Down the Coast: Big Sur and Hearst Castle

This actually happened 2 Saturdays ago, but I am finally getting around to posting the photos- we have quite a few from the afternoon. We drove down to Monterrey one Saturday and drove along the Pacific Coast Highway, also known as Highway 1, to get there. Highway 1 is beautiful- some great scenery, but it really is only to be seen from 1 way- returning back that way is just too much since the roads are so curvy. We made a stop in Big Sur National Park and we only had 1 hour so we maximized it- hopefully. It was somewhat of a spontaneous stop so I hadn't examined the best stuff to see so we basically hiked around the lodge. We raced up this hill so that we could see the Valley Overlook, but it ended up being fairly anti-climactic. I mean, it was nice, but not super spectacular

Fortunately, we were able to take a different way back down and stopped at this little waterfall. Its not very spectacular but quite charming, especially the cool, wooded areas around it. Here are some photos of it:

We literally only had one hour before we had to leave to make the final tour at Hearst Castle. They closed early that day because of a special fund raising dinner they were having. Guest could eat inside the magnificent dining room a 5 course meal and have some entertainment, all for $1000 a person. And the event was sold out with nearly 50 guests. I'm shocked that people have that kind of money to spend on one evening, but I guess that the castle really needs the funds. It supposedly costs $10 million a year to keep it running. We're not quite sure what all of those costs entail, but they are staggering to think about.

I have to give a special thanks to our friends Inger and Travis for encouraging us to visit this place. It was truly spectacular. William Randolph Hearst, the famous newspaper mogul, was also the son of a man who had struck it rich with a silver mine. So, he was well off to begin with, even before making his own fortune. He inherited the huge tract of land on a hill facing the Pacific Ocean and then decided to build a European style resort. This place was unbelievable- even today. You have to take a 15 minute drive up the hill in a van through the animal range and zoo. Here the animals can roam freely, such as zebra, cows, horses, llamas- we only saw this cow who literally stared down our bus driver before moving to the side of the road at his own pace.

Hearst used to bring up his movie star friends, politicians, and other powerful figures up to the castle for the weekend or even longer. Cary Grant was a frequent visitor. Hearst patterned this area in a European style- as you can see below with the outdoor swimming pool and surrounding colonnade.

Here's a full view of the pool- so beautiful.

And just in case of inclement weather, or if you didn't want to get sunburned, there is also the INDOOR pool, patterned after a traditional Roman Bath.

Here is the diving platform to perform a dive into the 10 foot deep pool.

And all of the tiling is mosaic- and the gold is actual 24 karat gold inlay. This is the most expensive room in the hilltop castle.

Oh no- this is just the GUEST HOUSE. I think I would find the accommodations "acceptable" to stay there- just for the weekend. And it is just as spectacular on the inside.

Here is one of the 4 guest bedrooms in the guest house.

Even the ceilings are amazing.

View of the main house, called "Casa Grande", or "Big House"

To me, it looks more like a Spanish type cathedral than a house!

The surrounding view of countryside- and the other side is the Pacific Ocean. Not too bad, eh?

This is an actual Roman mosaic that is in the main entry way of Casa Grande. Don't worry, we couldn't walk on it, but Hearst's guests could.

William was quite enamored by all of the statues- he took 19 photos of DIFFERENT statues both outside and inside the castle. I have organized them into a slide show below that you can watch, if you want.



My main reason for coming during this time of year was to see the CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS! And I wasn't disappointed. They were incredible. Here is one of the 2 huge trees in the Great Hall.

The garlands and wreath over the giant fireplace mantle- imported from Italy.

Here is the 2nd tree on the other side of the room- check out the tapestries!

The dining hall where the 50 people will have their $1000 dinner. They also used this hall as a model for the Hogwarts dining hall in the Harry Potter movies :-)

A poinsettia arrangement in the main sitting room.

Not captured in photos are the billiard room and the movie theater. Yes, Hearst had a mini-movie theater where they would pre-screen movies. We got to see some footage of the construction of this place.

As part of the Experience tour, one of 4 they have, you get to see an IMAX movie called "Building the Dream." I think that you should SKIP this. It was "epic" as William said, but actually I think a better explanation is that it is Hearst propaganda. They spent half the movie going around Europe and then spent the rest of the movie saying that Hearst was a philanthropist bringing some culture and history from Europe to the American people, making a place for everyone to enjoy. YEAH RIGHT. This was his complete ego trip- he built this place to show off to all of his rich and powerful friends and to give them a feeling of his grandeur and splendor. He wanted, like the European monuments, to be remembered for a long time to come. And, obviously, it fulfilled that purpose as it is a historical monument today. Don't waste your time with the movie.

When I go visit a place, I always buy a book about the place to help me remember and give me even more details about the place. Unfortunately, due to the benefit dinner, they closed the gift shop early and I didn't get my book. I guess that just means that I will have to come back and see the other 3 tours . . . . . And believe me, I will be going the slightly longer way on the main freeway, avoiding the 1, since I've been there and done that- twice.