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Sunday, February 14, 2016

Ready for the Getty!

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Have you ever been to the Getty Museum in Los Angeles?

Just a stone’s throw from the UCLA campus where we picked up Maggie’s boyfriend Ben!  Jill and I were both so thrilled that these college aged kids would want to hang with US for an afternoon of wandering a beautiful museum, looking at priceless works of art and history and enjoying the beautiful day.

The Getty is built on top of a hillside over looking downtown Los Angeles on one side, and beautiful valley views on the other side.

As we were driving, Jill and I were trying to remember just how to put on our best “Valley Girl” Speak from when we were in high school, both of us graduating in 1980 in California. She was a So Cal Gal, I was a Bay Area Bonnie.  But we have the same memories and it is so fun when certain things bubble up to the surface.

Oh. My Gggggggg….

Gag me with a SPOON!

[[[peals of laughter]]]

And then talk of the clothing styles and the hair and the music.  Did we ever think we were that cool?


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Enjoying the beautiful day at the Getty!

The Getty museum is free to the public.  But parking will cost you $15.00! Well worth it for the 4 of us that were in the car.  Park in the garage, and then take the tram up the hill to the museum, enjoying the view as you climb.

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This doesn’t look like the metropolis of LA at all, does it?

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This does!

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Cactus Garden with LA in the background!

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Priceless Impressionists.

Something happens deep within my soul when I can stand this close to priceless works of art.  What was the artist thinking when they were painting?  Did they capture everything they wanted in this painting?  What did they want US to glean from what they put on the canvas with careful brush strokes and deep passion? 

And then there is the people watching.  I love catching bits of conversation as I walk past a couple talking intently about what they see in any given work of art be it a sculpture, an illuminated manuscript, painting, or a decorative art such as  17th century furniture. 

People are the best part of museum visiting of all, each of us on oiur own journey, filling our lives with our own experiences.

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Crossing paths with strangers.

In the timeline of my life, I may never be in the same place with any of these strangers ever again. 

They will go their way, I’ll go mine.  But for this day we stood in the same place, breathing the same air, seeing the same art, yet each seeing these objects in our own way.  What I get from them may be different than what they take with them when this day is over.  But here we are.  Same place, same time.

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Such a favorite!

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Who was this lady?

What was her life like?

I wonder what she was thinking and dreaming about while she posed for this portrait. 

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 Irises.

Where were these irises that the artist painted?  Who planted the bulbs?  Were they watched for every spring as they emerged from the ground - saying goodbye to the winter, growing tall and beautiful as spring turned to summer, capturing the artist’s eye and inspiring him to paint?

I tried to get the photo of the painting without the glare from the windows, but you can still see the reflection in the upper left.  Instead of an imperfection, it is rather interesting.  My time, reflecting on top of the artist's time.  Joined together.

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Louis XIV Tapestries!

This was the exhibit we wanted to see ---FASCINATING and fabulous and oh so worth it.  But after taking this photo of the sign and the tapestry in the back, I was told that photos were not allowed in this gallery.  Oops.  But trust me.  It is worth seeing these.

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Sit and rest and enjoy!

This was wonderful to see.  The gardens at the Getty are beautiful in all seasons.  And I loved that families brought blankets and enjoyed the sun and the moderate temperatures on this Saturday in February.

Jill and I also plunked ourselves down on the grass, feeling it tickle our bare feet as flip flops were flung off and toes enjoyed the open air.

Those in the snowy north and east – remember that smell of fresh cut grass?  I’m sending it to you with this post. It still exists.  It is coming again!

Is there a greater pleasure than laying back on the grass when the sun is warm and the breezes are gentle?

I don’t think so!  This afternoon at the Getty was such a great gift in so many ways.

Much love from Southern California!


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13 comments:

  1. Thank you for sharing your adventures. And For Sure...TOTALLY, it was innocent fun back then...

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  2. Thank you for sharing your adventures. And For Sure...TOTALLY, it was innocent fun back then...

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  3. Anonymous9:28 PM EST

    The funniest thing happened this week, I heard them talking at my local quilt shop, they have had to reorder more greys, must be because everyone is collecting greys for Bonnie's new book. I know I am collecting. I am even going outside my comfort zone and buying anything with a grey background, normally I would not have done that. Thank you so much Bonnie, I am learning a lot from you.

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  4. My husband and I visited the Getty Museum on a couple of occasions, ten years or so ago when we used to come back to the UK from New Zealand via LAX. Marvellous museum with a lovely garden. On one occasion we took the Garden Tour which they ran then... maybe still do? Well worth taking.

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  5. I've never visited Los Angeles. Only the Airport enroute to Hawaii! Great way to spend your Saturday. No Pictures of the Tapestries, oh well, you got some Eye Candy and Mental Pictures.
    Happy Valentines Day! and Happy President's Day! It's my DH Birthday Tomorrow so I will be Cooking and making his day one to Remember. He has to Work, Lemon Meringue is on the Menu.

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  6. Anonymous12:05 AM EST

    Thank you Bonnie for the "smell of fresh cut grass". It arrived frozen so I have to wait until it thaws so I can take a deep breath and enjoy.

    Diane, Deep Freeze, NH

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  7. Thanks Bonnie. It's -21*C here this morning. I could feel the warm earth, and almost smell spring as I was reading your post. It started me thinking how much we all share, even if it is shared in different ways

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  8. Oh, yes, I have been to the Getty. The day was as beautiful as your day there. It was worth the price of admission for the views alone and I shared the day with an old friend. We basked in the sun on the outside terrace. I recall it being paved with travertine and of being fascinated with the fossils embedded in the stone. There was some type of live music going on as well. Of course, the artwork indoors was magnificent. Some day I hope to make a return visit.

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  9. You really do get to see lots of cool things!! I understand the feelings at the Getty. Several years ago I was able to go to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. We saw the Chihuly exhibit, a Kaffe exhibit of woven blankets and the painting gallery. I never thought I would be standing in front of a van Gogh, Renoir, a Fantin-Latour, and soooo many others. I once in a lifetime feeling of being present...

    And thanks for the grass perfume...this week I walked through the garden center at Walmart just to smell the dirt! lol

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  10. Because I was hoping to see them from afar, I googled Louis XIV tapestries and got this.


    http://www.getty.edu/art/exhibitions/french_tapestries/

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  11. Wonderful post, Bonnie. The Getty's on my bucket list!

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  12. Anonymous3:01 PM EST

    Never made it to the Getty, it's fairly new (like after the 70's!) but I loved the Museum of Natural History at Exposition Park by USC: they have the dinosaur bones from the La Brea Tar Pits there, and also I think they filmed Friends there in the old fashioned diorama halls (same as in Night at the Museum and other older museums). We lived in Saugus/Newhall when I was in high school, now Santa Clarita and Canyon Country. They built the city of Valencia, and Magic Mountain when I was in high school. Exposition Park was one of the best field trips ever, I never was sick on those days!
    I want to go the the Cowboy Museum built by Gene Autry down by Griffith Park, but not sure I will ever return... funny story: my sis and her husband and some friends spent New Year's Eve in sleeping bags on the sidewalks in the late 70's to see the Rose Parade in Pasadena, and said it was a better view on tv, they were afraid all night, and the only part that was fab was going to the park where the floats were staged before and after to get an up close look! then to battle the traffic... yow! Well, it's a good story now! Sharon in Colorado...

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