Spent the morning touring the Piedras Blanca (White Rock) Light Station. Established in the 19th Century, the lighthouse and foghorn aided navigation in the San Simeon area for many years. Today the area is used primarily for studies of native plants and animals. Later in the day we toured the Hearst Castle on the top of the hill looking down on San Simeon Bay. It was filled with an incredible collection of ancient art works and sounded like it would have been a fun place to have been a guest in the early 20th Century. After such a busy day we decided to spend a second night in the area but opted for a simple dinner and beer in our room.
Did you notice the very humble condiments on the grand dining room table? Always thought that was ironic in the midst of such opulence! Haven’t been there in years but loved it, especially Big Sur area. I stayed at the Big Sur Lodge which was just magical. And yes, the road is twisty and worth every “extra” photo along the way.
Queen Mary 2’s arrival in the Port of Dakar, Senegal was heralded in the local press and greeted with ceremony. Our own excursion took us on a coach journey through the streets of the capital city to visit a Wolof village and the shore of Lake Retba, the salty lake famed for an intense pink color.
Today’s safari adventure transported us out into the Dorob National Park to have up close encounters with little creatures that are well adapted to the extreme heat and lack of water in the Namib Desert.
With a UNESCO World Heritage Site, two national parks, dozens of museums, and hundreds of tours offered in the Cape Town area there is more than plenty to do. For our two day visit we opted to concentrate on African wildlife visiting the Aquila Private Game Reserve and the Boulders Beach Penguin Colony for a wonderful chance to these fabulous animals in their own habitat.
Did you notice the very humble condiments on the grand dining room table? Always thought that was ironic in the midst of such opulence! Haven’t been there in years but loved it, especially Big Sur area. I stayed at the Big Sur Lodge which was just magical. And yes, the road is twisty and worth every “extra” photo along the way.
Did you put together jigsaw puzzles while lounging on the dining room floor of the Hearst estate?
Thursday, October 23, 2008 – 03:14 PM