Day 22 – Los Angeles and The Getty

Pacific Ocean (just below Dan Blocker Beach)

We took the scenic route south along the Pacific Coast Highway from Oxnard through Malibu and Santa Monica towards LA. It was about a 40-mile drive along beautiful coastline and some amazing homes. We even stopped to put our feet into the water at one point.

Getty Museum

Our destination today was “The Getty” (in LA speak). We have been to LA before and have already seen most of the major sites, so we decided to pick one that we hadn’t seen before. Other than traffic, it is an easy museum to visit. You park at the bottom of the hill in their garage and take a tram to the top. The museum is free, but parking is $15. 

LA Skyline from The Getty

The museum itself is one of the most beautiful one we have ever seen, including a fantastic view of Los Angeles and the coastline. However, the collection for us didn’t quite match up. I have to put in the caveat that we judge museums by their collection of Impressionist art and that probably isn’t fair to The Getty collection because they have a very varied and wide range of articles including decorative art pieces.

Irises

The Getty only has maybe 10 major pieces of Impressionist art, but what they have is spectacular.  The centerpiece is “Irises” by Vincent van Gogh. In 1987, it became the most expensive painting ever sold ($54M) when it was purchased by an Australian businessman, who subsequently defaulted on the loan and the painting was acquired by the Getty Museum three years later.

Rose Bowl (Pasadena, CA)

We left LA early in the afternoon and after a stop to see the Rose Bowl, we fought traffic most of the way to the Palm Springs area where we are spending the night. What beautiful scenery here in the desert.