Cribs: Cambria - Day 2

With an 11:40a.m. reservation for a tour of Hearst Castle, sleeping in was not an option and neither was starting the tour with an empty stomach.

We strolled down to a small French cafe for un petit dejeuner. Elizabeth went with the delectable blueberry coffee cake and a small latte. My first choice was a cinnamon roll, but when I heard the cook exclaim that more ham & cheese croissants were coming right out of the oven, I ordered one of them promptly with a mocha latte to drink. I'll come right out an say it, that there ham & cheese croissant was one of the best danged ham & cheese croissants I've ever tasted, and I've had ham & cheese croissants on several continents and a few scattered island nations.

After a satisfying breakfast and a caffeine boost, it was off to W.R. Hearst's little bungalow in the hills of San Simeon. I'd love to see an episode of MTV Cribs on this place. Wow! Not only was this modern day castle extremely immense, this cat filled out this space with some seriously classy shit. Dude had tapestries, statues, paintings, furniture, and ceilings, yes, ceilings imported from the finest homes in all the lands of Europe, Asia, Middle East, & Africa. W.R. had taste out the ying yang. As you can see in the pictures, the place was built to be the cream of the crop; it was in its day and I'm sure other present day domiciles in the union would still be hard pressed to best it. The tour option we chose only showed off a small portion of the estate, but to say that I was impressed would be an understatement. The Hearst family gained not only my $20 entrance fee, but my utmost respect for putting together such an impressive architectural and cultural sight. I would like to return in the future for additional access to other parts of the Castle.

With the end of our tour so too came an end to our weekend excursion. Down the 101 back towards home we went. And what meal would one cap off this weekend of visual and edible delights? Why a double-double with cheese at ye old In-N-Out Burger with a shake and fries of course!!

--M