Getty Villa: a glimpse upstairs

 Now let's go upstairs for a look at a few of the objects up there. This is a Korous style Greek statue from around 700-480 BC.

 A lion from a family grave, made near Athens around 325 BC.

 A Greek gold wreath from 300-100 BC, in amazing condition.

 Amber and gold necklace from 500-400 BC.

 Terracotta shards from about 500 BC.

 A Roman coin belt with gold, enamel, sapphire, emerald, garnet and glass from about 400 AD.

A now always one of my favorite areas, the marble statues. This Roman statue is labeled "Wounded Youth" from 100 AD.

 A look down one wall of some of the busts.

 This Greek statue is called "Head of a Bearded Man" from 150 BC. That's quite a headache he has going.

 This bronze Roman head of a man was made in Asia Minor (now Turkey) around 100 BC.

 This Greek marble slab is called the "Religous Calendar of Thorikos" and lists the sacrifices and offerings to be made each month by the citizens of Thorikos, a Greek town.

 Example: a black baby goat was to be sacrificed each February to Dionysos, the god of wine.

 There was a room devoted to women and children.

 This Roman marble statue is from 120 AD.

 Gravestone of a woman and her attendant, a marble Greek statue from about 100 BC.

Mummy of a young man named Herakliedes.

Getty Villa: outdoor spaces

 There were also several nice outdoor areas at the Getty Villa.

 One one side of the museum, there was a small garden with a recreation of a fountain found in Pompeii.

 I volunteered to take a photo of another couple, and they reciprocated. It is amazing how many people have the desire to do that for us.

 But the best outdoor spaces in the Outer Peristyle, for which the Villa dei Papiri (and hence the Getty Villa) are famous.

 As we started our walk down the side of the pool, we were taken back by the beauty. As with the Villa dei Papiri in Herculaneum, the Outer Peristyle at the Getty Villa is very close to the ocean.

 A re-creation of a statue found in the Outer Peristyle at the Villa dei Papiri.

 Though they aren't shown in this photo, there were a number of people sitting nearby sketching this statue.

 At the far end of the pool, looking back at the museum. It is my understanding that the museum itself is not an exact replica of the Villa dei Papiri, partly because the ruins in Herculaneum have not been complete excavated yet.

 Here are the sketchers.

 A walkway on the opposite side of the pool.

 Even the grounds around the museum were very picturesque.

And there you have it, a quick tour of the Getty Villa. Don't worry, I've only shown you a fraction of what is there. It is still well, well worth the trip for you to go. Besides, photos can never duplicate the feeling of visiting something in person. They just can't.

Getty Museum

 One of our must-dos on the Hollywood Weekend was the Getty Museum. We lived for many years in San Diego before we heard people talk about it, but we seem to hear about it quite a bit lately. So we decided to go.

 The Getty Museum sits high atop a hill on the edge of the 405 freeway. The museum is free (what a bargain!) and guests must take a tram up the hill to reach it. Upon exiting the tram, these are the steps to the museum itself.

 The museum is quite impressive and I loved virtually everything the architect did. The angles, the views, the textures, all excellent. The architect obviously designed it very well and had the museum guests in mind. The only demerit I would hand out is that it does not look that impressive from afar...if you are in LA proper looking up at the museum, it does not delight the eye.

 Here is Nikki as we prepare to enter the first building.

 German beakers from the 1500s.

 Some rooms had the typical museum feel, such as this one, but many did not.

 "The Sermon on the Mount", a Flemish painting from 1598 by Jan Brueghel the Elder. This painting had a very 3D look, as comes across in this photograph.

 "A Banquet Piece", a Dutch painting from the 1630s. Very good use of light and reflections.

 Dutch and German horses from the early 1600s.

 "Portrait of Camillo Rospigliosi", an Italian mosaic from the early 1600s.

 Note how depth is added to the mosaic not only through colors, but through size and shape of the tiles. Look at how the tiles get smaller in the corners of the eye, giving the illusion of depth. A similar thing is done on the cheeks.

 Exquisite use of color.

 Tapestries made in the era of Louis XIV in France.

 A Parisian desk from about 1750.

 A French bed from about 1750.

 "Gabriel Bernard de Rieux", French from 1739-1741. This is the largest pastel in existence.

 "The Model Resting" from 1889, France.

 Portraits of Alice Gray and Sophie Gray.

 Houses near Orleans, France in the 1830s.

 "Ideal Female Head", from 1769 in France. This piece is made from terracotta.

 The transition from one building to another.

 Italian drawing studies from about 1540.

And finally, a few more shots of the views and architecture of the museum itself. Beautiful!

 This is the cafe where we had lunch.

and back out to the trams. The entire tour took about 3 hours - we would estimate most people do it in 2 to 4 hours. Again, it is free except for parking ($15).