Day 1 of California Dreamin’ : The Getty Villa

We left cold rainy Baltimore eastern standard time around 8am and arrived in sun-drenched Los Angeles around 11am pacific time.  Traveling back in time, you know?  So, after arriving to LA with hubs we took the shuttle to Fox Rental (coupons in link) at LAX, our normal go-to car rental place. Apparently this time, a lot more people were loving them too because the line was crazy long.

Anywho, so we of course got to pick whatever car we wanted, so as opposed to the typical mustang, we went for the one with good gas mileage with one thought in mind       …Road trip!!!

So, we were probably on the road 10 minutes, I oohh-ed and ahhh-ed at the palm trees… and well, I fell asleep.  Woke up near Malibu.  Never been to Malibu before.  I reached into the backseat to grab hubs camera because there was this fantastic place on a hill overlooking the water. Next thing I know, hubs is turning into the Getty Villa, according to the sign.  I honestly had no idea where we were going.  I love surprises but recognized that I’m rocking a purple tee, black leggings, was not super appropriate for Pacific Palisades… So if you follow me on snapchat you’d know I constantly have to change from work clothes to a cocktail dress as I run from work to a fashion event in the car, so this time would be no different, lol.

Anywho, Getty Villa is stunning. Just stunning.

Like who doesn’t absolutely love the mixture of art, architecture, philanthropy, and education!!!

 

 

 

 

It’s a museum with many exhibitions of ancient Greece and Rome.  No idea how my hubs, Brent, even came up with this idea.  It’s that brief moment when you realize your husband does actually listen to you, lol…

 

Completely unprepared how to maximize my experience here.  I used not the internet, but a paper map & guide!  

So, in the theater room, we learned a lot about the Getty Villa.

It was J. Paul Getty is a businessman turned millionaire due to the oil business in the ’50s.   So, he decided to build a museum that is on his ranch property in Malibu, that was a replica of Roman Villa dei Papiri in Herculaneum, Italy.

Stroll along with us…

During Getty’s travels for oil and art, he obtained many treasures.

We were truly inspired as we headed out of Getty Villa. Just think all of this beauty came from the dream of one man, who actually never saw it come to fruition.  He wanted to share Greek and Roman culture to expose and perserve the richness of history.

As we headed to the hotel, I thought if this is a glimpse of what hubs has in store for me during our week here, California is going to be even greater than I imagined!

 

Naomi