Sitting in Memphis now in the Pilgrim's House Hostel, reflecting on Nashville. My main memories will be of our night in the Grand Old Opry (hallowed music venue in Nashville) where there just happened to be a 85 year anniversary show with major country stars (Dolly, Taylor Swift etc). The night was given added emotiion because the venue had just re-opened after being badly damaged during the Nashville floods so the vibe was very special.

The whole atmosphere around country music is quasi religious: the venue, the Grand Old Opry is like a church & the stars bibilical figures. With Taylor Swift and Dolly in attendance it felt a little bit like the older generation handing over to the new, and although they both said nice things about each other, you felt that Dolly was saying it a little through gritted teeth! (You can see videos of Dolly here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/byerin/sets/72157625136371840/)

We caught the bus out to the venue and we had one of those "Americans don't walk" experiences. . .we got the bus to within a mile of the venue, but there was then no other bus and it felt silly getting a cab for such a short distance so I forced Erin to walk, despite her wearing silly shoes. It felt an even better decision when we happened upon the Dukes of Hazzard museum and the General Lee on the way (I have very fond memories of watching that show on saturdays with the rest of the family growing up). But then walking up the drivewway (venue was a mile from the road, space isn't a problem in the US) in the dusk with no pavement to speak of and hundreds of huge America cars going past us I started to feel slightly foolish. We even had some people shout abuse ("weirdos") at us as they drove past! There was no-one else walking and we were completely on our own and it is then you realise that the US just isn't geared up for public transport or walking and if you are too poor to own a car, getting around is really difficult.

Back to Nashville: The bar scene on the main drag was also great fun, if manic: we went to the two main venues, Roberts & Tootsies where live music is played all day, everyday. It doesn't seem to matter if it's 4pm in the afternoon or midday on a saturday, the bars are rammed with people dancing, drinking, and slamming the tables with appreciation for whatever band is playing. The music (at least to my ears) was to very high standard and the performers all had the witty southern drawl down to a tee, but you can see why the locals call it Nashvegas, it's like a music festival on acid.

We also managed to cram in the Country Music Hall of Fame and attempted to learn a little bit about this massive industry but it's hard to comprehend because the country music scene is just SO big - there are so many artists, all who seem to have won awards and had endless number ones yet they all seem as famous as the other and you wonder how they all made it. But certainly music runs through the soul of the city, as you walk around you happen accross speakers on the pavement blasting out country music and even the walls of our hostel were painted with the faces of Hank Williams, Willie Nelson etc

We've had two pieces of good luck while we've been here, with what I hope is kindness shown by the locals: I'd booked tickets on the internet and we'd got obscured view tickets on the back row of the upper tier of the Grand Old Opry. When we went to pick up the tickets, the attendant paused, looked at us, then offered better seats really close to the stage - maybe the box office took pity on us as we'd travelled such a long way, although we weren't the only English people there, or maybe we just got lucky, either way they were amazing seats! Similarily, when we got to Nashville my cunning plan of renting the cheapest car with the hope of an upgrade paid off. After a half hearted attempt at selling an upgrade, we were handed our keys only to find that we'd be given a much higher spec Subura Impreza! Half a tank of petrol costs a mere $14 (£9) by the way!

We are off to Graceland today. More to follow on Memphis.

John & Erinxx