While we were flying to Rome for our recent vacation, my wife said, “You’re not going to hunt for Elvis stuff again, are you?”  She went on to tell me how stupid that was, considering all the art, architecture and history the city offered. 

Well, I knew in advance that question would be coming, and I had my answer ready.  “I will only search for Elvis goodies while you are shopping.”  That shut her up.  Shopping is a key element of any vacation for her.

One thing she always does is search out the local Hard Rock Café, so she can buy another T-shirt and guitar pin for her collections.  The Rome Hard Rock was conveniently located within reasonable walking distance from the famous Trevi Fountain, so we trekked on over.  It was situated in a very nice section of town, just a block from the American Embassy. 

While my wife was in the Hard Rock gift shop, I asked the hostess where the Elvis memorabilia was located.  I was impressed that she had a three-page list of singers/groups and where all their stuff was displayed.  Most were clustered together in one section, but Elvis was spread around in four spots.  There were seven items in all, but due to their locations, I could photograph only three.  That was enough for me to consider my search for Elvis in Rome off to a good start.

Elvis Memorabilia at the Rome Hard Rock Cafe

Two days later, we were on a walking tour that included the Roman Forum, the Pantheon and several other sites.  As we walked along the Tiber River, the Castello San Angelo loomed ahead.  This huge stone structure was started in the second century and had been added to several times in later centuries. It has served as a tomb, Papal residence, fortress and castle.  What better place to find dozens of small vendor stands, right?  They sold sunglasses, pocket books, food, tourist knick-knacks, and flea-market junk.  I thought the latter might hold some promise, but I found no trace of Elvis.

However, in a display of books, postcards, posters, etc, I found a 9” x 12” picture of Elvis on tin.  I’ve seen several types of these for sale in the USA, and you probably have, too.  The price in Rome was 15 Euros, (about $23 – the exchange rate over there was terrible), so I didn’t buy it.  Just the same, I was pleased with the discovery and took a picture of it.

Elvis Picture on Tin

“Elvis is everywhere.”  That statement has been repeated numerous times here in Elvisblog, and it’s been fun to report the never-ending ways in which the sentiment has been validated.  Some corroborating examples come from news reports, and my web surfing has uncovered Elvis’ presence in plenty of places and on many products, some pretty obscure.  I have also enjoyed the challenge of searching for Elvis stuff in unlikely places like Egypt while on vacation.

So, it is a pleasure to report great Elvis-hunting success during our recent 2700-mile trip through six states to visit four National Parks.  My wife would never put up with Elvis searches in the Parks, so I didn’t even try.  However, the cities in between offered promise, some more than others.  Reno, Nevada was the first stop, and it seemed to have the best chances for success.

Sure enough, the shops In Reno were loaded with Elvis goodies to buy.  The strangest thing I found with Elvis’ name and image on it was a ceramic cookie jar in the shape of an old 50s record player.  The original machines were self-contained units with everything you needed to get music -- a turntable, an amp, and a single mono speaker, all inside a 14” X 14” X 8” box.  You could close and latch the lid and use the built-in handle to carry it to a party.

I had one of these old portable record players, and I loved it.  But, making a cookie jar look like one was a mistake.  To get the cookies out, you have to open the lid and lift off the simulated turntable and album record.  Very cumbersome.  If you don’t want to lift the lid each time, it can be propped up.  Of course, then it takes up a lot of space and is just asking to be banged into.

I wish Elvis’ name and image had not been put on this disaster.  I forgot to see if it had an official EPE hologram tag attached, but if it did, it is one of the worst products Graceland has licensed.  If it was a bootleg, EPE needn’t bother with suing the manufacturer.  At the prohibitive price of $89, the stupid thing can’t have enough sales to produce any profit.

One other note on Reno.  A motorcycle rally was going on when we arrived.  Several streets were blocked off, and dozens of vendors sold their wares in tents, kiosks, and even mobile stores in tractor/trailers.  There was lots of Harley-Davidson stuff, but I was unable to find any merchandise featuring the famous 1956 picture of Elvis on his Harley.  I think photographer Al Wertheimer has missed a good marketing opportunity here.

Next up was Salt Lake City.  Our stop here was brief, but we did eat lunch at the Hard Rock Café.  It had dozens of Elvis memorabilia items, but much of it was placed too high on the wall to really see.  They did have a set of stained-glass windows – Elvis in the center, flanked by Chuck Berry and Jerry Lee Lewis.  All three were very cool.

The toughest challenge to find anything Elvis was in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.  This gorgeous rustic town of less than 10,000 permanent residents is a Mecca for tourists.  It is just one hour south of Yellowstone National Park and right at the doorstep of Grand Teton National Park.  The median price of a house in Jackson Hole is $1.2 million, and the ones on the high side of this all have absolutely stunning views of the Teton Mountain Range.  Rich folks from all over the country come to their ‘second’ homes in Jackson Hole during the summer.  The temperatures are mild, and there is no humidity.  A lot of these folks come back in January for a few months of skiing.

