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selenakWe interrupt our regular schedule of tv reviews (despite the season finale of one and the season begin of another of my favourite shows) to point out that it is October 2nd, which means I can upload to Photobucket again. Which means I can post the second half of my trip through the American West. Not all at once, because those reviews are burning on my nails as well, but two installments today. In chronological order: Xanadu Hearst Castle (aka San Simeon), Las Vegas and Bryce Canyon for this post, Utah with Canyonland, Dead Horse's Park and Arches Park in the next.
Interlude: St. Simeon, or, What The Aged Parents Did Whileselenak Was At The Los Angeles Conference
They drove from San Francisco to Los Angeles at a leisurely pace and visitedXanadu that extravaganza William Randolph Hearst built himself on the Californian Coast on the way, San Simeon. Now, usually I only post things I saw myself, and I haven't seen this, but look, I'm an Orson Welles fan. And when I saw those photos, how could I not post them?
So: what a media mogul in the 20s thought would make a snug home. Incidentally, the architect was a woman, Julia Morgan. Never let it be said William Randolph Hearst couldn't surprise you.
Mankiewicz & Welles had inspiration for that statue-collecting mania. This is one isn't a tacky remake but an orginal:
Hearst's idea of an outdoor swimming pool:
Hearst's idea of an indoor swimming pool:
In conclusion, if I'd been Hermann Manciewicz and been asked by the whiz kid of the New York stage who'd make a good subject for a movie, I hope I'd have said Hearst, too.
After reuniting with my APs, we flew to Las Vegas. It wasn't the first time we visited and we only stayed for the night, leaving early next morning for the Canyons, but we did walk up and down the famous strip, in and out of the casinos, and all the glitz reminded me again that my very first impression of America (other than through media) at the age of 14 was the view of nightly New York from the World Trade Center on the evening when our flight had landed. All the neon is the US to me, too. So:
Viva Las Vegas:
The Venetian. For my mind, the prettiest of the Las Vegas hotels:
I mean:
Inside the hotel:
Caesar's palace, the most famous of the casinos, isn't bad, either:
And then we have the Belvaggio:
Where inside it looks like this:
Naturally, Paris and the Eiffell Tower get their own casino as well:
This one is called Excalibur. More King Ludwig than King Arthur, but hey.
New York and MGM:
The Luxor:
And the overall street:
As it was a Friday night, you wouldn't have believed the level of noise. I decided the actual inhabitants of Las Vegas must be half deaf. But for one night, it was great. The next day we headed off to nature again. Unfortunately, this was one of the only two times where we had some rain and clouds (though that ended as soon as we left Bryce Canyon behind. Still, the contrast between the bright red of the rocks and the dark clouds made sometimes for very dramatic pictures as we raced the clouds to the view points in order to see something before the rain started:
Bryce Canyon:
The next photos are taken from a view point with the fitting name of "Inspiration Point":
Yours truly definitely got inspired:
And off we went to the Red Cliffs Lodge in Utah where we'd stay for the next two nights. More about what we saw there in the next post, but here's what I saw from my window in the car on the freeway and had the presence of mind to photograph en route as the rain ended for good:
Interlude: St. Simeon, or, What The Aged Parents Did While
selenak Was At The Los Angeles ConferenceThey drove from San Francisco to Los Angeles at a leisurely pace and visited
So: what a media mogul in the 20s thought would make a snug home. Incidentally, the architect was a woman, Julia Morgan. Never let it be said William Randolph Hearst couldn't surprise you.
Mankiewicz & Welles had inspiration for that statue-collecting mania. This is one isn't a tacky remake but an orginal:
Hearst's idea of an outdoor swimming pool:
Hearst's idea of an indoor swimming pool:
In conclusion, if I'd been Hermann Manciewicz and been asked by the whiz kid of the New York stage who'd make a good subject for a movie, I hope I'd have said Hearst, too.
After reuniting with my APs, we flew to Las Vegas. It wasn't the first time we visited and we only stayed for the night, leaving early next morning for the Canyons, but we did walk up and down the famous strip, in and out of the casinos, and all the glitz reminded me again that my very first impression of America (other than through media) at the age of 14 was the view of nightly New York from the World Trade Center on the evening when our flight had landed. All the neon is the US to me, too. So:
Viva Las Vegas:
The Venetian. For my mind, the prettiest of the Las Vegas hotels:
I mean:
Inside the hotel:
Caesar's palace, the most famous of the casinos, isn't bad, either:
And then we have the Belvaggio:
Where inside it looks like this:
Naturally, Paris and the Eiffell Tower get their own casino as well:
This one is called Excalibur. More King Ludwig than King Arthur, but hey.
New York and MGM:
The Luxor:
And the overall street:
As it was a Friday night, you wouldn't have believed the level of noise. I decided the actual inhabitants of Las Vegas must be half deaf. But for one night, it was great. The next day we headed off to nature again. Unfortunately, this was one of the only two times where we had some rain and clouds (though that ended as soon as we left Bryce Canyon behind. Still, the contrast between the bright red of the rocks and the dark clouds made sometimes for very dramatic pictures as we raced the clouds to the view points in order to see something before the rain started:
Bryce Canyon:
The next photos are taken from a view point with the fitting name of "Inspiration Point":
Yours truly definitely got inspired:
And off we went to the Red Cliffs Lodge in Utah where we'd stay for the next two nights. More about what we saw there in the next post, but here's what I saw from my window in the car on the freeway and had the presence of mind to photograph en route as the rain ended for good:
