Trains and Streetcars

We are humming Willie Nelson’s ‘The City of New Orleans’ as the eponymous train makes its day-long journey from Memphis, Tennessee to Louisiana. The train is huge, with an upper deck (posh seats, facing forwards, but more of a sway), a dining car and a viewing deck. The seats are a lot bigger than the ones on UK trains, even in coach, with foot rests, reclining backs, and extendible tray tables.

We are in the end carriage, along with four retired Geordies. They regale us with stories about travels in the US, Australia and New Zealand  and their plans for a cruise of the Caribbean after a few nights in New Orleans.

Out of the train windows we see trailer homes and box-shaped houses on stilts (I wonder if that is to reduce the flooding risk, or to stop gaters getting in?), old black men on porches, towns with names like Yazoo, Jackson and Hazlehurst. Churches with names like ‘God in the Life of Christ’ face the railroad track. We are entering the Bible belt of the South. 

Among the meandering tributaries of the mighty Mississippi,  mangrove trees and termite-mound-shaped stumps rise out of the dark water. An egret stands majestically in a strip of blackening swamp, it’s white neck slender as a swan’s.

Arriving in New Orleans, we find walking is the best way to get about.

We did take the streetcar (not called Desire) once. Rattling along at barely more than a walking pace, we are ferried along Charles into the garden district.

 DBA (Don’t Bother Asking)

New Orleans is all about the jazz  and most bars and some restaurants have live music.

Bourbon street is very vibrant and noisy, with brash bars, seedy clubs and tourist trash, but the rest of the French Quarter remains arty with high-end galleries, street jazz on every corner, and sumptuous pastry cafés.

At one restaurant, I get Mike up to dance to the crooning jazz guy (think he used to play with the Drifters) and quickly realise we should have gone to some of those dance classes in the village hall! Strictly we are not!

 

Wedding parties with jazz bands and twirling handkerchiefs like Cotswold Morris Men dance round the French quarter, throwing Mardi gras beads.

Muriel’s on Jackson Square is a N.O. institution, and we had Sunday jazz brunch as a special treat. The hotel itself was very smart, with traditional Southern decor –  maroon walls and dark wood furnishings.

Some of the best music comes from buskers on the streets and we take in the sounds on our strolls through the French Quarter, and Jackson Square – dodging the touts selling horse-drawn carriage rides.

Frenchmans Street is where the discerning jazz listeners head for, taking in the vibes at DBA and The Spotted Cat.

 

In Frenchmans we meet some more friendly Americans – a retired couple (one an ex-surfer) on a road trip from AZ to Florida, and a young couple from Oregon, with whom we share our plans to visit Portland next year.

‘We Just Ate’

We discover the best snack food in the French Market – crab cakes at ‘Food from the Heart Cafe’ and the crèpe stall – my favourite was the peanut butter, banana and Nutella (basically an ‘Elvis’ without the bacon).

Other foods we sampled included traditional Creole food – crab and ‘shrimp and grits’ and  we learned not to order a starter, because you won’t be able to eat the main course!

Creole or spicy Cajun food is popular here. Gumbo, which Mike enjoyed, is a kind of soup reminiscent of the bayou – a brown swampy dish, with alligator sausage, fish, veg or meat and a dumpling!

The ‘Green Goddess’ dished up  ‘lemongrass tofu on pressed black rice’ (which I had twice it was so good!) and burger for mike, with more craft beer!

Finally, our evening at SoBou gave us a taste of innovative fusion food, such as ‘prawns pinchos with pineapple’, ‘tuna ice cream cones’ and ‘beef burger with pickled okra’, finishing with ‘pecan flambé bananas’!

Coming up to Halloween, New Orleans began to take on a more ghoulish-voodoo-chic appearance, with transformation of most of the bars and buildings into a Hammer House of Horror film set! More on that in part two………

From Country to Blues

Nashville to Memphis is only three hours by road. Luckily, we were able to use the iPhone to help navigate, as the car hire company  (sounds like a Star Trek ship) didn’t have a road map (not boldly going after all then).  A couple of rest stops for some fast food and we had arrived in Memphis – home of the Blues, Gibson guitars, Stax records, Sun Studios, and of course, Graceland.

BB King: Blues and Ribs

Both day and night on Beale Street, you can hear soul pouring out of the bars and clubs as you do the obligatory ‘walking in…’  with live music in Rum Doodles, where I discovered fried green tomatoes, and Mike had a nachos ‘starter’ that lasted all night!  I was impressed by the laryngectomee with his Blom Singer valve hollering at everyone going down Beale to step into his bar and eat the ‘best ribs’ in town!

Memphis claims to be home to the best BBQ in the South, and if the ribs and steaks are anything to go by, I would certainly agree! Central BBQ is where we experience a ‘rack of ribs’, and of course half one portion between us! 

Our favourite joint (place not food) is BB King’s, where the King Beez  play blues versions of any song you can think of, and the food is worth queuing for with a paper ticket number (a bit like waiting at the deli counter at Sainsburys, but with a bar and music).

By now, I am going straight for the ‘shrimp and grits’, my new favourite thing, and they were recommended by Cheryl from Nebraska (who was right by the way, very buttery, thanks Cheryl!). Armed with my driving license again for ID, the reception lady at BBKings lets me in free, as she can’t believe I am as old as my license! (Mike is getting a bit tired of all this by now).

Wandering along the Mississippi waterfront we come to a big pyramid (who knew Memphis has an Egyptian connection?). The main attraction is the blue glass elevator ride to the viewing deck to watch another glorious sunset over the Mighty river.

