We spent the afternoon in the town of San Simeon, touring Hearst Castle.  William Randolf Hearst is too complex to put in the blog.  The man and his visions were incredible.  When planning this home, he envisioned very comfortable accommodations. His simple instructions to famed San Francisco architect Julia Morgan in 1919: "Miss Morgan, we are tired of camping out in the open at the ranch in San Simeon and I would like to build a little something."

Hearst and Morgan's collaboration became one of the world's greatest showplaces. By 1947, Hearst and Morgan had created an estate of 165 rooms and 127 acres of gardens, terraces, pools and walkways. 

Seeing it all is too much to do in one day so we decided on Tour Two which focused on the architectural elements and vast art collection in the main house, or Casa Grande. Featured rooms on this tour included; the Doge's Suite, "The Cloisters" which are four guest rooms flanked by open walkways, the Library, the Gothic Suite which occupies the entire third floor and includes Hearst's impressive private suite, library and office, and the Kitchen. During the Castle explore, we learned a great deal about the man and his accomplishments.  While we have been here before, this specific tour was a first for us and we all agreed it was amazing!