San Simeon - (Hearst Castle)

I arrived in SLO last Thursday evening, which gave me the entire day Friday with my mother, while the rest of the SLO Readings were at work and school.

One place I have always wanted to visit is Hearst Castle and this was my best opportunity.  The rain that I apparently brought with me from the Northwest had mostly stopped by Friday morning so we jumped in the rental car and headed north to San Simeon.

The "castle" sits 1600 feet on top of a hill, so you drive to the visitor center and take a bus up to the main castle.

There is one main structure and three guest buildings.  They are:

Structure	Square Feet	Bedrooms	Fireplaces	Bathrooms	Sitting Rooms
Casa Grande	68,500	38	30	42	14
Casa Del Mar	5,350	8	5	6	1
Casa Del Monte	2,550	4	3	4	1
Casa Del Sol	3,620	8	3	8	2

 

Since we took the accessibility tour, we were limited to the first floor.  Still, there was plenty to see.

The Assembly Room (living room).

Refectory (dining room).

Billiards Room, with a billiards table and a pool table.

And the Theater.

But my favorite parts of our tour were the pools.

The outdoor pool.

And the indescribable indoor pool.

 In the first photo of the indoor pool, you may be able to see a caterer setting up for a party being held that night.  There was a bar set up at each end of the pool for a screening of the film "Citizen Hearst", which was being shown to the Hearst family and some invited guests.

Apparently not us.

But these folks.

Lots more to read here.