Once inside this Outdoor World- meets-taxidermist land shopping mall, we enjoy taking in the Southern culture of hunting, fishing and camping, weaving in and out of stuffed bears and deer, bearded baseball-capped rugged types looking at waders and rows of fishing tackle, to gaze at large catfish swimming in tanks with plastic river weed (I wonder if they feel scared being next to all those fishing rods?).

The King: Graceland and Sun Studios

I am reading Rosanne Cash’s autobiography, ‘Composed’ and am amazed by the connectedness of the songwriting world (one of her daughters is married to Morrissey’s nephew and lives in Manchester and  she was influenced by the music of Mark Knopfler). She talks about coming to terms with being “a feminine woman who lacks classically feminine interests, never interested in the typically girlish topics of conversation and pursuits”, and I feel a certain kinship as I read a letter written by her on display in Sun Studios.

Sun  is where Elvis became famous, and where Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison and (more recently) U2 have all recorded, and Mike of course. : ) (see below).

We step back in time to the 1950s with our Brazilian guide and soak up more music vibes, then enjoy a one dollar cup of tea whilst sitting on someone famous (actually bar stools with famous names on!). I leave with a new guitar pick and some inspiration!

From Sun Studios we catch the shuttle to Graceland and join the lines waiting for the iPad guided tour.

I had misgivings of ostentatious tackiness, but we were genuinely pleased to find Graceland a fairly modest, even homely place, and the museum exhibits tasteful and moving.

We depart with our appreciation of Elvis reignited, and a portrait of the superstar as a man who loved his family, was passionate about his music and was generous to those he cared for.

Dr King: Civil Rights and Memorials

Moving from the Meditation Garden memorials at Graceland to The Civil Rights Museum, and its own memorial to another King (Martin Luther) keep us in reflective state of mind.  The Museum is housed in the Lorraine Motel where Dr King was assassinated, and the room across the road where James Earl Ray made the shot has been carefully constructed in accurate detail; quite weirded out by this but very emotive at the same time, and the museum can take a good whole day to appreciate.

The exhibits trace the history of slavery from the 17th century, right up until the 60s, with gay and women’s rights in the 70s.  As we wander around the museum, we have time to acknowledge all the amazing people who have sacrificed themselves for our freedom and we feel a deep sense of gratitude.

We say farewell to the three Kings of Memphis, and continue our journey on board  ‘The City of New Orleans’ train, heading further south for the home of Jazz……..

Having been a devoted listener of Bob Harris’ country music shows on Radio 2 for years, starting our American journey in ‘Music City’ USA was a dream come true for me!

Our hotel was a short walk from the Opryland Resort, a posh version of Center Parcs with lots of lush greenery under a glass dome, and twee themed stores, conference centres and restaurants. Good place to walk off the jet lag.

Music Row did not disappoint, with a whole street of famous country music bars to sample – Legends, The Stage, Robert’s Western World and Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville some of the best. Getting into the bars was a challenge  after 7pm as the bouncers on the doors wanted photo ID to prove I was over 40!!  Second attempt, still not able to get into Roberts, because we had our rucksacks  with us! By the third evening, we were sorted – small handbag, driving licenses, and we were in!

 

Of course, had to do an evening at the Opry, a live radio recording with several acts doing a few songs each (even Merle Haggard made a surprise appearance).  Bit like a cross between being on a cruise ship and in a TV show, complete with adverts and an interlude with American square dancing – think  Irish  meets clog dancing, but with more whacky leg twirling!! 

Getting away from Honky Tonk Row and exploring some of the other venues, we savoured a more intimate experience with three songwriters at a charity gig in The Listening Room Cafe, who performed songs they had written for many famous singers such as Keith Urban and  Josh Groban (aaw takes me back to our wedding with Josh Groban songs!). Striking Matches at The Third and Lyndsley were awesome, watch out for this group over here as they are going to be huge!

But I am getting carried away! We did do more than bars and listen to music! Nashville has great museums, RCA studios,backstage tours etc. Listening to  ‘Jolene’ and ‘Are you Lonesome Tonight?’ in the actual studio where they were recorded  was a very special, and surprisingly moving experience.

 

Pre-trip research on gluten free eateries paid off and most places we found had suitable options. Frothy Monkey did great coffee for Mike and I stocked up on bread and muffins for breakfast! Artisan cooking had not arrived at our hotel though, and we were treated to reincarnated sausages each day – chopped the second day, mixed with biscuits (scones) and ‘gravy’ the next…..

East Nashville was our kind of neighbourhood, with more of an ‘alternative’ vibe. Babies in slings and dogs-on-a-rope. Artisan shops, cafes and bars intermingle with wood-clad houses in leafy wide roads. No MacDonalds here! A welcome  change to find some quiet respite and ‘down time’ after a week of music, bars and museums!

 

Mike worked his way through the craft beer menu at the Pharmacy, whilst  I had a mint ‘phosphate’ (like a soda but not as fizzy) and we munched on bratwursts and sweet potato fries. Marche was a great place for lunch – orangey coloured eggs and cheese grits (a sort of savoury rice-pudding made from polenta) which became a favourite of mine.

Offering to take photos was a good way to get talking to people and the locals we met were really friendly and keen to recommend eateries and things to do. One lady even phoned  a cab for us to go back downtown when we were struggling with our phones!

We would love to go back to Nashville again- great music, kindness and sunshine! – in the meantime, we are watching  the TV series to help us reminisce…..

‘and the song goes on for the traveling kind’ Rodney Crowell and Emmylou Harris.