Hearst Castle

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Saturday 16th Aug
As we didn't get in till 1.45am we slept in till 10 and the first thing Gra did was check his footie teams progress on the internet. It was the first day of the new season and he was anxious about the result. Thank goodness they won 1-0, with Torres scoring. Having been thrown out of the hotel at 11am, we drove into San Luis Obispo for food and an internet connection .After a diner breakie of eggs forentine (my new fav): sauteed spinach and mushrooms on poached eggs with benedict sauce on English muffins - yummy.
Next stop Hearst Castle. This was a lavish castle built by William Hearst, who enjoyed entertaining and decorating his home with expensive and exquisite furnishings. He also owned a considerable amount of land that spanned from the castle to the sea. Some of this land was used for his zoo animals, cattle, horses, and his own personal reservoir. It was a pretty spectacular sight and well worth a look round, although to preserve it in all it former glory the tour has strict rules about where to walk and what to look at and not touch.
Unfortunately, some of the lavishness has obviously rubbed off on the local accommodation as prices for a motel room were $199 + tax, so we decided to drive 2 hours onto Monterey instead.

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