Memphis, Tennessee: Home of the Blues

Friday, September 23, 2011

Here was a common question the entire weekend, "Why did we pick Memphis?"  Lauren and I decided there are several major cities that aren't too far away from St. Louis that we would visit.  Memphis happened to be the first stop.  Honestly, neither one of us knew anything about Memphis or even where it was located.  At one point Lauren said, "I thought it was an hour away--it took 4 hours!"  I thought it was in the middle of the state so had no clue why we were driving through Arkansas.  Good thing cars have GPS now!

This trip was something we have talked about for months, but really weren't concerned about the details of the weekend.  We were going to wing everything.  At one point weeks ago we discussed getting a hotel, but never got around to booking it.  Wednesday I had a few minutes to look on my travel web at work and pulled up hotels.  Of course, there were several activities happening in Memphis that particular weekend and all the hotels were sold out.  I finally found a Marriott hotel who asked if I was a member and luckily I am and they found us a room.  It was the last room at the hotel and handicapped, but we were in business.

We pulled into Memphis around 9 PM and headed for dinner on Beale Street.  We stayed in downtown Memphis so a few walking blocks later we arrived at Blue's City Cafe. The cafe has been recognized by many shows including, "A Taste of America and "Bobby Flay Show" for the atmosphere and BBQ.  I enjoyed salad, bread, and fries in the famous Cadillac room.

Cadillac Room

After dinner we strolled down Beale Street and enjoyed watching all the different types of individuals.  You'll see it all in this 2 block stretch of restaurants and bars.   Several people mentioned we had to stop at Silky O'Sullivan's to visit the goat.  In previous years, you could pay to buy the goat beer, but now that is not allowed.  They still have the goat though.  After several hours of watching people dance, get arrested, and wear the tightest clothes we decided to call it a night.  Below are a few additional pictures of ways to get around Memphis.  The funny part of the horse carriage is every single one had a dog.  I think it was a requirement to have a horse.

Home of the Goats

Trolley

Bedazzled to the Extreme