Getty Museum

For years people would tell us we had to go to the Getty Museum when we went out to California. For years we ignored them. It was easier to walk across Harbor Boulevard to Disneyland than to get in the car and drive in LA traffic. On this summer's trip we decided to only spend three days at Disney, which left us with three free days.

The museum is free after you pay $20 to park the car. Of note, there are two parts to the J. Paul Getty Museum, the Getty Center and the Getty Museum Villa. The intention was to go to both of them, starting at the Getty Museum Villa. Unfortunately I plugged the wrong one into the GPS, as we were meeting a friend who lives near the Getty Center, swapping the order was not an option.

COVID rules mean you must make a free reservation no more than two weeks in advance, and wear a mask. The timed reservation meant we could not go the next day instead, so we'll save the Villa for another trip.

The Getty Center has four main buildings called North, South, East, and West. There is also a research center and at least one other building. Mr. Getty collected mostly in European paintings, sculptures, decorative arts, drawings, and manuscripts from the Middle Ages to the early 20th century. They also have amazing grounds. It was a gorgeous day, so I will definitely say I enjoyed the grounds the most.

The Getty Museum's biggest claim to fame is van Gogh's Irises. The pictures below show how famous this picture is. Mind you we hardly saw anybody throughout the museum, likely because they were all here!

It was a lovely way to spend a day. Overall, though, other than this room with Impressionist art, it was not my favorite style.