Hearst Castle- Tour 1

I have always wanted to go to Hearst Castle. I have heard about it since I was a kid. That was one of the reasons Lezlee and I picked the area we did. Hearst Castle sits way up on a hill/mountain overlooking the coast. It is still isolated today and must have really been isolated when it was built. It boggles my brain a little to imagine how they could have hauled everything up there when they did. The land had been in the family since William Randolph Hearst was a child. It was a place that they went camping and ranching. He didn't start building this home until he was 60. It was one of 30 homes that he owned and never spent more than a month or two a  year there.

The property consists of a working ranch, starting down at the lower levels, all the way up to the house. That is still in the hands of the Hearst family. There is a main house and two or three guest houses, indoor and outdoor swimming pool, tennis court. There was a significant zoo there in the day of Hearst. Some of the cages still exist.

It was hard to decide which photos to use. There was something worthy of a photo every where you looked. He owned original art from all over the world. Everything is real. The guide said that if it looked like gold, it was.

Here is some of the view available from the house.

Some of the many statues.

Lezlee and Jordan.

The outdoor pool

Some of the gardens.

One of the towers on the main house. All of the intricate bells, art work etc, came from Europe and all over the world.

The refectory where formal dinner was held every night.

 The indoor pool.

Some of the gold tile work at the indoor pool.

They have 4 different tours. I would love to go back and do a different one. It's an amazing place.