Hi, I'm back after a couple of weeks of eating & drinking up & down the West Coast of the mighty USA.
So now where were we...still in Monteray if my memory serves me well.
*************************************************************************************
Awoke early as today was another long driving day with "Big Sur" being the first spectacle to experience - Big Sur or if translated from Spanish, "The Big South" is a 90-odd mile stretch between Cambria in the south of California & the Monterey Peninsula in the north. The coastline here is an awe-inspiring symphony of nature & at times the road (Hwy 1) seems to clutch @ the cliffs as if in desperation above a ravenous sea.
Highlights along this famous stretch of road included the stunning Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park & amazing Bixby Bridge built in 1932. The major stop was @ "Heart Castle", but before that we were lucky enough to catch a Seal-Lion colony resting on the beach a few miles north of "Hearst Castle".
"Hearst Castle" overlooks the pacific & is probably California's most famous monument to wealth & ambition. As we arrived @ the visitor's centre it was still very foggy, but as we climbed the windy 8 mile road to the castle, the weather incredibly cleared to a blue & sunny day.
William Randolph Hearst, the newspaper magnate, created an estate that sprawls over 127 acres of lushly landscaped gardens, accentuated by shimmering pools (sadly under repair & so currently drained) & statues from ancient Greece & Moorish Spain.
We did "Tour I", which covers the estate on a 'macro level' - covering all the major highlights of the castle & lasted 1.5 hrs (& was booked from home prior to leaving - love the internet).
From Hearst we made the final run into Santa Barbara, with a stop in "San Luis Obispo", another community that grew up around the famous Spanish Missions that run up the coast from Mexico. Along the way we also passed many of the regions famous wineries, but sadly had no time to stop & taste.
Santa Barbara is a pretty & very affluent town with its white stucco red tiled homes fronting onto a beautiful harbour. After dinner we discovered an anti war protest, with crosses in the sand & a candle, signifying the us that have died in Iraq - 3256 & counting...Very moving
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment