Hearst Castle

Hearst Castle in San Simeon California, has delightful surprises for those who like well designed landscaping/gardens, architecture, art, history, art history, craftsmanship...and yes, GOLD! I could have lingered for entirely too long. Adam would argue that I did. There's simply TOO MUCH to take in, in a short hour or two tour. (Though you can stay outside on the grounds as long as you like.) 

Mr. Hearst was certainly the definition of FILTHY RICH. And what a treasure he created and left behind. This place is like NOTHING you could imagine and is absolutely worth the travel time to see. You must take more than one tour while you're there.

 One thing I enjoyed were the doors and ornate frames. No door is alike.

And the soffits! The one below is hand carved, from another century and country. (From China? I wish I could remember the exact details. I am curious to know if there is a book out there with all the details listed and great photography to go with it.)

The grounds are blessed with white marble statues. *Anna clutches her chest* I love the way the white marble stands out among the green. Those, and large decorative urns/pots made excellent focal points at the end of most paths. Such great garden design.

 Oh, and let us not forget the hand painted TILES on ALL the steps.

 And of course no castle is complete with out a fountains overlooking the valley and out to the OCEAN!

The castle sits atop a mountain. So the view all around is of the tops of other mountains and of course the ocean. We were told you could look as far as the furthest peak and you still wouldn't see the end of the Hearst ranch.

I enjoyed how EACH surface was interesting. When this kind of detail is possible, it makes me feel sheepish that my own residence is so borrrrrring in comparison. I mean, my walkway is just PLAIN cement. Noooo!!!

 I really enjoyed the landscaping. Really.

Below is a guest house. We weren't able to see it simply because it was on another tour...and we had already taken TWO! I told you there was too much to see.

Oh, and lets not forget the FABULOUS Neptune Pool. I mean, if I swim in it—I believe I will automatically BECOME FABULOUS because how can one NOT???

We learned the MARBLE BOTTOMED pool has been empty for a few years due to renovations. They had filled it only a month earlier. Parts of it were still blocked off so we couldn't get very close.

Let's talk ceilings too. Ceilings brought in from other countries. Ceilings from the 14th century and so forth. The castle is literally a museum. The one pictured below in the library is a floating ceiling. 

Below: This is one of the main rooms, and gives you an idea of the look of the interior. Most walls are covered in tapestries, priceless no doubt. Tapestries that Mr. Hearst would ask his guests to look at and make up stories about the characters depicted in them. How fun! I would have made an excellent guest here.

 Below, another hand carved ceiling...I am 80% possitive this is from Spain.

Below is the dining hall (used to inspire the design of the dining hall at Hogwarts.)

And the bedrooms! Again, no surface left untouched. And see the doorway to the bathroom? I wish we could have seen into it. I'm sure it was unimaginable.

 A golden goose and and gilded ceiling.

Check out this bedroom ceiling. Sign me up for a night stay.

 Below, one of the columns in THE THEATER.

Can you imagine what it's like to WALK on real gold tiles? 

We did it, and it felt like...um...we were being naughty. We couldn't believe it was truly allowed. Ha!

 This is the Neptune pool. It's really something special.

Sign me up for another visit sometime soon! Sign YOURSELF up for a visit sometime soon! You NEED to go!