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.
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.
Thursday, December 13, 2007
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2 comments:
isn't that the coolest!!??! i toured there when i was young with my family and jonathan and i tried to go there for our honeymoon, but the wait was WAY too long. feelings of jealousy are trying to creep their way through my body... thanks for posting those fantastic pics.
Awesome. I like to take pictures of statues too so I'm sure I'd go crazy here.
Also if you haven't seen Citizen Kane yet you really should.
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