J Paul Getty Museum

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Geo: 33.9768, -118.46

Today we planned to drive along the coast and have a fancy lunch at Nobu in Malibu. The weather was windy and rainy and getting worse, so we deferred that plan and decided to visit the Getty Museum.

We tried the M Street Cafe for brunch but there was a 1 hour wait! Instead we went to Herringbone in Santa Monica that also rapidly filled up. The meal was good (but pricey) and we all had different choices. My burger (when in Rome...) was really good, quite rare and the beef was very tasty.

Then to the Getty Museum which is part of the Getty Centre complex. A 350ha site on a hilltop in the Santa Monica Mountains overlooking the Interstate 405 and south to Los Angeles. The Getty Trust (controversially) spared no expense and the Centre is said to have cost $1.3B to build in 1997. The 1,200-bay parking area is connected to the Museum via a hovertrain funicular. A three-car, counter-balanced cable train that hovers slightly above a smooth concrete track. The Centre buildings are wonderful architecture (Richard Meier) with acres of travertine and aluminium surfaces, and great views from the outdoor areas.

There was a visiting exhibition of medieval tapestries and lots of European art from the 1400s on. Robyn was delighted to find that the Getty owns van Gogh's "Irises" which is on permanent display.

Afterwards we returned Robyn's Verizon SIM card (it was for a CDMA, not a GSM device) and got a T-mobile SIM that worked with no fuss. Al last! Did a bit of shopping for a BBQ dinner and had an evening at home. We'd bought the kids an Apple TV so fiddled with that and showed photos from the iPad on the TV.

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Photos

Herringbone Restaurant
Nice fit out and good food.

Getty deck
The weather cleared in the early afternoon.