A magical anniversary trip to Hearst Castle

Can I tell you about my recent trip to my most favorite place on earth? I must warn you, it's not sewing related, but may be of interest to those of you who love history or Old Hollywood.

Not far from where I live is the most beautiful castle, Hearst Castle. It is nestled on a hilltop in San Simeon, California with a stunning view of the ocean and surrounded by gorgeous gardens. WR (William Randolph) had constant construction going on for twenty eight years and never officially finished building. The insides are furnished with art from all over the world which span literally hundreds and thousands of years. WR and his companion Marion Davies (a well known movie star in the 20s and 30s) would invite all of the big names of the times for visits. It would not be uncommon to see Charlie Chaplin, Joan Crawford, Louise Brooks, Amelia Earhart, Howard Hughes, Winston Churchill, Cary Grant, Douglas Fairbanks, George Bernard Shaw, F. Scott Fitzgerald, or Jean Harlow walking the grounds. It's a very long guest list and those are just the ones I can name off the top of my head! FYI I would love to time travel to this time and place!


It's a fairly quick bus ride up the five mile hill to the Castle.

All of the tours start here, the Neptune pool. Can you imagine lounging here with the stars in Hearst's heyday? Guests were brought bathing suits to wear and sometimes got to take them home. Every year the tour guides get to swim in this pool. I'm considering becoming a tour guide... ;)



Our next stop was to one of the guest houses. All three of the "guest houses" on the property are what I call a "mansion." The one we went into was the biggest of the three and the one that Hearst resided in while the Castle was being built. It is just as ornate as the Castle.

One of the perks of going on the evening tour is seeing people dressed up as Hearst's guests.

A Singer sewing machine! I couldn't go in the room, so I leaned in as far as possible and zoomed in on my camera.

 It's much more amazing in person.

 The "living room" was the first stop inside the actual Castle. The guide told us a story about Errol Flynn doing impersonations of people in front of the fireplace.


The "dining room."  Hearst sat in the middle of the table and the newest or most interesting guests sat closest to him. If a guest exceeded his or her stay, Hearst slowly moved them towards the end of the table, next to the fireplace. A guest (I believe it was Harpo Marx), was seated at the end of the table and said he had no idea how the food at the Castle tasted, as he ate as fast as he could to get away from the fire haha.

Guests were allowed to drink small amounts of liquor and they were not allowed to bring their own. This caused people to try and smuggle in alcohol in their suitcases!

The library where legend has it that Marion Davies would tumble across the rug.


 Hearst's study. The painting of him was added after his death.



When the tour ended our guide told me that I should come back and work at the Castle, it made my night! We talked a lot about Old Hollywood and my love for Marion Davies, so I think she could tell that I was a big fan :) If I didn't have a HUGE fear of public speaking working at Hearst Castle would be a dream.

Have any of you been there? Does anyone have an interest in Marion Davies or William Randolph Hearst?