I have always been fascinated by castles. The magnificence in their architecture and beauty in every detail you see, more often than not, leaves you in awe.
Yesterday, Don and I drove down to San Simeon. This was my first time to see Hearst Castle. America's castle.
Our tour began with a five-mile bus ride to "La Cuesta Encantada" - The Enchanted Hill. On our way up, we saw a few stray farm and zoo animals roaming around the 250-acre land. When we arrived at our destination, we were greeted by our tour guide. We went up a staircase which led to the main entrance of Casa Del Sol, one of the three guesthouses on the estate.
Have you seen the movie Bedazzled? If you've seen the movie, you'll definitely remember this photo (above).
To the left of Casa Del Sol is Neptune's Pool. Inspired by the iconic imagery of Greece, Neptune's Pool is surrounded by marble statues and colonnades.
We continued to look inside Casa Del Sol and saw a few of the 18 rooms in the guesthouse.
After Casa Del Sol, we proceeded to enter through the 'secret entrance' of Casa Grande.
The design of the main house was inspired by Spanish Cathedrals. The intricate details in every room I saw left me speechless.
This was a very interesting trip. The castle was definitely majestic. It was a hodgepodge of several European castles, which the young William Hearst had visited. Building the castle, from what I understand, was a realization of a dream. Hearst gathered ideas and inspiration from the grandeur and scale of the castles and art he saw during his European tour. This led him to aspire for something as marvelous as these.
More photos are posted in the gallery. I have yet to have my film processed and post more photos.
Rambling Gypsy
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