A Visit to The Getty Villa Museum

 

Outer Peristyle
(Photo taken by daughter)

On Thursday night, daughter suggested going to the Getty Villa Museum on Friday, which was her day off from work.   They were having two special exhibits featuring the Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead and some Ancient Egyptian sculpted portraits, and daughter has loved all things Ancient Egyptian since she was a child.  Entrance to the museum is free, but, one has to make a timed-entry reservation which daughter made for 1:00 p.m. on Friday.  One does have to pay for parking, however, and that was $25 per vehicle ($15 after 3:00 p.m., unless one parked for less than one hour, in which case, there was no charge).

On Friday, I packed a picnic lunch of chicken sandwiches, granola bars, and bottled water to take with us (there are places to eat at the Museum, but, we weren't planning to eat out).  We set off a little before noon as the drive there would take about one hour.  The Museum is located in Pacific Palisades and, as we drove, we could see evidence of the destruction the January 2025 fires had caused.  We got to the Museum just before 1:00 p.m.

Display at the Entrance

This was our first visit to the Getty Villa Museum, the design of which was inspired by the Roman Villa dei Papiri in Herculaneum that was buried by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, with additional details from other ancient sites incorporated.  

Inner Peristyle

We visited the display of the Egyptian Book of the Dead, first.  The exhibit included a huge stone sarcophagus,  mummy wrappings and papyrus inscribed with various ritual spells that were part of the Ancient Egyptian funerary rites, some of which were illustrated, and small funerary statues.  It was quite fascinating to see.  I was especially impressed by the illustrations on some of the mummy wrappings.  

While we were on the same floor as the Egyptian Book of the Dead exhibit, we visited some of the other exhibits on that floor, including Roman and Greek statues, mosaics, and artifacts.  I was most taken up with the exhibit featuring Greek and Egyptian mummy portraits during the period of Roman rule.  The portraits were of men, women, and at least one young child.  The exhibit also featured a mummy of a young man with his portrait in place (there was a sign at the entrance stating that there were human remains in the exhibit).  

Eventually we made our way to the Ancient Egyptian sculpted portraits exhibit which features items that were on loan from the British Museum.  

By which time, we had spent about two hours in the Museum and I was starting to get tired.  I would have liked to have explored the gardens a little more than simply look at them, but, that would have to wait for another visit.  I wanted to get back home before the freeways got too congested with the evening commute.

Neither of us wanted to eat our sandwiches once we got to the car, so I just had a drink of water and started on our drive home.  I ended up taking a bit of a detour on the way to get to the freeway, partly because I misread a streed sign and turned too early, but daughter was able to access online driving directions, which guided us through some posh neighborhoods (Brentwood, Bel Air, etc.) to avoid congested areas.  We enjoyed seeing some of the lovely mansions and gardens in these areas.

The freeway, once we got there, was busy, but, the traffic was flowing and driving on it reminded me of the years when daughter was at UCLA and I used to drive her there and back, every day during the week and sometimes, during the weekends, as well, when she worked on campus.

Once we got off the freeway, we decided to pick up some Chinese food from our favorite neighborhood Chinese eatery.  By the time we got home, it was already 4:00 p.m.  We ate our first meal of the day and daughter took a nap.  I watched some videos and the news while I waited for M to arrive.  We chatted a bit and then, he watered the garden and tidied it up.

Daughter and I shared one of the chicken sandwiches I had made as a snack, later on, and I had half of the other sandwich for my brunch on Saturday.

At the Getty Villa

I truly enjoyed my visit to the Getty Villa Museum on Friday.

I was grateful for:

- Daughter suggesting we visit the Getty Villa and booking the timed entry reservations
- A lovely day out

- A safe drive there and back

- Daughter treating us to Chinese food for a late lunch (with leftovers for dinner and for Saturday, too!)

- M tending to the garden

Friday's joyful activity was an afternoon visit to the Getty Villa Museum.

I would like to visit the Getty Center, too, one day.  Daughter has already been there, just before the pandemic, with her friends, but, I haven't been there. 

Do you like to visit museums?