Hearst Castle

If you live in California and wish to experience
something amazing by way of architecture you
must visit Hearst Castle in San Simeon. If you
think that castles only exist in Europe and this
must be a "fake", you are grossly mistaken.

Located about halfway between Santa Barbara and
San Francisco on California Highway 1, it's worth
the trip from any part of California.

The last "valuation" of the estate came in at about
$3 billion, but Bill Gates labeled it as
"irreplaceable". Yes, the man with all the money
said he could not give himself one if he wanted it!

Ancient artifacts exist throughout, such as a
statue "older than Moses" (my favorite piece),
that just sits outside with a couple other statues
next to a garden! Unbelievable! Almost all of the
tile at the indoor pool (under the tennis court), is
painted with real gold! This room was the most
expensive of all to create.

There was a petting zoo many years ago and
although most of the wild animals have been
removed, you can still see zebra running freely.

I will say that the history behind its creation and
the process by which this 165 room California
Castle came to be is truly what makes this place so
amazing. I'm not even going to try to elaborate on
some of the stories we heard.

You just have to go see for yourself!

There are 4 different tours. Tour prices are $14 for
adults $8 for children 6-12. Evening tours are $25
for adults $13 for children

For tickets call 1-800-444-4445

Website: www.hearstcastle.com