Last Wednesday, we woke up bright and not-totally early to head out to Santa Monica in search of the farmer's market. We tasted lots of wonderful fruits and veggies and settled on an artichoke, some asparagus, and a few lemons and blood oranges to bring home and make into dinner. We supplemented on the way home with a bone marrow and a few pork chops from Mary's local butcher shop; we decided on the pork because it was Passover and the pork was being, well, passed over. What a feast that turned out to be.
But before the feast we had to exhaust ourselves taking in as much as we could at the Getty Center. This was another one of my geeky, future-architect outings that I had requested and Mary and Brian and I all agreed that, at the end of the week, that was our favorite thing that we did. Hurrah! The tourist picked out an awesome spot that the locals had never been to before! Isn't that too often the way?
The Getty is a supremely special place. To get there you have to park your car in the lot (the only place where they actually charge you for the wonderful experience) and then take a tram up the hill. This physical separation from your regular world can in no way prepare you, really, for the psychological separation you get, through the extreme calm, once up top.
The whole place is white/off-white, mostly stone, imported from Italy. Set against the deep blue sky on a beautiful day, this is a real treat for the eyes. I have to say, I've seen a lot of impressive museums, but this is the first one where I really didn't care if I got in to see the art or not. Just being there, amongst the buildings, gardens and water features, was enough of a change from everyday life to make the trip worth it.
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