Tuesday - Jan 13/2015 Weather - super foggy in the morning at Paso Robles with a low of 39; sun comes out about 11:30 am and burns off the fog and a high of 65. We don't ride out till the sun is brightly shining and the fog has cleared. Oddly enough it feels warmer as we get closer to the Pacific Ocean coast.....
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| coming up to the front of the castle |
Hearst Castle is located just north of San Simeon on Hwy 1 way up on the hilltop of the William Randolph Hearst Ranch land (250,000 acres). At the visitor center you have to board a bus to ride up 4 1/2 miles to get into the Castle and see a few of the rooms. This Mediterranean-style country estate was privately owned by the Hearst's from 1865 till 1957 when after "The Chief's death" the family deeded the estate to California and it has remained open to the public under the state park system. It is one of the most extravagant estates in the world. William was a newspaper and radio magnate of which at his prime he owned 25% of the USA news media. Hearst Castle was the inspiration for the "Xanadu" mansion of the 1941 Orson Welles film Citizen Kane a fictionalization of William Randolph Hearst's career. After visiting the place and listening to some information about Hearst we will have to see the movie. It was here that he entertained with his mistress Marion Davies, his wife lived in New York in the original family mansion. Hearst also owned a real castle in Wales at the time and over 1,000,000 acres in Chihuahua, Mexico.
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| diningroom once entertained movie stars and moguls - Charlie Chaplin, Winston Churchill, Charles Lindberg, George Bernard Shaw |
Hearst filled the mansion with garish booty of Gothic fireplaces, Moorish tiles, Medieval tapestries, marble statues and Greek vases. He shipped in walls ripped from European churches and castles. Why? Because he was wealthy and loved to go on buying sprees. His architect Julie Morgan worked on the estate for over 30 years. It can be viewed as the height of aesthetic glory or vulgar...... depending on your taste. Either way you have to see it to believe it.
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| view from one of the outdoor decks |
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| walking around the opulent grounds |
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| Roman Pool |
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