#hearst castle

I never seem to be capable of organising a relaxing holiday and this two week Californian road trip was no exception. Starting in San Francisco, my boyfriend and I travelled to Yosemite then back down the coast to Los Angeles, stopping at Monterey, Pismo Beach and Santa Barbara. As usual, I had a jam-packed itinerary that would certainly pose a challenge! But amazingly, we managed to fit everything in (except for Disneyland, but that’s still a sore subject).

Below are my artsy highlights, enjoy!:

SFMOMA

The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art is one of my all-time favourite galleries. I’m a sucker for a sculpture garden - this one includes a version of Robert Indiana’s iconic LOVE text - and the Don’t! Photography and the Art of Mistakes exhibition was a cleverly humorous presentation of purposeful photographic blunders. I also enjoyed seeing so many Alexander Calder mobiles in one space; it took me back to the magical Tate Modern retrospective from a few years ago.

Hearst Castle

Along the Californian coast, roughly halfway between San Fran and LA, lies the grand estate of Hearst Castle. This extravagant landmark was designed to sprawl across a hilltop once the foundation of the Hearst family ranch. William Randolph Hearst, a publishing tycoon, wanted to create a home luxurious and impressive enough to attract even the biggest names from nearby Hollywood during the Roaring Twenties. He worked with the architect Julia Morgan between 1919 and 1947 to design and build this incredible place, which really has to be seen in person to be believed. The surrounding gardens feature sculpture from the Ancient Greek and Egyptian periods, whilst the grand rooms themselves are covered from ceiling to floor in paintings and tapestries, primarily from the Italian Renaissance. One of the real talking points on our tour of the grounds was the two swimming pools: the outdoor Neptune Pool, and the indoor Roman Pool lined with Murano glass tiles.

The Getty

My one regret about our visit to The Getty? Not allocating enough time! We spent just a couple of glorious hours exploring the gardens and galleries, but really this place requires a whole day. I was like a woman possessed wandering around the grounds with a huge grin on my face. And what a beautiful art collection, too: highlights include Still Life with Apples by Paul Cézanne and Van Gogh’s Irises, the latter painted during the artist’s last year of his life spent at an asylum in Saint-Rémy, France, where the vivid blue flowers grew in the institution’s garden.

The Broad

After several recommendations, and owing to our limited time in each location, we decided to cut the LACMA from our LA schedule and visit The Broad instead. This free gallery is located next to Frank Gehry’s iconic Walt Disney Concert Hall building and features a stunning collection of modern art, from Jeff Koons to Andy Warhol, Kara Walker to Yayoi Kusama.