Hearst Castle

August 26, 2013

We took a drive up the coast to San Simeon to see Hearst Castle.

We had both been here as kids and toured the main floors, so today we did the upper floors and private living quarters of Randolph Hearst. No matter where you look, in the castle or on the grounds there is grandeur and opulence and beauty.

Hearst was a collector extraordinaire, he collected the finest antiques he could find from Europe, he collected the rich and famous, the artists and literary giants of the time. He hosted elaborate parties and flew his guests into San Simeon on his private planes. He collected exotic animals for his private zoo where the animals would roam the acres from the beach to the top of the mountain where the castle sits overlooking his domain.

Ahead of its time, the castle was designed to withstand the earthquakes California is famous for, so it is basically constructed of reinforced concrete. To hide the bare concrete floors, walls and ceilings Hearst covered them the same way they did in the European Castles of old, with tapestries

and drapes on the walls, dropped ceilings that hung from wires and various floor coverings.

Guests at the castle had a multitude of entertainment possibilities,

tennis courts, complete horse stables, two swimming pools (one indoors and one outside), complete library, game rooms, billiards or just wandering the beautiful gardens and grounds to name a few.

Our tour was 1-1/2 hours, then we spent another couple of hours wandering around in the gift shops and museum at the bottom of the mountain.