The Castle
It always surprises me how I forget exactly how much I love the ocean until I see it again. The California coastline is absolutely beautiful and even The Princess soaked up the scenery as she watched the waves and sang, “Slippery fish, slippery fish, swimming in the water”.
We arrived at the Hearst Castle visitor’s center an hour and a half before our tour. This worked out well as we had plenty of time to take in the sights and view the film “Building the Dream” in the National Geographic theater. It’s an excellent film that we all enjoyed, even the little ones. The boy’s were delighted as they peered through the telescopes on the observation deck below the castle. On the top of the hill sat Hearst Castle and Monkey Boy spotted the zebra grazing the hillside along side the cattle which we later discovered are descendants of the zebra William H Hearst had in his private zoo.
The boys recieved their first lesson on Renaissance art.
The castle is absolutely beautiful but the story behind the creation of it is what makes it incredible. I left feeling as I had just toured a bit of the world as most everything is furnished and decorated with European antiquities. The castle and cottages are very ornate and beautiful however it was the courtyards and the gardens I enjoyed most of all.
A, who is so very excited about his new photography skills and was snapping photo after photo. When he saw this headless statue in the garden he knew he had to have a photo to show his dad.
William Randolph Hearst didn’t start building the castle until he was 56 years old when he inherited the land from his mother. It then took him 27 years to complete. He enjoyed hosting gatherings of people from both Hollywood and politics. During the 1920’s and 1930’s these invitations to the “ranch” were highly coveted by all.
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