The Last Miles are the Slowest

The Gardens of the Getty Villa

Lion attacking a horse from the Capitoline Museum in Rome: Greek sculpture & Roman trophy

It seems strange sitting in the basking sunshine of California, listening to the apocalyptic predictions of the impact of Hurricane Sandy as it batters the other side of this continent. We visited the Getty Villa first thing yesterday morning before the main crowds arrived. The Villa is dedicated to JP Getty’s fabulous collection of Greek, Roman and Etruscan antiquities. The news form the hurricane together with suggestions that the American Empire is on the wane gives one an eerie feeling when looking at the remnants of once wonderful empires that were meant to last forever. Coupled with the almost hedonistic and wasteful lifestyle that many of us live, leads one to think that one day in the very distant future a similar museum may hold fragments of our present civilisation where the certainty that we know will be replaced by the imprecise science and speculation of archaeology.

Whatever, I was expecting something more on the kitsch side but was delighted and astonished by the villa, the setting and the collection. The cream walls of the villa sparkled in the morning light. The house and the gardens have been constructed to give an impression of a Roman Villa at the height of Rome’s power and influence. It does this with ease and any personal cynicism disappeared at the entrance. The collection is significant. The bulk of the objects are Roman or Roman copies of Greek sculptures.  It is so well laid out and each room follows a specific and easy theme. I just wish that this British Museums extensive collection was as well laid out and labelled at this. I have identified some exhibits that shone and I have shown them below.

The killing of the Minotaur by the Athenian hero Theseus (as Ariadne looks on!)

The suicide of Ajax after a dispute over dead Achilles’ armor. (Such a delicate picture)

A roman copy of Venus (Aphrodite)

This is a roman copy of a sculpture of the goddess by the famous Greek sculptor Praxiteles in 350 BC This was the first full-length nude female sculpture in Greek art and became a cult. Many copies were produced. One story tells of a worshiper who was so entranced by her beauty that became transfixed and would not leave the sanctuary!

A really modern muse

A beautiful and sad image from the front of a Roman-Egyptian Sarcophagus

Two girls talking: Could be out of a Jane Austen novel

A scene from a balcony reminiscent of Goya or Manet

A wonderful Roman head

JP Getty's favourite and most valued greek sculpture of Hercules. Perhaps it tell su something about the man!

Back on the road again. Its Sunday and this is a coast road. There are few gaps between urban conurbations as you move down this coast. The whole coastal area has been reduced to a string of beaches and a network of roads that connect them together. There appears to have been a vast urban expansion along this coast, evidenced by complex after complex of condominiums, housing estates and Malls. One can imagine how many times you have to stop at traffic lights.

By the time arrived in Long Beach we were exhausted, despite the fact that we had miles and miles to go!

Ghastly and tedious

I wanted to see the Queen Mary, which was retired to Long Beach as an attraction and a hotel when she was decommissioned in 1967. I believe that my uncle Will (my Dad’s brother), was the radio operator on her for a while. We took some time to find her but there she was. Dwarfed by larger cruise ships but just as elegant as she was when I saw her in Southampton when I was 9. 
There must be so many stories to go with this old lady. She must have carried so many people during the wars and in peacetime across the Atlantic.
We hope to stay on her on our way back to LA.

"Still elegant after all these years"

I must admit that we eventually gave in and took the Interstate. Still plenty of buildings but thank god, no traffic lights. We shot down 405 through the expanding Orange County, past Irving and the John Wayne Airport at Irving. No time to stop but the Duke was a huge part of our lives when we were kids. Don’t know why it’s called after him.

La Jolla Cove

We switched onto Interstate 5, which now incorporates and replaces Route 1. Such a change from that small winding, torturous and narrow road that we joined in Northern California. On one occasion, I counted 14 lanes. Our road has been swallowed!

We are staying at La Jolla (pronounced La Holla) just outside San Diago.

Our journey is almost done. We are just 10 miles away from the city and will go there on Wednesday after doing some serious beach chill in this beautiful place.

The sun goes down on La Jolla Beach