This morning we woke up and got ready to leave for Hurst Castle and LA via the Pacific Coast. Our first stop was to get breakfast at a local Santa Cruz bakery called the Buttery. Jacqueline had sourdough French toast and fruit and Michael had a frittata, croissant and fresh squeezed orange juice. It was superb.
We then headed off down Route 1 to see the beautiful Pacific Coast. The bends and curves in the road were extremely challenging to drive as most of the roads we have been traveling. The fog in some areas did not diminish the beautiful vistas of clear blue water and plummeting cliffs. As much as you can see pictures and movies showing this coast, the true beauty cannot be appreciated until you stand on the edge of the huge cliffs and see the blue waters crashing on the rocks below.
We arrived at the visitor’s center and took the shuttle up to the castle. The Hurst Castle was based on the vision on Hurst and his architect. It was loosely based on a Spanish Villa with a cathedral inspired main house. It was huge and sat atop the mountain overlooking the coast with beautiful views.
The house was built to display the many artifacts that Hurst had collected over the years rather than for a cohesive piece of architecture. Each room contained many different pieces of art, tapestry and sculpture from all different places across Europe in many different time periods. The overall feel was a Mediterranean style. Only haven taken one of the six tours offered, we had just scratched the surface within the mansion. It is certainly a place we both want to come back and visit again.
After eating dinner in Cambria, we then headed down the coast again. We saw the sun set over the hills as we drove through the beautiful Californian landscape. We got into Los Angeles that evening and checked into our hotel. Tomorrow we will explore the new city! Good night!
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