Ancient tapestries in Living room depict a French revolution and a particularly beloved leader who is still sung about today in their National Anthem. The long narrow dining room at Hearst Castle is of Gothic design with the high ceilings and narrow walls of dark wood. Apparently everyone who visited the Hearst "ranch" was expected to attend dinner, after dinner drinks, and movies that could go on to all hours of the night. If you fell asleep in the theater that was fine, but you had to show up. Other than that, guests were free to entertain themselves. When guests came into the dining room they would look for their name card at the table to find their seat. If after a few days it started inching its way down to the end of the table by the fireplace where Joey is standing, then you knew your stay was drawing to a close. Carey Grant was a frequent guest. If he saw his name moving down he would simply switch it with someone elses to prolong his visit just a bit. I think my very favorite piece of artwork is the teak carving of Mary and Jesus in the center picture. I think it is simple elegance, and quite touching.
The indoor pool is breathtaking with all the beautiful blue and gold mosaic throughout. At the bottom right picture you can see the shallow pool set back into another room. It was only three feet deep and was called the sissy pool. It was mostly for the Easterners who did not have swimming pools and had therefore never learned to swim well. Hearst allowed his staff to swim and participate in most of the events of the day. He expected his guests to treat his staff well. While back East they were called servants at Hearst Ranch they were staff and a guest would be asked to leave if they didn't treat staff as "almost" equal.
Ancient tapestries in Living room depict a French revolution and a particularly beloved leader who is still sung about today in their National Anthem. The long narrow dining room at Hearst Castle is of Gothic design with the high ceilings and narrow walls of dark wood. Apparently everyone who visited the Hearst "ranch" was expected to attend dinner, after dinner drinks, and movies that could go on to all hours of the night. If you fell asleep in the theater that was fine, but you had to show up. Other than that, guests were free to entertain themselves. When guests came into the dining room they would look for their name card at the table to find their seat. If after a few days it started inching its way down to the end of the table by the fireplace where Joey is standing, then you knew your stay was drawing to a close. Carey Grant was a frequent guest. If he saw his name moving down he would simply switch it with someone elses to prolong his visit just a bit. I think my very favorite piece of artwork is the teak carving of Mary and Jesus in the center picture. I think it is simple elegance, and quite touching.
The indoor pool is breathtaking with all the beautiful blue and gold mosaic throughout. At the bottom right picture you can see the shallow pool set back into another room. It was only three feet deep and was called the sissy pool. It was mostly for the Easterners who did not have swimming pools and had therefore never learned to swim well. Hearst allowed his staff to swim and participate in most of the events of the day. He expected his guests to treat his staff well. While back East they were called servants at Hearst Ranch they were staff and a guest would be asked to leave if they didn't treat staff as "almost" equal. 
1 comment:
Okay... I love the pool. Wouldn't it be neat to have access to it on a regular basis. I think I could live with that. It is absolutely breathtaking.
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