Fruit Adventures at the Getty

Have you heard? A b-b-bird, bird, bird is the word! My boyfriend is visiting, which means I get to go do girly stuff like go on dates, shave my beard, giggle like a school girl and visit interesting places of art and architecture (because he's an architect). 

So there was once this oil tycoon named J. Paul Getty who was into collecting art, so much so that he had to build the Getty Villa just so he could house his extensive collection. Perched up on a hill in the beautiful and picturesque neighborhood of Pacific Palisades, the villa now mainly houses Greek, Roman, and Etruscan antiquities dating from 6,500 BC to 400 AD. If you're into paintings (think Van Gough, Renoir, Monet) and exhibitions, you may find them in the larger campus which is at the Getty Museum, located in Brentwood.

Admission to both locations are FREE but they do charge you $15 for parking. If you are going to the Villa, it is required that you book online for your timed-entry tickets.

Let's go and explore!

In front of the museum is a small amphitheater, where they can hold events at night.

Before going inside the museum, we discovered a colonnade that had a nice fountain in the middle and a long stretch of wall painting.

Due to the severe drought that California is currently experiencing, most of the fountains have been turned off.

Upon entering the museum, there is a courtyard with fountains which were shut off as well.

There's a nice mosaic fountain tucked neatly beyond where the staircase to the 2nd floor is located.

Imagine how they painstakingly placed those tiles one by one?

The museum is only two stories high so it's really not overwhelming to go from one room to another. Check out some cool things that I spotted:

Lidded Cauldron with a Satyr, 50-1 B.C.

Intricate sarcophagi (coffins!) carved in marble, A.D. 210-220

Kohl eye make-up applicator, 1365- 1347 B.C. (center)

Perfume flasks, 600-300 B.C.

Coin belt, A.D. 370-400

Gold wreath, 300-100 B.C.

Bronze helmet, 350-300 B.C.

Gold hairnet, diadem (crown) and earrings, 220-100 B.C.

Mummy of Herakleides, A.D. 50-11. This is a rare well-preserved mummy, where it shows in CT scans that a mummified ibis (bird) was incorporated into Herakleides' wrappings. They estimated Herakleides' age to be about 20 years old when he died.

They painted a portrait of him on where the head is at, along with hieroglyphics on his body.

After going around the galleries, we decided to grab a late lunch at their in-house cafe simply called, The Cafe at the Getty Villa. I know what you're thinking. A museum cafe? They probably just serve those cold sandwiches or burgers with a side of soggy fries. But this description couldn't be farther from the truth because my family and I are giving them double, triple, quadruple thumbs up (if we were alien) on the food!

You can eat indoors or dine al fresco in their spacious patio.

On to the food!

Obviously, this is my boyfriend's order---the Pepperoni and Sweet Italian Sausage Pizza.

Portobello Mushroom Caprese Sandwich (super yummy!)

Slow-braised Beef Short Ribs with Potato Gratin (super yummy too!)

Soup of the Day, I forgot what it was but it had the perfect texture, not too watery and not too thick!

Baked Pesto Penne with Spicy Italian Sausage

Below the cafe is a museum shop where they sell unique souvenirs and merchandise, mostly related to Greek Mythology and ancient history.

Intricately designed personal journals, music boxes, mythology books.

That pretty much concludes the Getty trip but before I let you go, let me do a quick Fashion Fruit Files.

I hate posing for the camera, so I call this the Elusive Big Foot pose. Sorry, the lighting really sucks. My boyfriend and I can't Photoshop properly to save our lives.

Top (it's actually a stretch cotton dress) by H&M; Double-slit pleated black skirt by Zara; Shoes by Stuart Weitzman; Bag by Louis Vuitton.

On a very random note--- I really like this tree, standing tall just outside the museum.

Toodles!

The Reluctant Road Tripper: Day 7

Harvard & Boston

It’s another beautiful but severely humid day to explore Harvard! Like what I said on my previous post, Harvard is like a city within a city. All their buildings are spread all throughout the neighborhood. The building that really left me speechless was this one in particular…

I am in awe. Harry Pottah? Ah we in Hogwhots?

 

At first glance, I could've sworn it was either some architectural wonder erected to be used as a museum with rare artifacts or a gigantic gothic cathedral. Well, that’s two strikes out for me because they were neither a museum nor a cathedral. This beautiful pile of bricks is known as the Memorial Hall and you can’t get in there if you’re not a student or staff of Harvard. In other words--Shoo, commoner. Be gone! Haha.

Oh and by the way, you know what goes on inside? They use it as a DINING HALL. Yea, that’s right. They just EAT there. And here I am, thinking that if you get to have McDonald’s served in your school cafeteria, you’re the shiz.

Speaking of a cathedral, they do in fact, have one! We went to hear mass at St. Paul’s Cathedral so I managed to discreetly take pictures inside as well.

The orange thing up on that arch is actually just a mesh. I think they were in the middle of doing some minor repairs.

It’s not only the buildings that make Harvard such a wonderful place to be in, it’s the surrounding area as well. There’s a river called the Charles River that runs between Cambridge and Boston, which gets pretty busy during the summer with people jogging on the pathways and people doing different sorts of water sports such as kayaking, board paddling, regatta, etc.

We only had time to do a quick stop in Boston, so sadly, once again, I wasn’t able to explore the city. Pears, we're only here to get your sister settled in. Yea, party poopers. But you know what I just realized? I actually really love gothic architecture. Not only do they look historical but it just adds a lot of character to a place. It’s like everywhere I look in Cambridge or Boston, there’s always this cool gothic structure that seems to transport me to a different time. Jamie Lannister, where art thou?

Look at that nice building...no, not the boring skyscraper.

Time to cross back on the bridge! Awwwweee. Cambridge totally won me over with all the dogs enjoying their walks around town. Is it safe to assume then that people in Cambridge/Boston love pets just as much as I do? =)

Adorable in different shapes and sizes…

There are so many random things that you can find in every corner around Harvard Square like:

This dude…
Statue of John Harvard. They say that if you rub John Harvard’s left foot, it will bring you luck…But I now regret touching that golden foot, Kiwi says that students pee on it and do weird stuff with that statue. Hey, that's why I always wash my hands.

Or this random wall of art…

Or this building with a face…how adorable! Doesn't it remind you of that old cartoon, The Flying House?

Or this awesome computer by hot nerds…

The Harvard Mark I

"..as a result, many computer pioneers consider that the digital computing age began with the unveiling of Harvard Mark I in August 1944.." Nerds rule. Always.

Or this historical place for folk-rock music that was once called Club 47, one of Bob Dylan’s stepping stones to music greatness.

Or random people doing random things in a random grassy area…Yea, I don't even wanna know.

One last note:  in case you would like to visit around the Cambridge area, don’t forget that they do have a lot of uneven brick sidewalks so you better keep those 4-inch heels at home and opt for some comfy shoes..

Ugh. The sight of that sidewalk makes my Manolo's shudder.

Enough walking, let's talk about the most crucial thing about road trips... Food! And it's gonna be up next on Day 8 so stay tuned!

Toodles!