Scenic Coastlines, Hearst Castle, Santa Barbra, and Los Angeles

Watching the surf, spectacular views, and looking for animals made this 80 mile drive along California’s coastline seem like it was only 5 miles. This drive is known as the Big Sur and stretches from Carmel and San Simeon. The scenery was amazing, and the weather was perfect. Still traveling on scenic roads, we traveled along Highway 1 which was designated the nation’s first scenic highway in 1966.
After a few hours of driving down the coast, we ended up at Hearst Castle. The castle was the home of William Randolph Hearst and was built to house his collection of medieval and renaissance treasures. This dream home has over 100 rooms, two Spanish towers, served as a private zoo for the family with thousands of animals, huge indoor and outdoor pools, two guest houses, and was the “in” spot for Hollywood celebrities. We saw a video that showed Charlie Chaplin, Cary Grant, and Greta Garbo sitting by the pool and enjoying cocktails.
After the castle tour, we had a brief stop (15 minutes) in Santa Barbra. Sometimes called the “Red Roof City”, Santa Barbara is noted for its Mediterranean style architecture. Most buildings have the Spanish style façade of plaster walls, red tile roofs, and enclosed patios. We also enjoyed a view of the beach and saw some really cool HIPPIE MOBILES!!! Check out the pictures.
We arrived in Los Angeles and realized we had a lot to explore. We went to the Getty Museum, Beverly Hills, Hollywood, Rodeo Drive, Mann’s (Grauman’s) Chinese Theater, and the Walk of Stars. We saw all of that in a day and a half.
The Getty Museum was probably one of the most beautiful museums we’ve ever seen. This museum was nestled on the top of a mountain overlooking Bel Air, the Pacific, Hollywood, and Los Angeles. This museum has five two story buildings which surrounds an open courtyard and boasts amazing gardens for walking and relaxing. There was something for everybody at this museum including works of art from Van Gogh, Monet, and Renoir.
We also had time to explore the Rodeo Drive, Hollywood walk of fame, and Chinese Theater. Our favorite part of the day was watching two Marylyn Monroe’s fight for picture taking rights. We took pictures of a Monroe talking to cops and the other Monroe talking to Cat Woman.

I am also sad to say, this was the last leg the liebertwin journey together. We will still update the blog and keep you posted on our summer travels.