Telegraph takes on musical pilgrimage to Tennessee

Graceland, Beale Street, Sun Studios and other Memphis attractions feature prominently in the Telegraph's "musical pilgrimage" to Tennessee.

(T)his gritty city on the Mississippi river - the launch pad from where the blues, soul and rock-and-roll all triumphantly sprang to conquer the world - is our halfway point. The honky-tonk heartland of Nashville awaits; haunting mountain bluegrass and the brashness of Dolly Parton lie behind us in the Appalachians.

While the writer seems impressed with some of what Memphis has to offer, he makes a point of emphasizing Memphis' grittiness, contrasting it rather unfavorably with our state capital city to the east.

After the rough and ready charms of Memphis, Nashville has a contrasting feel - a modern, prosperous city whose attractions include, bizarrely, a faithful life-size recreation of the Parthenon.

He did seem to get quite a kick out of Beale Street, though:

The block was kicking and we discovered an added plus. The bars offered "to go" cups, plastic beakers of our poison of choice, meaning that as we strolled between establishments, skirting an impressive troupe of street acrobats along the way, we were not deprived of liquid sustenance.

All in all, the Telegraph writer seemed to take in all the major tourist sites in Memphis, and he did a good job of communicating their cultural significance. This certainly is a better Memphis travelogue than many I have run across.

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