Driving over Hwy 46 from Paso Robles to the Pacific
If thou wouldst have me paintThe home to which, could love fulfill its prayers,
This hand would lead thee, listen!
A Palace lifting to eternal summer
Its marble walls, from out a glossy bower
Of coolest foliage musical with birds –
And when night came . . . the perfumed light
Stole through the mists of alabaster lamps,
And every air was heavy with the sighs
Of orange groves and music from sweet lutes,
In the midst of roses!
Dost thou like the picture?
From the play, "The Lady of Lyons" by Sir Edward Bulwer-Lytton
Some background: My sister's bucket list includes a visit to Hearst Castle near San Simon, California, so, over holiday break, we dropped in! I won't post all my photos here, there are so many! just enough to remind me of the fun we had. The script quoted above is hanging in Hearst's private quarters and La Cuesta Encantada translates to The Enchanted Castle.
Okay, this is funny. After driving for miles and miles Lesa asked me why there were so many black tanks parked in all the fields... Uh, tanks? Those are cows. Or, for you, we can call them beef tanks, or milk tanks, but really, you should get your eyes checked...
Always happy to see the Pacific Ocean!
View from almost the top!
We arrived!
Our tour guides were theee best!
Neptune Pool
Everything grows here! roses all year round!
Not exactly the Elgin Marbles but so many impressive European treasures everywhere. Oh, Versailles, Le Louvre, Chenonceau, Giverny, I was reminded of all of them!
Tennis anyone? I took this photo not for the courts, but rather, the mountain range in the background. Our guide told us the property line is somewhere over there...
Beth and Lesa at the indoor Azure Pool, real gold everywhere!
Oh, my... !
I really wanted to jump in but our guide told us the state of California is so broke, if I did, they'd sue me, so, I stayed with the herd.
We had two interior tours, one in the afternoon and one in the evening. The castle was decked out for Christmas so we enjoyed the festive mood. No flash allowed and visitors must stay on the ugly brown carpet runner, so, photos are limited.
The night tour included California State Park employees and museum volunteers who dress as characters who visited the mansion. We met Clark Gable and Bill Hearst himself, as well as his 34 years younger Hollywood mistress, Marion Davies!
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