If you missed Day One’s beach photo safari, click here.
Our first full day of adventures began at Hearst Castle on Saturday. Perched high on the hill above the small town of San Simeon, population 462, the “castle” is actually a ranch with several buildings, built by the newspaper magnet, William Randolph Hearst, and named by him as “La Cuesta Encantada” – The Enchanted Hill. He built his mansion on a hill where he and his family had camped as a child. (Although, judging by the description of what the Hearsts called ‘camping’, I think they may have been the initial pioneers of “Glamping”.)
One of the coolest things about Hearst Castle, which was under construction through the 40s and 50s, is that it’s architect was a woman, Julia Morgan. I can imagine that was quite something at that time.
Unfortunately, I did not bring a telephoto lens long enough to capture the house “on the hill” but there are plenty of photos on the Hearst Castle website that do the job well enough. I’m not sure I could have added anything creative to the mix, quite honestly. But here are my photos from our tour.
My favorite area of the estate was undoubtedly the “Roman Pool” , an indoor pool covered with exquisite blue and gold tiles. It was totally breathtaking and imagining guests like Joan Crawford, Cary Grant, and Charlie Chaplin swimming in it at some point was a little surreal.
Next up… Elephant Seals and San Simeon State Beach. Stay tuned!
As always, amazing pics!