Ok, this is going to be a long post because we saw and did so much! This is the entrance to Hearst Castle where all tours start and end.
This is one of the three cottages on the castle grounds for guests.
The two bell towers and the covered balcony where William Randolph lived. He lived in the guest cottages until the Casa Grande was finished.
Door to the castle which came from a Spanish convent from the 1500's.
Looking towards the ocean which was fogged in that day. The house is 1600 feet above sea level and gets lots of sunshine. The Hearst family owned the land for a long time and William spent a lot of time there camping and developing a taste for nature.
Inside the house is like being in a museum. The Hearst family took whatever they wanted before the donated the property to the state but what was left is spectacular. William collected tapestries, ceiling, fireplaces, furniture and anything else that caught his eye. He and Julia Morgan (his architect) discussed how and where to use it.
This is the guest room where everyone gathered before dinner.
I don't know what it is, but it looks expensive.
Poker table where you could find a game with movie stars and starlets, politicians and generals. Roy Rogers, JFK, Clark Gable and many many others visited. Charlie Chaplin was a frequent guest.
The dining room. While the table is very long it really is pretty narrow. You are going to be very close to the person across from you.
William always sat in the middle and guests were assigned seats, usually new arrivals sat next to him. It was a clue it was time to go as you moved further and further away from William.
Not the worlds finest china or silverware, this is what the used, and yes the mustard and ketchup were put on the table just like this.
I have no idea what that scepter is behind the guide, but it looks important. This is a shot of the ceiling! All of it is had carved and it again came from a spanish castle.
Pool room for after dinner brandy and cigars. Actually has a pool table and a snooker table.
No room for live entertainment in this room so this is a RCA radio with push buttons. There was no radio available to reach the castle in the early days. William owned radio stations and he had them send the content via phone lines from all over the United States. The Hearst also own Sirius XM radio now.
Movie room where first run movies where shown nightly. The staff were allowed to join in the viewing as well.
Pretty wild lighting.
View of the castle from close the the 17 room dressing room by the Neptune pool.
Linda taking a break next to some fabulous statue.
Jennifer and Michael in front of the Neptune pool. The Hearst's still use the pool whenever they like. Three days before our tour they had to close the castle early as they wanted to swim.
This pool was torn down and rebuilt and enlarged 3 times. It was originally just the size of the inner circle.
From this view you can see the private airport way below that became the preferred method of arrival for guests. William had his own DC 3 which flew in all of his daily papers and new guests.
He owned all of the land as far as you could see in any direction from the top of the hill. It was over 250,000 acres. He also had his own zoo with polar bears, lions, zebras and many other exotic animals.
This is Venus and the area behind. It was originally intended for another statue with four large horses, but never completed.
Pool holds 340,000 gallons and is heated to 70 degrees year round.
Lots of wild flowers all over.
Black bromeliads. I have never seen them before.
Air strip and down in the fog, he used to have his own dock for ships. You can see the tour bus making the way up the hill.
This is really a plant!
Among the more beautiful on the hill this day.
Chased this butterfly all over the trellis and only in editing did I realize he is missing part of a wing.
Just statuary and a view of the top of one of the bell towers.
Self explanatory.
As far as the eye could see, all of this belongs to me. Wow.
Indoor pool below the tennis courts. Gold tile everywhere.
Whole pool is 10 feet deep and of course heated.
Wild spanish mountain goats still roam.
Look real close and you can see zebra among the cattle.
Elephant seals and man are they noisy!
Black Hand wine tasting in Cambria. Very nice little coastal town.
Busy bee on purple flowers.
Moonstone wine tasting. JK and Linda liked it a lot.
Back in Paso Robles, and yes there are a few winerys here.
Veris and Jan Kris winery. Very tasty champagne.
Vines are everywhere!
