February is our wedding anniversary month. Whenever we can, we'd go to a place we've never seen before or to a place that we know and like. This time we went to the San Simeon where the famous Hearst Castle is located.
Hearst Castle is very big and it would take five tours for a guest to see and appreciate all the things that they want to show. We took Tour #2 which features the bedrooms, kitchen, offices, etc. We thought that if we were still interested to see some more that we would take another one. It turned out that we were quite content with one tour. The tour started with an outdoor swimming pool called the Neptune. To me, it looked like something that would have been seen in ancient Greece (never mind that I have not been to Greece) where the mythological gods strolled around in their white robes. Then we were led to go into the world class castle and saw where Mr. William Randolph Hearst himself and his wife slept. The tour ended with yet another pool, the Roman Pool, this time it is built indoor. The special thing about this pool was that the tiles that were used to create the design on the flooring were glass tiles which have been individually laid with gold leaf within. The effect created the impression that they are gold tiles. A true picture of opulence.
After an almost two-hour of staring at things that one rich man and his interior decorator decided to put in the different rooms, things began to look boring. After seeing so many of them, the beds, no matter how ornate and costly they were, began to look common. The most striking feature of the house for me is the different ceilings in the different room. Every room had a different ceiling. Those ceilings were not made for the castle but instead they have been parts of other old buildings somewhere in this world- who knows where- and purchased at auctions and brought up to this isolated hill and installed in a room in the castle. Imagine that.
Mr. Hearst had a lot of money. He used his money in the things that he thought would make him happy or significant. Most of us do not have that kind of money (maybe Bill Gates does) but we can find happiness and significance by using our God-given resource which is love.
You have some beautiful photos from your trip. I remember going to the Hearst Castle when I was little and I still remember the pool. Maybe there is more than one though. I really like the photographs you took along the coast. Happy Anniversary :)
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