🚀 go-pugleaf

On Thu, 05 Feb 2004 00:04:27 GMT, "Simon Belmont" <123@abc.xyz> wrote:

>"Todd Michel McComb" <mccomb@medieval.org> wrote
>> Hearst really lived there, so it wasn't about attracking gawkers,

>I suspect it is mostly a source of pride for CA.

Not really.  It's just a unique place.  

Think of what you would do if you were one of the richest men in the
world and could buy *anything* you wanted, and you wanted the most
fantastic estate money could buy.  To give you an idea of the
unbelievable things to be seen at the castle, Hearst collected
*ceilings*.  He bought ceilings from churches and castles etc. in
Europe, had them removed and crated up and shipped to California,
hauled up the hill (probably in carts pulled by mules, this was ~60-80
years ago), and then installed in the various rooms in the castle.

I've toured a lot of famous estates, and I've never seen anything
nearly as opulent as the Hearst Castle.

>I may give a drive-by to decide if I want to go inside (assuming the
>hordes of visitors haven't filled up the guest tours) and check it out.

You can't see anything from the road that you can't see on the web.
The tours start out at the ticket booth by the highway and you ride in
a shuttle bus up a narrow road to the castle.  You won't have time for
a tour if you intend to make the drive from LA to SF in one day.

jc