After a quick look around Carmel, which is amazing, I left Monterrey and drove south down Highway 101 to San Luis Obispo. I then backtracked up the coast on Highway 1 past Morro Bay to San Simeon, where the legenary Hearst Castle rests. Hearst Castle is another one of those famous destinations that people have played up and I have driven right past. This time, I made a point to stop in and see what all the excitement was about.

The one thing about Hearst Castle is, it was absolutely meant to impress. And that it does extremely well, especially considering the time at which it was built and lived in. William Randolph Hearst wanted people to know that America was every bit as sophisticated as Europe and this was his way of proving that to the world.

At the "castle", visitors can go on one of four different tours. I logically started with the basic one. A bus takes you up the side of the hill on a winding road from the visitor center to the entrance of the property. A guide later takes you around the various outdoor courtyards and shows you bits of the architecture, such as the Greco-Roman swimming pool, the Egyptian statuary and the church-like Spanish towers. You are then led inside various buildings where you can see guest bedrooms, the huge dining hall, a very ornate indoor swimming pool and billiard room, complete with Medieval tapestries.

A visit to this magnificent estate leaves you with but a taste of what it must have been like to enjoy the wealth and company of a modern-day American king of industry.