Exploring the Carmel Mission

On a visit to California a few years ago, we drove along the Pacific Coast Highway stopping along the major Cities along the Pacific Coast. One of these Cities is Carmel By The Sea where the National Landmark Carmel Mission is located. The Mission is officially known as Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo which was founded by the Roman Catholic Franciscan Friars, Saint Junipero Serra in 1771 until his death in 1784. These missions were created by the Spanish Roman Catholic Fathers in California as a centre for their Roman Catholic colonization of Western America. To this day, the Carmel Mission is still an active parish and has five Museums. It was worth the visit to see the architecture and the collections which have been preserved since 1771. The gardens were also worth the visit as the flora and fauna planted there were for the California sunny and dry weather. When in Carmel, visit the main street with its luxury shops and also stop by here at the Carmel Mission to sit back for awhile with history and some religious reflection. 

The Bell Tower is original from the 1700s.

 Exotic gardens with some cactus plants around the Mission. 

 

The garden is surrounded with life size statues of Catholic Saints. 

 The Main Altar and collection of religious items dating from the 1700s.

 

  Jo Mora Chapel Gallery showcase the Serra Memorial Cenotaph, sculpted in 1924 by Jo Mora made with marble and bronze.

 The huge Munras courtyard surrounded by the Mission Buildings. 

 Mission Buildings were influenced by Mexican and Spanish Architecture.

The Gate and Main Entrance towards the Basilica Church which is a registered National Landmark. 

Happy 4th of July Long Weekend to our American Family and Friends!

Enjoy the Summer Weekend!

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Hearst Castle: A Castle Above the Clouds

Hearst Castle, San Simeon, California.

On a vacation with family to California last summer, we made sure that during our drive along the scenic Pacific Coast Highway in California that we visited the Hearst Castle in San Simeon. The castle is commonly called in Spanish, La Cuesta Encantada, The Enchanted Hill, as it was built on the top of the hill among 250,000 acres owned by the Hearst Family in San Simeon.

In 1865, George Hearst, a wealthy miner purchased 40,000 acres of ranchland in San Simeon. The family was simple then and usually just camped out on their ranch. When his son, William Randolph Hearst inherited the vast land from his parents, the ranch has grown to 250,000 acres. Originally known as Camp Hill because the wilderness offered the family a vast land to camp on. William went to establish his corporate empire in Publishing and Newspapers, got tired of the camp life and decided to built comfortable accommodations for his family. William Hearst commissioned Julia Morgan in 1919 to built Hearst Castle, one of the grandest American Homes in the West Coast. In 1972, most of the vast land and the Castle were donated by the Hearst Family to the California Parks Reserve. 

Facade of the Hearst Castle represented a mix of Italian, Baroque and Gothic Style.
 Even the Middle roof is Swiss style like a Swiss Chalet. The two towers were inspired by Moorish Towers.

The Smoking Room on the left and the Main Drawing Room on the right. Both rooms are full of works of Art including paintings, tapestries, Marble statues and silver candelabras, all collected by William Randolph Hearst. These rooms are left as is. Even the Persian carpets have an alarm the sounds when stepped on.

The Dining Room with their vast collection of tapestries.

The Billiard Room on the left and the Dining Room on the right. 

The Gardens.

One of my favourite flowers, Hydrangeas. 

The garden is full of statues and many different kinds of flowers and plants.

A Mediterranean Villa Guest House surrounded by a garden of roses.

The Neptune Swimming Pool.

Indoor Swimming Pool.

The tiles were made with golden tiles that even reflected in my camera. 

View Above the Clouds.

Even the Castle was built higher than the clouds here hovering over the Pacific Ocean.

The vast track of land owned by Hearst family and donated to the California Parks Reserve. The winding road that leads to the Castle. The Hearst family owned the whole town of San Simeon, except the Pacific Ocean.


Have a wonderful summer weekend!

