Getting to Getty

14 May 2013

Although Google Maps told us it would only take a little over 30 minutes to get to the Getty Villa from our airport hotel we left ourselves an hour and fifteen minutes to make the journey. Roadworks along the road caused us a great deal of consternation and we arrived at the Villa with only a minute to spare for our entry time of 11:30am.

In about 1993 Mr Geniaus had visited the Villa and was most impressed by this "little" site; he has always wanted me to see it. It has been on our list of places to visit in Los Angeles for quite some time and we finally made it today. I had thought that it was just a house in which Getty had resided; in fact he never even got to visit the Villa. It turned out to be not just a very impressive building but a museum full of antiquities housed in beautiful surroundings.

The Villa was not quite as Mr Geniaus had remembered as it had undergone a major overhaul and expansion in the intervening years. If I would have realised how much there was to see I would not have made bookings and paid for a tour of Warner Brothers later in the day. We managed to have a  look around and take the "Architecture Tour" which was fascinating and informative. I will definitely be revisiting this site on a future visit to Los Angeles, I want to take the "Garden Tour" and have time to chill in the awesome atmosphere of the Villa.

Some happy snaps follow.

First thing I spied were the elegant drinking fountains

and then this pool

The Central Peristyle (inner courtyard)

There was beauty everywhere - on floors

and on ceilings

That's all marble

Exquisite detail 

A bit over the top but still stunning

Blooms a plenty

Every villa needs a herb garden

The new ampitheatre

Definitely not a shag on a rock

Peristyle from above

A peaceful haven