Community Event 4: California's Hearst Castle

On May 15th I took a trip down the California coast to Cambria. While there my girlfriend and I decided to visit the Hearst Castle, which is located nearby in the town of San Simeon. We paid some money, got loaded onto a tour bus and made the five mile trek into the hill side up to the estate.

The place is unreal. A giant four building estate cram packed with artwork and salvaged relics from top to bottom. The place is amazing, with all of its fine craftsmanship and art. Of the multi-cultural influences in its architecture, I personally liked the Spanish style designs best. The place seems like a giant museum, it's hard to believe this was once someones house! I have to hand it to architect Julia Morgan, who designed the estate under close scruteny of Hearst himself, to bring this thing together. A one of a kind experience.

A sculpture I saw under a window in the garden outside of the Casa del Sol.

The indoor pool under the tennis courts. All tiled mosaic-style!


A 35oo year old Egyptian sculpture, one of my favorite pieces at the estate...

From the hearst castle website:
These four pieces date from the New Kingdom. Sekhmet literally translates as "the powerful." Depicted with the body of a woman and the head of a lioness, she was the bloodthirsty protector of Ra, the sun god.

Egyptian. Head on the left, 18th Dynasty; three others, 19th Dynasty. Granite Full figure with vein of feldspar, 5'10-1/2 x 20-1/2" (179.1x52.1cm); 3/4 figure, 45-1/4 x 17-3/4"(114.9x45.1cm); chipped head, 19 x 19"(48.3 x 48.3cm); head with sundisk, 23 x 10" (58.4 x 25.4cm). Hearst Monument Collection, South Esplanade.

There are five tours to choose from, each at $24 a head, which includes an iMax movie on the making of a legacy at the end of a tour. Despite the cost, I think the place is worth checking out...although my only advice would be to skip the movie.