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Driving Along the Pacific Coast Highway

17 Mile Drive, California.

After our stop in Monterey, California, we drove on towards the 17 Mile Drive at Pebble Beach. This stretch of the California coast is  recognized as one of the most  scenic route in the World. The famous landmark drives through the Pacific Grove,which is a gated community towards Pebble Beach. We paid $9.75 US to enter and drive along the 17 Mile Drive. There are several stops along the way for great views of the California coast. One of the famous landmark was the Lone Cypress Tree. Several view points show different rock formations, bird sanctuaries, different floral and fauna that have inspired some paintings, views of  Beach Mansions, Golf courses overlooking the Pacific Ocean and one stop has Ghost trees.

Towards the end of the 17 Mile Drive is the town of Carmel-By-The-Sea. A very quaint and posh town with its Ocean Avenue, filled with numerous cafes and shops including some luxury brands, Bottega Veneta and Louis Vuitton, among others. Carmel is also well known for the Carmel Mission which is the second largest Mission in California after the Mission in San Diego. After Carmel, we drove towards Morro Bay for our overnight stop. The next day, we left early to visit the Castle above the Clouds, San Simeon's Hearst Castle, which I will feature at a later blog post. After our visit at Hearst Castle, we stopped by Santa Barbara, which was another posh and beautiful city to visit before returning to Los Angeles along the scenic Pacific Coast Highway. Driving along the Pacific Coast Highway was truly an experience to remember. Every stop was breathtaking and worth exploring. On this trip, we discovered the true spirit and beauty of California.

Pebble Beach.

Rock formations.

A private beach.

On the horizon, a coastline full of Beach Mansions.

Some Beach Mansions.

Believe it or not, a lone squirrel made some noise here and even posed for a picture for me. The squirrel stood like that for a very long time. 

Lone Cypress Tree

The sturdy Lone Cypress Tree.

Carmel By The Sea.

Wow, the beautiful and outrageously expensive Bottega Veneta bags... Now I'm excited! 

Colourful flowers and fauna at Carmel By The Sea.

Carmel Mission-San Carlos Borromeo De Carmelo.

Established by the Franciscans, Roman Catholic Order, since 1771 to convert the locals to Catholicism. The Church is still an active Roman Catholic Parish serving both Monterey and Carmel By The Sea. There is also a Museum and the gardens that visitors can explore. 

Carmel Mission garden.

Morro Bay, a waterfront city in San Luis Obispo County.

My sunset picture of Morro Rock. Not exactly the Rock of Gibraltar. But this fishing town is famous for the this Rock which is a sanctuary for birds and sea lions.  A Portuguese Navigator, Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, who explored the Pacific Coast for Spain, named this Rock, "El Moro" because he thought it resembled the turban head of the Moors. But in actual Spanish translation, "El Morro" is pebble in English.

Fishing Village of Morro Bay.  The town is filled with Inns and restaurants. 

Santa Barbara.

I loved this City for its architecture. You can view the Pacific Ocean in the horizon.
One of my favourite movies, It's Complicated was inspired by the City of Santa Barbara. Directed by Nancy Meyers, she always incorporated beautiful houses and interiors in her movies. Meryl Streep's house in the movie was similar to one of the houses in this picture. The whole city was built with houses and buildings in uniform white facades with terracotta tile roofs. 

Santa Barbara Mission is another of the Missions in California. The Church is an active Roman Catholic Parish Church serving Santa Barbara. 

Driving back towards Los Angeles.

Endless mountain ranges and Pacific Ocean coastline.

Book Recommendation.

Story written by Cheryl Strayed about her lone walking adventure, along the Pacific Crest Trail, travelling 1,100 miles from the Mojave Desert, through California, to Oregon and ending in Washington State. This is her own story after the break-up of her marriage and after the death of her mother. Searching for herself and her journey towards starting a new life. Have you read this book?  This book is on my book list for this Fall.

To read the Vogue Interview with author, Cheryl Strayed, Click here.
To read an excerpt from March 2012 issue of US Vogue Magazine, click Wild.

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