Hearst Castle
I missed this goal on a road trip to San Francisco once before, because I didn't check on opening hours....so I was determined to make it happen this time. America's castle, created by William Randolph Hearst, the eccentric newspaper tycoon the film "Citizen Kane" is based on...if you read O magazine or Cosmopolitan you are enjoying one of his journalistic progeny. And whether you love him or hate him, you have to be impressed by his real estate masterpiece.
What a beautiful area to create such a magical place at!!! A 5 hour drive up the Pacific Coast Highway and there we were, in Cambria, a certified small sea town where the diners close at 5, 6, or 7pm....you never know, and if you want to eat there you better arrive early because there isn't a fast food joint within miles of the place!
The beach is gorgeous...one of those few quiet, untainted pieces of land along the California coastline. The drive up to the castle is 15 minutes by bus, it is a state park so a ranger drives you up from the visitor's center.
This house is amazing. There is a large central house, the Casa Grande, and three smaller guest houses, the Casa Monte, Casa del Mar, and Casa del Sol, all named for their position on the "Enchanted Hill" as it is called. These guest houses are big enough and gorgeous enough to make anyone cringe with envy that anyone could have THREE of these....and they are houses for the GUESTS? The views alone inspire envy...don't even get me started on the Mediterranean feel of the architecture.
We were lucky enough to be there during sunset, and WOW. The view was amazing.
This doesn't even include the humongous Greco-Roman pool, complete with ANCIENT ROMAN COLUMNS IMPORTED FROM ITALY!!! Are you kidding me????
This guy had a fascination for collecting antiquities from all over the world...can't do this kind of thing anymore, but in his time he was able to collect Roman statues, Egyptian sarcophagi, etc. The pieces are scattered around the estate, and they are INCREDIBLE.
We did two tours...one where we got to see his exclusive private rooms (on which Cary Grant stated that he had been to Hearst Castle many times as a VIP guest and only seen this area of the house ONCE). William also shared these rooms with his mistress...part of the scandal that for a 1920's gazillionaire, brought him to infamy. Honestly, compared to the other rooms in the house they looked kinda shabby. Hmmmmm.....
What a beautiful area to create such a magical place at!!! A 5 hour drive up the Pacific Coast Highway and there we were, in Cambria, a certified small sea town where the diners close at 5, 6, or 7pm....you never know, and if you want to eat there you better arrive early because there isn't a fast food joint within miles of the place!
The beach is gorgeous...one of those few quiet, untainted pieces of land along the California coastline. The drive up to the castle is 15 minutes by bus, it is a state park so a ranger drives you up from the visitor's center.This house is amazing. There is a large central house, the Casa Grande, and three smaller guest houses, the Casa Monte, Casa del Mar, and Casa del Sol, all named for their position on the "Enchanted Hill" as it is called. These guest houses are big enough and gorgeous enough to make anyone cringe with envy that anyone could have THREE of these....and they are houses for the GUESTS? The views alone inspire envy...don't even get me started on the Mediterranean feel of the architecture.
We were lucky enough to be there during sunset, and WOW. The view was amazing.This doesn't even include the humongous Greco-Roman pool, complete with ANCIENT ROMAN COLUMNS IMPORTED FROM ITALY!!! Are you kidding me????
This guy had a fascination for collecting antiquities from all over the world...can't do this kind of thing anymore, but in his time he was able to collect Roman statues, Egyptian sarcophagi, etc. The pieces are scattered around the estate, and they are INCREDIBLE.We did two tours...one where we got to see his exclusive private rooms (on which Cary Grant stated that he had been to Hearst Castle many times as a VIP guest and only seen this area of the house ONCE). William also shared these rooms with his mistress...part of the scandal that for a 1920's gazillionaire, brought him to infamy. Honestly, compared to the other rooms in the house they looked kinda shabby. Hmmmmm.....
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