Global Food Tour

Chapter 387 Visit the Castle!

In addition to William Hearst, the architectural designer Julia Morgan (1872-1957) also devoted great efforts to this castle.From the day she was hired by Hearst, Julia devoted all her time and energy to the construction project of the charming mountain villa for 28 years.

The charm of Hearst Castle comes from the decoration of cultural relics and the use of antiques, as well as Morgan's talent and persistence.It takes 28 years to polish a piece of work. I am afraid that this persistence cannot be exchanged for a generous salary.Maybe she also has a special liking for the castle, and there is already a blueprint of the castle in her heart?The design of Hearst Castle has prominent Mediterranean architectural features. Its stucco walls, red tile roofs and colorful ceramic tiles have a strong style of ancient buildings in Spain, Mexico and California.

After a while, Zhang Feng was ready to board the car to visit [Grand Rooms Museum Tour]

If you can confirm the time, it is best to book on the website first. On the day of departure, you need to bring your passport and confirmation letter to the visitor center 20 minutes in advance to exchange for tickets. The staff will give you a colored wristband to wear on your wrist. Different colors represent different tour.The appearance of the castle is roughly based on the style of European castles. It covers a large area, so the tour route is divided into four lines. Of course, it may take a whole day to see everything.Because there are so many tourists, the planning here is very good. Each Tour must take a shuttle bus up and down the mountain, and the visitor center is so big that each Tour has its own pick-up location.

There are many buses departing from the tourist center at the foot of Castle Hill.Hearst Castle, which became a California government property, offers four tours open to tourists.During his first visit, Zhang Feng was recommended to take the first itinerary: [Deluxe Room Museum Tour].

After the tour started, Zhang Feng found that the castle was too big. The sightseeing bus departed from the tourist service center, and it took 15 minutes to drive to the castle on the winding mountain road.There are very few trees along the mountain road. When you get closer to the castle, there are more trees. It is obvious that these are all artificially planted.The introduced radio will also be played on the way up and down the mountain. It is easy to see wild animals on the way. There used to be a zoo here, which was once the largest private zoo in the world.

Zhang Feng joined the Tour at one o'clock in the afternoon.The view on the mountain is very good, and you can see the pastures and the Pacific Ocean in the distance.

Get off in front of the steps beside the [Poseidon Swimming Pool] in Hearst Castle, the tour guide is already waiting for Zhang Feng and the others (one tour guide for everyone in the same car) in front of the steps.

After taking the bus to the top of the mountain, Zhang Feng and the others were taken into the castle to visit and explain. After the explanation, they can disband outside the castle and visit at will, and take any return bus down the mountain.You can take pictures inside the castle, but you can't use flashlights. You can't walk around when you visit inside, you can only walk on the main road with carpets.

【Grand Rooms Museum Tour】

The [Deluxe Guest Room Museum Tour] selected by Zhang Feng, mainly visited the [Main Building (Casa Grande)], and the [Esplanade and-Gardens], and the two swimming pools were visited by themselves.

At the beginning, the background is explained in front of the main building gate.The guide once again explained the rules for visiting inside, such as the things inside, no matter whether they are wall pillars, you can't touch them, and then you must follow the guide because you are afraid that everyone will get lost.Their exterior carvings are very fine, and the name has fully revealed the biggest feature (Grand Huge), the entire building contains 60645 square feet, the building is in the Mediterranean Revival style, two towers (Tower ) is the Spanish Revival (Splanish Revival) style.

One of the towers was being repaired that day, so Zhang Feng looked less, and the repairs abroad, no matter what, were extremely slow.

[Assembly Room] The priceless oil paintings and antiques and the exquisite ceiling lighting are the second place that Zhang Feng feels.

After Zhang Feng walked into the [Main Building (Casa Grande)] through the side door, the first thing he visited was the living room [Assembly Room]. There are many carvings and decorations in it, and there are also a lot of [Hearst] collections, just like a To the palace of Europe.The walnut ceiling in the living room is carved with a statue of Poseidon, an Italian antique from the sixteenth century.The Flanders tapestries connected to the ceiling are mostly painted with Bible stories, and it is said that there are Louis XV's collections among them.

Restaurant【Refectory】

After visiting [Assembly Room], the next restaurant [Refectory] will surprise Zhang Feng even more. [Refectory] is a restaurant where guests invited to Hearst Castle have dinner every day.The restaurant's wooden ceiling is an Italian relic from the seventeenth century, and the larger-than-life statues are Catholic saints.The colorful flags on both sides are souvenirs for the winner of a horse race in Italy in the 16th century.The tapestries in the restaurant are also antiques from Flanders in the [-]th century, and the candlesticks and tableware are handicrafts from Britain, France, Spain and other places from the [-]th to [-]th centuries.

【Billiard Room】

[Billiard Room] There are two billiard tables from the 1920s and a Gothic "Mille Fleurs" brocade painting.The interior ceiling is Spanish antiquities of the fifteenth century; the Flemish tapestry "The Hunt" of the sixteenth century hangs on the wall; the floor is covered with Persian colored tiles of the seventeenth century.

【Esplanade and Gardens】

One of the most beautiful parts of the castle, there are many sculptures made of pure white marble and gardens with beautiful flowers blooming all year round.

The castle is surrounded by a promenade. In addition to viewing the scenery and flowers, you also have the opportunity to admire a series of sculpture treasures up close, including an Egyptian goddess with a long history of 3000 years.

The Roman stone sculptures of Apollo and the nine goddesses are inlaid at the main entrance of the castle in Building B. [Julia Morgan] drew a set of Egyptian floor tiles to match with four Egyptian lion-faced female gods of war in the [-]th century BC, and settled in the center of a garden staircase.

Marvel at the lifelike sculptures of pure white marble and bronze figures.

[The Neptune Pool], unfortunately, when Zhang Feng went there that day, there was no water in the pool, and he missed a beautiful view of the clear water reflecting the blue sky.

[Hearst Castle] is the most talked about two swimming pools, [Poseidon Pool] and [the Roman Pool (the Roman Pool)].

[Poseidon Pool] is an open-air swimming pool, known as "The World's Most Photographed Pool". This Poseidon Pool is also known as the swimming pool that has been photographed the most times in the world.The whole style is Greco-Roman, and the size of the whole swimming pool is 104 feet long and 58 feet wide (the widest point is 95 feet).The corridor surrounded by marble columns seems to be swimming in the water in Greek mythology. What the clear blue water reflects is the out-and-out California blue sky.

When the Poseidon pool was built in 1924, it was originally called "Temple Garden", and Hearst hoped to expand it into a real swimming pool. In 1927, the enlarged version of the swimming pool was completed, but it was later renamed by Hearst. Not satisfied with everything and rebuilding.

(End of this chapter)