The Getty Center

Today's field trip took Annie and I to the Getty Center - a place I've heard rave reviews about since it opened in the late 90's. The Getty Center is a large museum/art collection/architectural masterpiece that sits high in the Santa Monica mountains overlooking Los Angeles (and actually overlooks the 405 Freeway as well - you can't miss it from the road).

You park at the bottom and take a tram right up the mountain. Annie may have loved this part the best. Anything large that moves is a 'bus' to Annie - and she was delighted to ride it (and probably would have ridden all day if I'd let her).


I really don't have words to describe how beautiful it is once you get to the top. The buildings are all beautiful and surrounded by stunning landscaping (including jacaranda trees that were all blooming in lavender and surrounded by mountains of sweet smelling jasmine) and an amazing view of the mountains, city of Los Angeles, and ocean in the distance. It was incredibly serene and peaceful.


We were there at opening and able to go on an architectural tour right away. The center was designed by renowned architect, Richard Meier (he also designed Atlanta's High Museum of Art... thanks to Terri for this factoid). Learning about all that went into the design was absolutely fascinating. Meier actually lived on the site for 13 years as he worked - and every single building, line, curve, etc. was designed to play into and take advantage of the beautiful vistas and views.


Annie actually did great on the tour and we made it through about 85% before she needed to be set free. They also had a fun little children's room for her to explore. It was funny because on two separate occasions, a 7 or 8 year old from a school group would enter the area she was in and say, "Baby!" And both times, Annie would get excited and look around to see where the baby was. She's growing up so fast... clearly she doesn't think of herself as the baby anymore. :)


After a surprisingly good lunch at the Center (...although I shouldn't have been surprised - these Getty people seem to do everything extremely well and I'm intrigued to read more about them) - we set off for the journey home. You can probably imagine what Friday afternoon LA traffic might be like... especially on Memorial Day weekend. It took us two hours to get home (and only 30 minutes to get there) - but it gave Annie ample opportunity to nap. This was my view in the rear-view mirror the entire time. Man I love this kid! :)