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A Visit To Hearst Castle

Road trip! As my cousin’s wedding was taking place in Monterey, we decided to leave San Leandro a day early so that we could fit in a visit to San Simeon and see Hearst Castle. Every time I’ve been to San Francisco, I’ve always wanted to see it, but at 3 hours driving time, we never were able to fit it into our schedule. Well! Since we’re headed in that direction…

Twelve cousins in 3 cars traveling the 101. For the most part, an uneventful drive – that is, until we closed in on San Simeon. High up in the hills, I spied ocean waters so turquoise-y, it looked like a saturated photo or a painting. I hadn’t seen that vibrant blue anywhere outside, maybe Hawaii. I was amazed.

We reached San Simeon before noon and it was a scorcher! Oh, and since California is going through a drought, the bathrooms were closed off to visitors, in order to conserve water. Instead, there were rows and rows of pot-o-potties and wash stations in the parking lots. What a great first impression, non?

We got our tickets and boarded the bus for the 10 minute ride up “La Cuesta Encantada” or the Enchanted Hill. It is here, in 1919, that newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst hired architect Julia Morgan to build a hilltop “ranch”, or rather a Mediterranean revival style estate, that would be filled with art and antiques from Heart’s vast collection. The project was completed in 1947.

Hearst’s Casa Grande, with its church-like appearance, is the main draw. At 68,500 square feet, it contains 115 rooms including 38 bedrooms, a library, movie theatre, kitchen and living quarters for the staff. We signed up for the introductory Grand Rooms tour, where we visited the assembly room, refectory, billiard room and theatre.

If I have the chance to go back, I’d definitely do the evening tour. Not only does it add another flavour, but guests and staff dress up in ’30s attire – just like in Hearst’s day.

After our 45 minute tour, we were allowed to wander the outdoor grounds. We saw the 3 cottages, Casa del Mar, Casa del Sol and Casa del Monte. Each cottage was named for its view and was used to house guests and family. Interestingly, none of the cottages had kitchens or dining areas. Instead, all guests were required to go to the main house for their meals.

Walking along the esplanade, we saw palm trees, citrus trees and boxwood hedges.

And then we came to the Neptune pool. The 104 ft long outdoor pool even has a 17th century statue of Neptune as a focal point, along with roman columns from 1st-4th centuries.

But the piece de resistance was the indoor roman pool. Consisting of more than a million Murano glass tiles, some of which contain a layer of gold leaf inside, it was absolutely stunning.

Every bone in my body, resisting the temptation to jump right in. I mean, who wouldn’t want to take a dip in here?

But what was EVEN more jaw-dropping? The drive back to Monterey.

Instead of the 101, we took highway 1, otherwise known as, the Pacific Coast Highway. I had told my cousins that I wanted to do this drive the next day before the wedding, even if I had to go by myself.

I was a big fan of beat poets and writers, so I’ve dreamed of this stretch of highway for the longest time. And now I was on it, driving through Big Sur. The views are beyond words. And the roads windy as all heck. I didn’t have any problems, but my passengers did. Unfortunately, we didn’t make any stops as the kids were getting antsy and my cousins wanted to get to the hotel as soon as possible.

I wanted to stop at every turnoffs and take a million photos. but at least I’ve seen it and I made a promise to myself to come back here again. With Sean because he has to see this. He must see this. The most beautiful drive ever. Even better than the road to Hana – which was also stunning.

I can’t describe the magnitude of how beautiful the drive was, so here’s a Vimeo video that I found on driving the PCH and Big Sur. This is a bucket list item, folks.