So the challenge to finding anything Elvis in Jackson was twofold.  The town still has much of its rugged cowboy charm, and that doesn’t tie-in well with Elvis.  The other problem was that every store is so high end -- expensive clothing, art, jewelry, etc.  I had nearly given up my quest for Elvis, when I saw the sign for a shop called HERO’S – Books, Toys, Collectibles.  I knew I had found the end of the rainbow and that wonderful things awaited me inside.

Good call.  HERO’S had five Elvis items for sale.  There were two McFarlane figurines, 50s Elvis, and ’68 Comeback Elvis.  I think McFarlane could sell a lot more of these things if the faces looked more like Elvis.  I guess it’s hard to get the nuances of all his features on ¾ inch of molded plastic.  HERO’S also had the All About Elvis Trivia Game, The Elvis Puzzle, and Elvis Yahtzee.  My favorite was the trivia game, but I can’t decide whether to save it as a collectible, or to open it up and play.

On the flight back from Denver, I came across Elvis in the strangest place.  Delta’s in-flight magazine, Sky, had a full-page color ad for the Robot Elvis Talking Head we discussed here back in January.  The product was a featured item at the Elvis Expo at Elvis Week, so they are serious about selling these things.  The price is now $300, down $50 from the original announced price. 

After all the money my wife spent during this vacation (most of it in Jackson Hole, of course), I think I could tell her I was buying a talking Elvis head -- and get away with it.  The trouble is that this head doesn’t look like Elvis, either.  It is full sized, but they still can’t get his face right.  Anyway, it was nice to finish the trip with one last surprise to again validate “Elvis is everywhere.”

©  2007   Philip R Arnold   All Rights Reserved   www.elvisblog.net

For my wife and I, every vacation consists of two main pursuits: seeing interesting sights – and shopping.  Our just completed trip to Egypt was loaded with both.

Early in the schedule, we saw the awesome Pyramids, the Sphinx, and the priceless array of artifacts from King Tut’s Tomb.  Then came the thing that really turned my wife on – a trip to Cairo’s immense Khan El Khalili Bazaar that dates back to 1382.

I got bored while she bartered with vendors over Egyptian jewelry, clothing, and trinkets, but I spotted a music kiosk and decided to amuse myself.  I went to the counter and asked the man if he had any Elvis Presley music.  He gave me a look easily interpreted as “Are you kidding me?”  Then, he briskly replied, “No Elvis.  Only Arabic music.”  I found small comfort in the fact that he at least seemed to know who Elvis was.

So, I wandered a bit farther into the market looking for another booth with CDs and tapes, but I couldn’t find one.  I didn’t get into the deeper recesses of the maze of narrow streets, and I never found anything like an American flea market. Every tiny store had new Egyptian souvenir stuff – and my wife bought tons of it.

On the cab ride from the Bazaar to the hotel, I recognized an interesting challenge and decided to accept it.  If my wife could bring home all her Egyptian stuff, I was determined to bring home some Elvis stuff.

The next day I walked a short distance from the Ramses Hilton to a gift shop called “My Love.”  Posted on the open front door was a panel showing two-dozen window decals.  Sure enough, there was an Elvis profile.  Flushed with success, I went in and showed the cashier what I wanted.  She got out a book with decals protected in clear plastic sleeves on each page. However, most sleeves were empty, and I had the sinking feeling I was going to get so close – but not score.  Then, near the end of the book, after five or six consecutive empty pages, she came to the Elvis decals.

There were even two versions of the Elvis pose: one in black and one in white.  They cost six Egyptians Pounds (about $1.15), so I bought one of each.  Later, I showed them to my wife and told her I was going to put one on our good car.  She snapped back, “No Way.”  Actually, her answer had one more word in it that you can figure out.

The following day I checked out the Ramses Hilton Center adjacent to our hotel.  This is a seven-story vertical mall with a movie theater, a video arcade, and a McDonald’s on the top floor.  I thought my chances of finding Elvis stuff might be pretty good.

One promising-looking shop had only an Arabic name on the sign, but it turned out to be a winner in my quest.  I found a four-inch square metal box, about one inch deep.  The lid had a clear plastic insert revealing a picture of Elvis glued inside.  The price was fifteen Pounds (about $2.65), so I bought it on the spot.  The store’s name translated into “The Good Face” or “The Face of Luck.”  The little box had no uniquely Egyptian use, so I will just call it my “Good Luck Elvis Box,” and store a deck of Elvis playing cards in it.

My last success was at a kiosk with the clever name of “Music” (in both English and Arabic).  When I asked the guy what he had by Elvis, he knelt down and shuffled through six-deep stacks of cassettes on the very bottom shelf.  There must have been a hundred tapes of American music, and he found three by Elvis.  They were a set of compilations with the titles “Rock,” “Country,” and “Inspirational.”  I chose the latter, paid my fifteen Pounds, and walked away a happy man.

My quest to find Elvis goodies in Egypt had been successfully achieved in just two days.  The quest to find the artifacts of another King, Tutankhamun, took eight years.

©  2006   Philip R Arnold   All Rights Reserved