The year began with a quick trip to the Big Sur and Hearst Castle. Since I am heading to Vancouver tomorrow I wanted to recall my first trip of 2011. The drive along Big Sur is a great place to reflect onto oneself or make it a big event and go with a group. I drove the Big Sur with my friend but I think it is a fantastic journey for a solo traveler.

There are so many Vista Point where one can sit on a rock, take in the warm sun and watch the waves crash endlessly...



The Big Sur is such a wonderful place to practice serenity and slow down a pace and admire natural beauty.

We began our trip in San Francisco very bright and early, we stopped in Monterey after 2 hours of driving to grab breakfast but since it was a holiday Monday lots of places were closed so we continued to truck on...


We stopped whenever we thought the view was breathtaking. One of the must stop along the Big Sur is the Brixby Bridge. The concrete bridge is featured countlessly in car commercials and ads. A very iconic scene.


Our first stop for food was at the famous Big Sur Bakery. The tiny wooden house was busy and within minutes I ordered a ham and cheese croissant, rosemary cornbread, persimmon pudding and one of the best chai tea I have ever tasted. One of my greatest pleasure is sitting outdoors, drinking my beverage, nibbling my snack and people watching. With great surprise there was a newlywed couple filling gas, laughing, gazing into each other eyes and acting all "newlywed" which was so adorable, especially since they were taking a road trip for their honeymoon trip.



Before heading to the Hearst Castle, we stopped at Piedras Blancas Beach (which is literally across the street from the castle) to look at the seals. January is nursing season for the seals so there were plenty of baby seals rolling around in the sand.


This was my first visit to the Hearst Castle and videos and print cannot express the grandeur and vastness of the property. What I really revered about the Hearst Castle is the different art pieces from all over the world anthologized together at the Castle. In addition, the fact that very famous people like the founder of Bank of America and Charlie Chaplin stayed within the premises.


The Big Sur definitely belongs on a travel bucket list.