I talked JJK into going to both the Getty Villa and the Getty Center. I had never been to the Villa so I thought it might be interesting for everyone - plus pay once, park twice = awesome.
We started at the Villa because they require (free) timed tickets for entry. I thought we could go there first and spend as much time as we wanted (lots or little) and then head to the Getty Center.
The Getty Villa is modeled after a first-century Roman country house in Herculaneum, Italy (btw Herculaneum is the less famous city that was preserved by the Vesuvius eruption in 79 AD).
The Getty Villa houses a collection of ancient Roman and Greek antiquities.
Jaiden was pretty sure this was the vase from Disney's Hercules:
Not quite sure what to make of this turkey.
No Bull, they had some pretty cool stuff.
Like pony-tailed statues
Hulk. SMASH.
Snake-legged Giant (which seems weird because while Giants do have legs, snakes don't)
I'm pretty sure this is the basis for the Harry Potter hippogriff.
Bird People
And even a mummy:
They also have several gardens, as fancy Roman villas are wont to do
Awesome architectural embellishments
(This is the ceiling of the portico)
And another Children's Room for the teenagers to play in
Jaiden at Marathon
The main garden with pool is pretty great - even though the pool was empty .. thanks drought.
Jaiden decided to plank on the hand rail
Kolten practicing to be a statue:
Jodi practicing the same:
I wish we'd been a little more on the spot. There was a guy in the background sprawled out on the floor of the porch in this same position taking serious pictures. We cracked up and Jodi had to recreate it.
There was also a family doing family photos that just reinforced my natural inclination for candid photos. The pictures were mostly of two really cute little girls, but the dad kept up a half-shouting commentary to his girls for: hands down, dresses down, mouth closed, smile, smile bigger, not that much, do this, look here, don't say cheese, etc. It was both humorous and very annoying. I maintain that with pictures that are to posed you lose everything about that age, and those moments that you want to remember. I mean, have you seen the photo of the 3 oldest nubbins during a particular rough posed photo session. I love it so much, and the "perfect shot" would never have been as perfect as this.
Jaiden decided to bust out some Singing in the Rain type moves:
Jodi had to show her how it's done.
This statue totally reminds me of Jaiden after she eats a big meal and complains about her food baby.
Inappropriate Statue Alert:
This was totally an accidental angle.
This was not
as accidental
Our visit to The Getty Center is up next.
