Trekking to Hearst Castle on a rainy morning..

Figured out how to traverse the 1 without throwing up! The secret I figured out is to 1) not eat breakfast and 2) put your feet down on the floor of the car and clench your abs in the direction that you are swerving!

So managed to make it to San Simeon with minimal discomfort! What a day to visit this place.. it was drizzly, cloudy and dark. And we were not allowed to use flashes inside or outside. Hopefully you can see a bit of the gradeur of this place. Hearst seems to be a really interesting man with a definite precocious streak, who was in tune with the world around him and really knew how to entertain the upper class. Don't get me wrong, there seemed to be nothing philanthropic or kind hearted about him. He married a showgirl and then later married a famous actress. But he seems to be a lively, vibrant person who really embraced the lifestyle of his media empire.

Charles and I really enjoyed seeing this gorgeous property. He seemed to have collected art from all over the world in an attempt to bring the world into his home in a very physical way. It's very beautiful, but we both thought the money and effort could have been put towards something so much more useful. I like the way Charles thinks. I asked him if he played golf, and he mentioned thought that the sport is very wasteful of resources, which I can't help but agree with.

Anyhow, back to Hearst Castle. My favorite parts are the home movies, which are silent and in black and white. These live tapings of Hearst and his friends reveal so much of the revelry and mannerisms of these old Hollywood icons such as Charlie Chaplin (very handsome by the way!)

There are a variety of tours available for Hearst Castle, and the recommended tour for first-time visitors is Tour #1 - the Experience Tour. A brief ride up the side of the mountain through cows, deer and Hearst Foundation's private property that has not been donated to the museum that you are able to visit. Small details like a 1.5 mile long archway for the vines to grow so that Hearst and his friends could ride horses in the shade on hot days make it very whimsical and decadent.

This tour takes you to both pools (indoor Neptune pool and outdoor Venus pool), one of the 4-bedroom guest homes through and through, as well as the reception hall, recreation area, dining room and home theatre of the main house. It is really fantastic, every single element of this place inside and out had been specially picked, detailed and executed.