Visiting the Getty Villa

We visited the Getty Villa. It is a museum located in the Los Angeles area by the ocean near Malibu. It is a gorgeous place! The J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Villa is home to an extended collection of Greek, Roman, and Etruscan antiques, one of America's finest holdings of ancient art.

This museum is a big house (villa) modeled after a Roman country house.
The Atrium was the main public room in a Roman house. The ceiling, open to light and air, allowed rainwater to enter and be capture in, where it was channeled to a underground cistern. The Romans were experts in creating houses that utilize the rain water well.

Inside the galleries

The exhibits are well presented

Which one is Zulita?

The Getty Villa is modeled after the Villa dei Papiri, a Roman country house in Herculaneum buried by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvirus in A.D. 79. Because most of the Villa dei Papiri remains unexcaved, many of the Getty Villa's architectural details are based on elements drawn from other ancient Roman houses in the towns of Pompeii, Herculanaeum and Stabiae.

A court garden inside the museum.
The Romans liked water and statues in all their gardens.

Beautiful long hall ways with great pillars

The main garden has a big long pool.
Outer Peristyle garden offered a peaceful place for conversation and contemplation.

Enjoying the garden by a fountain. Love the tranquil sound of the water.
I thing I want one of these fountains for our backyard at home:-)

There were statues among the gardens.

Gordon enjoying a walk around the pillars

Media Center Christmas Dinner

The Adventist Media Center Christmas Dinner was Thursday with great food, a keynote speaker and everything. I was expecting an intimate dinner with 40, 50 people, but there were hundreds of people there. They filled a whole banquet hall at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library where the dinner was held. At arrival everyone went on a free tour of the library museum and then there was the banquet hall reserved by Media Center. It was a dressed up event so Gordon wore his suit that he had not use in a long time. He looked very handsome! Above is a picture of our table.