Day 2
When I travel, I like to make loose plans. One should allow enough leeway in one's schedule to allow for eventualities and unstructured wandering. So when I made the plans for this weekend, I booked a hotel and bought tickets for a specific tour. That's it. The rest of the time we had to relax or just go with the flow. So when Sunday morning came around, Erin and I woke up late, ate breakfast and then decided that we'd go for a walk on the beach and then head back up the hill to the Castle for another tour!
LOVE the beach!
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There are actually five separate standard tours, plus some seasonal tours and you can book private tours as well. The second tour we took was tour #3. The entire ambiance was SO much better than our first tour. There were only 8 people on our tour (as opposed to 65 on the first). No Chinese tourist mobs this time. It was intimate, educational and just a complete treat!
Tour three takes a more in-depth look at the houses and grounds. We went through Casa Del Monte and through the North Wing addition to Casa Grande.
More pics:
Those are actual Roman columns.
This ceiling is in the North Wing addition to La Casa Grande. It is called a Half-Orange ceiling and came from a cathedral in Spain.
Looking at the rooftops makes me feel like I'm in Italy!
Overall, my favorite thing about the Castle (besides the pool) is that Hearst took priceless works of art and incorporated them into living, into life, into creating a place of beauty and serenity where you could appreciate craftsmanship and artistry. It's about ten million times better than going to any museum because it's not sterile. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the Louvre, and the Hermitage is phenomenal - it's way cool that places like that exist and that we can see master works of Art and history in them. BUT holy crow, Hearst Castle just does it in a way that is so much more accessible and relaxed. It's my slice of heaven for sure.
It costs 9 million dollars per year to maintain and run the Castle as a park. Can you imagine what it would cost these days to run it as a house, constantly entertaining and throwing lavish parties? Probably around $50Mil + per year. Now that's crazy excess. When building stopped at La Cuesta Encantata (because Hearst died around age 80) it was estimated that the entire place was about HALF finished. Seriously. More guesthouses, additions, fountains, decorations, gardens, etc. were planned. And get this: On top of the Castle, Hearst owned SIX other "homes," most of which he was simultaneously remodeling... Hearst Castle was originally built on the family CAMPGROUND - because the family were tired of "roughing it" while camping. He called up Julia Morgan and told her he wanted to "Build a little something."
In recent times, Hearst family members have been overhead saying that William Randolph Hearst's art collection was so extensive that the family still has warehouses of his purchases which have NEVER BEEN UNCRATED.
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We decided to take the scenic route home - or at least for part of it. We drove North up Highway 1, which hugs the California coast. It was stunning. This entire trip was a visual feast.
Yes, I'm standing not five feet away (in all directions) from live, wild Elephant seals on the beach!
Enjoy the ride!
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