After saying farewell to our friends in Cayucos, eSuitor and drove to Fresno for the wedding of our friends, Dan and Sara. On the way, we decided to stop for a tour of the Hearst Castle. It is one of California's top tourism sites. The place was truly spectacular, and totally worth checking out. "Opulence" would be the word of the day, so brace yourself. Walking around this place, I felt as if I were on the set of The Great Gatsby--only this place was for real!
William Randolf Hearst inherited the land where he later built the Hearst Castle. This is one of his guest houses called "Casa del Sol". It, along with the other houses on the property were all designed by San Francisco architect, Julia Morgan. Her designs were inspired by Mediterranean art and architecture--principally from Spain, Italy, and Greece.
The landscaping was also gorgeous. When nature produces these colors and the perfect natural light, one need only to zoom and click!
The place included both indoor and outdoor swimming pools.
Notice the indoor swimming pool's diving platform!
Hearst was a great lover and collector of art. Much of it is actually ancient Greek and Roman art, though there are some reproductions.
Here's a pic of eSuitor and I at our friend's wedding. eSuitor was a groomsman, and he looked so handsome in his tux! The next time I see him in one of those, he will be my groom! Just 53 days to go...not that I'm counting!
9 comments:
I like the indoor swimming pool, looks so nice, makes me really want to jump in it! LOL
What a lovely place! I wish I were there.
I visited Heart Castle when I was about 16 and it IS AMAZING. How incredible it must have been in the heyday of its time!
I also visited when I was younger. I'd love to take Autumn there. 53 days to go. AHHHHHH!
oh how I love Hearst Castle. Nice VIEW, Hearstie!
Oh I've always wanted to see the Hearst Castle. My parents went there as part of their honeymoon as they toured around Northern California and Oregon.
If your day is in 53 days then mine is... OY! I don't want to think about it.
Wow! Just beautiful!
~ML~
Beautiful couple you are, beautiful castle...glad you got to see it. :) I've only been once, and my experience was unfortunately NOT a good one...Maya was up every 20 minutes or so all night in Monterey, telling us she wanted to go home (she was maybe 2 or 2 1/2 at the time), causing us to decide to go to Hearst Castle, see the dang thing, and go HOME to sleep. Well, the trip up to the castle for some reason provided me with a SEVERE sinus headache, and on the way home, I was truly, irrationally angry with Ted, because he SHOULD have had an axe in the trunck of the car. I wanted him to use it to cut off my head and put me out of my misery. ACK! I wasn't kidding, either.
Did you notice the little ketchup bottles on the fancy table setting? We thought that was groovy, even with the pain of it all...
J,
Yes! The groovy ketchup and mustard bottles were still on the table. I think they were of the time period when it was spelled "Catsup". It was a cool touch of "modernity" in the midst of all the antiques.
Thanks for sharing your story about your family vacation to the castle. Glad your sinus headache went away...*phew!*. ;)
Post a Comment