Hearst Castle and Loads of Elephant Seals

Today we visited Hearst Castle near San Simeon. It was built by Newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst who hired San Francisco architect Julia Morgan to build a hilltop house. Their collaboration on the house lasted from 1919 to 1947. Morgan designed this Mediterranean Revival Estate and filled it with art and antiques from Hearst's vast collection. It is now run by California State Parks.

One of the guest cottages which have bedrooms and sitting rooms but no kitchens as guests were expected to dine in the main building.

The Gardens

The Dining Room

The Main entrance

On the Terrace

Another Cottage and Courtyard

A gold statue in the garden of one of the guest cottages

More Statues

Another Guest Cottage

The empty swimming pool which was losing 5000 gallons a day and is now under repair.
It will take two years to complete.

The Tennis Courts which are actually the roof of the Roman Baths

And these are the Roman Baths under the Tennis Courts

After 4 hours at Hearst castle we visited a beach near San Simeon where
thousands of Elephant Seals arrive every winter.

One of the many groups of these seals along a 6 mile stretch of beach

A flock of Pelicans fly over

And finally three naked ladies beside the pool at Hearst Castle.
It has been a wonderful day with warm sunshine and the Castle is fantastic although not as nice as many of our Castles back in the UK.