The Tour Continues

Chicago ended up being awesome without seeing any of the sites. I'd been before, and after we'd done Navy Pier, an architectural cruise in the aching heat and a bit of walking about, we headed for the outer suburbs where we checked out the shopping. Very cute city. Great vibe. Went and saw 'All About Eve' for free in the park. God I love that film.

From Chicago we headed to Memphis which was ACE. It's a great little city with awesome blues music, Sun Studios, Graceland (cue: enhanced Elvis crush, but obvioulsy this is a 50's early 60's Elvis crush) and the funniest hostel ever. You had to do chores. So obviously I regressed to a childlike state as soon as I realisedmy first chore was 'sweep and mop all the bathroom floors and the floor outside the bathroom' when someone else had 'dust the computer'. Not very proportional. However, it was located right near a church (????) and Cooper-Young Street which had heaps of cool restaurants and vintage stores. Checked out a poetry reading (poetry is so bad when it's not good) and a blues musician in a really cute cafe that sold clothes and books.

Beale street was weird - but the music was great. We had burgers at Dyer's which apparently were cooked in grease that may have particles form the original first 1912 batch in it. I could feel my heart valves seizing. Sat in a park and watched blues musicians for hours. It was pretty amazing - all this music spilliung into the street. And people drinking yard high drinks. I chose to focus on the music.

Headed down to New Orleans which I LOVED. The Mississippi is crazily big and it amazes me that anyone decided to build there in the first place. You drive along bridges constructed over the water for miles. Saw a plantation and all my Gone With the Wind fantasies were relived. I even sat on a porch. In a hat. Granted, it was my hat and Kangol made it so it wasn't exactly a large, wide brimmed southern lady's hat but it was still cool.

Headed to Coop's for dinner where I ate rabbit and sausage jambalaya and gumbo. Then to Frenchman's street where we hung out with some people from the hostel and watched some fantastic jazz at the Spotted Cat. Bourbon St is a nightmare.

I told a man I was trying to dissuade that I didn't dance because it 'led to sin'. He then decided I must have been very Christian which did not dissuade him AT ALL. Actually quite funny.

Now we are spending our night on the way to Austin. There's a hurricane in Texas and we're about 200 miles from the centre, but the weather is awful. It's raining like crazy.