I’ve written about Hearst Castle, on the California Coast, before. I went there the first time when I was fifteen, and still remember it as somewhere magical. On a recent trip back to California it was on my to-see list and, even though the visitor centre was much larger than I remember, the tours more crowded, the magic remains.
This is the indoor swimming pool at Hearst Castle. During Hearst’s lifetime it wasn’t used much, Hearst and his guests preferring the larger and more showy outdoor pool, with its colonnades, statues and real Roman temple. Apparently some of his guests didn’t even realise this pool existed, set away from the main house as it is.
The tiles are real gold, 24-carat, brilliant against the lapis blue, and the warm lantern light entices. If this were my pool I would swim in it all the time, like floating in a dream.
Thank you for joining me on another Wednesday Wander – see you next time 🙂
Helen Glynn Jones 
Definitely like floating in a dream … how magical.
It’s a beautiful place – if you’re ever out that way it’s definitely worth a visit 🙂
Gold and lapis?!? Wow, that’s crazy! Talk about conspicuous consumption. But so very, very beautiful – that’s my favourite colour combination.
I wonder if, if you swam in it every day, you’d stop seeing the beauty after a while?
The whole place is extraordinary. Hearst used to travel around Europe and buy whole rooms out of castles and ancient buildings, then send them back to California with instructions to ‘fit them in.’ The artwork, antiques and sculptures are extraordinary too.
I don’t know if I’d ever stop thinking it was beautiful, even if I got to use it every day 🙂
Wow it’s stunning, Helen. Wouldn’t say no to a float in it myself! 😁
It’s gorgeous, isn’t it? And yet this was the ‘secondary’ pool – hardly ever used.
It looks Roman—reminds me of Pompeii. It’s not a pool, really—it’s a work of art!
Yes, it’s very decadent, isn’t it? You should see the rest of the property, it fits right in. If you’re interested, Google an image of the outdoor pool at Hearst Castle – it has an actual real Roman Temple in place, that Hearst bought overseas and had shipped back (when you could do such things). I didn’t take a shot of it when I was there as it’s been emptied due to the California drought (it was leaking), but it is quite spectacular!
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Wow. Stunning.
Thanks, Sacha 🙂