Wednesday, June 06, 2007

::getty villa & malibu beaches::
on the way to the getty villa, i stopped by the part of the will rogers state beach that is located in malibu along the pacific coast highway..

but there was nothing really spectacular about it though..

me at the entrance/gate of the getty villa

the awesome views from the top - the getty villa (which sits on top of a hill) overlooks the malibu beaches and the sea!

the outdoor barbara & lawrence fleischman theatre where concerts, performances & lectures are being held!
the getty villa houses the other part of the j. paul getty museum - which is home to an extensive collection of greek, roman and etruscan antiquities. the getty villa itself is modeled after the villa dei papiri, a roman countryhouse in herculaneum buried by the eruption of mt. vesuvius in a.d. 79.

no words can express how impressed i was with the architecture of the getty villa! it's just so majestic and awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwesome! i will let the pictures speak for themselves..

entering the villa/museum..

the atrium - is the main public room in a roman house, where guests would first be greeted by the hosts. notice the open ceiling? it is open to light and air, allowing rainwater to enter and be captured in the pond, where it would then be channeled to an underground cistern..


the herb garden - believe it or not, most roman houses would have a herb garden in their premises! these roman households would grow fruit trees, flowering shrubs and herbs (for cooking and medicinal purposes).

i was really taken aback when i noticed that there were a quite a number of elderly folks who went around tasting the various herbs/plants in the garden! out of curiosity and after being assured of its edibility (or whatever u call it), i went to try one myself! i chose to try the pretty purple herb in the middle - its layman specie name is lamb's ears! how interesting. obviously, curiosity didn't kill the cat - and to my pleasant surprising, it tasted like refreshing mint:)

notice how all the herbs/plants are arranged in a symmetry! the romans love symmetrical patterns..

the inner peristyle (which in roman architecture, refers to a columned porch in a building that surrounds a court that may contain an internal garden)

surrounding the inner peristyle were chambers of the musuem, which showcased the extensive collection of paintings/artefacts/statues which date back to the roman times..

the hall of colored marbles - emulates the kind of luxurious rooms that served as status symbols during the roman imperial period. the romans certainly valued marbles and used them to cover floors, walls and even to line fountains and pools! the variety of marbles not only provided colorful decoration but also demonstrated power, wealth and vast conquests of rome (since marbles were usually imported from distant lands)


the east garden - adorned with a colorful fountain with shells

interesting (bordering on scary) theater masks!


the most spectacular part of the getty villa is undoubtedly the outer peristyle - which was a formal garden that offered a peaceful place for conversation and contemplation..


with its perfectly manicured flora & fauna, and numerous bronze sculptures all around..

and very grand seating areas..

view from the other end!

the courtyard surrounding the outer peristyle was as impressive!

u can really appreciate the design of every intricate detail right to the ceiling..

the main driveway leading to the getty villa replicates the ancient polygonal paving of the roads (with large irregular stones) that were characteristic of that used in pompeii and herculaneum during the roman times..

after i left the getty villa, i headed down to the malibu's surfrider beach

the malibu pier and me
the view from the malibu pier, overlooking LA


as u can see, i was totally not in beach attire - save for my slippers. haha. it was quite embarrassing:( but i'd rather be embarrassed than get frozen. don't be fooled by the sun! it was quite cold coz of the strong chilly windy:/


nice view of malibu's surfrider beach - while the waters were clear blue, the sand wasnt that clean though:(

there's a clear demarcation of the areas for people to swim and surf on the surfrider beach..

i managed to catch some surfers in action!!

since i couldnt do any beach activity, the best i could do was to soak my feet in the water?!

there were lots of seagulls hovering along the coast..

there were even some people filming at the beach! too bad i didnt spot any celebrities that i know of:(

oh dear! no lifeguards on duty at the lifeguardhouse - one wonders what is the purpose of the lifeguardhouse then?

people just soaking in the sun.. on the beach! life's a beach eh?:)