I left my heart at Hearst Castle...

I have been thinking about the beautiful Ranch
in the hills of San Simeon
all week.

The birds were chirping,
the waves crashing on the beach,
(we even saw some blue whales breaching)
and I felt a calmness I'm not used to feeling in the city.

While there,
I got thinking about the guests who got to stay
for a weekend at the request of W.R. Hearst,
and wished I was one of them.

The spectacular views, the amazing gardens,
and most admirably,
the POOLS.

There, of course, were two.

The outdoor Neptune pool for catching some rays
after a long ride on the property,
or a challenging game of tennis...

*Scenes from Spartacus were filmed here

and the indoor Roman pool,
for evening swims,


*the diving platform


was decorated with 1" mosaic glass tiles,
detailed with 23K gold leaf,

and glistened by antique candle-lit fixtures.

I would have loved to have enjoyed a night cap and
taken a dip with a young Cary Grant...

*he was a frequent guest...

before turning into my room at Casa Del Sol,
the 3600 sq. foot guest house.

*Casa del Sol

Maybe I would have asked him to tuck me in...

I know, there are many who would argue that he would have been
much more intrigued by Clark Gable than me,

but I'm willing to wager he would have found me enchanting.

Who knows?
Maybe in a past life, he did.

xx