and I don’t know what kind of flowers the pink ones are but I saw them quite a lot over there and they are lovely.
I’m very much in love with California, exclusively San Francisco. The south is beautiful though, very green so there’s a slight feeling of ‘home’, but also very similar to Florida with all the swampland and the humidity. It’s very true about the South being polite and friendly, everyone is so nice and complete strangers will even start up a conversation with you. When you come from England, it’s well, a bit of a contrast. There’s a certain charm there.
This is the plantation house I went to in Louisiana, on the way to New Orleans. The rooms were beautiful, the ballroom in particular, which was decorated all in white and gold. Nottoway Plantation was owned by the John Hampton Randolph family, who built it in 1858, and it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The 64 room, three storey house was designed by Henry Howard of New Orleans, who modelled it in the gorgeous Greek Revival and Italianate style.
It survived through the Civil War, among other tests, to become one of the most visited plantation houses in the Southern United States today.
The setting and architecture is simply stunning.
When I was in Memphis the cab driver was nice enough to stop off for a few moments and let me get out of the car to see the Lorraine Motel, where Martin Luther King, Jr. spent his last few moments.
Typically I don’t really feel too comfortable taking pictures like this- it’s really personal and feels a little wrong, which is why I didn’t photograph Elvis’, or his family’s graves, at Graceland. It’s a huge part of history though, not just American history, but the world’s…so I clicked the shutter. The fact that people still go there today, to pay their respects or to see the place where he last stood says a lot.
I’m glad the driver took me there.
And here is a picture of Elvis’ famous pink Cadillac, which was actually Elvis’ mother’s favourite car, not his, despite popular belief. Hence, it was nicknamed ‘Gladys’ Car’, even though she couldn’t drive. It was the only car Elvis kept throughout his entire career for that reason. Here is also a picture of his private plane, named after his daughter, which was due to fly him to his tour dates in ‘77, unfortunately the tour was never to be completed.
Inside is ridiculous, even the seatbelt buckles are 24 carat plated gold. There is so much to see at Graceland it is a little overwhelming, I got to see his and Priscilla’s wedding outfits though and his movie costumes and props<3 Here are some of his bedazzled jumpsuits.
Here are the pictures I managed to take while I was at Graceland, these are just amateur photographs, flash isn’t allowed and a lot of people visit, so excuse the quality.
Elvis bought Graceland when he was 22 and lived there till his death, 20 years later. He didn’t actually name it Graceland, it was agreed between him and Ruth and Dr. Thomas Moore, the couple that he bought it from, that he would keep the name, in honour of her aunt Grace, who gave it to them. It remains decorated in the eccentric, extravagant 70s style that Elvis chose for it, a few years before his passing. Thousands of people from all over the world walk through that front door every day, to catch a glimpse into the world of an icon.
Ok, so I haven’t really explained what I did on holiday this year, and I have done some amazing things previous years, like fly over the Grand Canyon, see the night sky lit up like a Christmas tree in Death Valley and walked Golden Gate bridge, I can’t believe that one country can be so diverse, so incredibly beautiful.
It’s easier to list what I did in a text post and then post some of the decent-ish photos I took. If anyone is interested in what I did then you can read about it here…well if you’re reading this then you obviously already are…but I want to savour it and remember all the great things that I have been fortunate enough to be able to do and the gorgeous places I have seen.
This is where I went this year! We weren’t even sure if we were going to go on holiday this year- the day before we were supposed to leave and take a plane some guy crawled through the 12 ft hedge at the back of our house and was obviously trying to burgle it. We had to get the police out and everything. He had the worst excuse as well, we had no idea who he was or anything, he just emerged into our garden. Anyway, we did decide to go on holiday in the end, although everyone was pretty worried about leaving our house and stuff for 2 weeks. Luckily everyone was in the house when the guys tried it and everything was fine when we got back, thank god. So that was fun.
On the way to Heathrow I saw Yannis Philippakis, the lead singer of Foals, he got the bus I was taking. I knew he looked familiar. What else happened? Oh, my suitcase when we arrived in Nashville had had the zips ripped off it. So when it came to taking my stuff out I couldn’t undo it, I had to break the seal with my fingers and then that meant I couldn’t do it up again afterwards, so I had to buy a new case in America. Typically everyone else’s stuff was fine though, just like on the way back mine was the only bag to be searched, with all my dirty laundry in. Anyway, at least with the zip broken everything managed to stay in, I don’t know what I would have done otherwise!
I am super jet lagged now, I went to sleep at 6am last night and woke up at 4pm. I miss American food and tv as well, I am hooked on The First 48, Billy the Exterminator, Storage Wars, American Pickers, Pawn Stars, Spongebob Squarepants and prison programmes. I have been happily reunited with English bacon and cheese though and no longer have to use American public bathrooms…why can you see everything through the gaps in the door?!
Anyway, I don’t know if anyone’s actually interested in where I went or what I did…but I’ve been to and seen such cool places that I’m going to post about it regardless! I have a love affair with America, there is just nowhere quite like it.
I will live here.
