I went to the Getty Center a couple of weeks ago which is right by UCLA settled in the hills of Los Angeles off of 405. I couldn’t believe that after all of the time I had lived in LA, I had never been there. If you may have read in previous posts, I am a big fan of museums and art in general so the Getty seemed like the perfect place to go on a hot summer afternoon. It happened to be one of the first weeks of the summer too, so of course everyone was in summer dresses, shorts, and flip flops.

When my R and I arrived, we had to take a tram that takes you across the hills of LA that overlook the freeway. (The tram reminded me of the BART system in San Francisco which I don’t really use unless I am coming to or from the airport.) Right when you walk into the Getty Center you are immediately surrounded by art in the forms of sculptures and the scenery is absolutely amazing. There are multiple buildings that you can walk through to check out Western from the Middle Ages, all the way up to the present. There is beautiful handcrafted furniture, fountains, chandeliers, paintings, and sculptures as you walk through each area. The gardens are also decorated beautifully and a lot of students in the area happen to be laying across the lawn or sitting in the cafe tables enjoying their studying in the tranquil environment. I captured photos of the LA views with one of my cameras there, but I am probably going to have to go back some time for the lights at night. I enjoyed the peaceful time that I had at the Getty Center and I hope to visit the Getty Villa that is located in Malibu soon. Both are apparently very different when it comes to what art is in them. (The Getty Villa is full of Greek art.) Admission is free here, so it is not costly at all if you want to enjoy a peaceful Saturday afternoon like I did. It is also open until 9 PM. Parking has also recently decreased to free after 5 PM. I suggest taking a visit and hopefully soon I will be visiting the Getty Villa and blogging about that museum too.

I posted the rest of the photos from my visit to the Getty on my Flickr in case you want to check out some of the pictures I took. The only thing I wish I had was my other camera that has a better zoom for things like wide landscape views. I guess you can never really plan ahead for something as spontaneous as my trip to the Getty. I always happen to decide where my friends and I are going when we jump in the car and start driving. Hey, what can I say, that is part of my enjoyment of random adventures.