Getty Villa

A while ago we went to the Getty Villa with Sean's parents.  This was a first time visit and I loved it!  It was the perfect day to go, crystal clear skies and just the right temperature.  The Getty Villa is located in Malibu right off Pacific Coast Highway.  You drive up this long and pretty driveway made with large stones.  These stones are representative of the Roman streets.  In fact, that was my most favorite part of the Getty Villa.  Everything was suppose to be a recreation of ancient Rome.  The villa itself is the same building that has been excavated at Herculaneum and they tried to recreate the decorations by mimicking what has been discovered in various villas from both Pompeii and Herculaneum.  Having been to Pompeii this was a real treat!

I know a museum trip is a win-win when Sean enjoys it too!

I love her story.  The real version of her (this is the copy) was excavated by the large reflecting pool outside the main portion of the villa (remember this is a copy of a real villa in Italy) but when they excavated the pool on the inside of the courtyard they saw pedestals that matched.  So, she originally stood by the interior pool and for whatever reason someone moved her to the outside pool.  She now stands in her original position.  Cool, right?  Isn't archaeology interesting?!

I LOVE the Roman courtyards.  If I could build my own house it would be something like this!

Another shot of the courtyard, love it!

It was really cool to see how they decorated the walls, floors and ceilings and to think they were inspired by real designs.  Basically, this is what a home would look like 2000 years ago!

My favorite parts of the collection was seeing the paintings and carvings of women's hairstyles.  Interesting to see how little some hairstyles changed.  I also really enjoyed see these stamps.  I love the ones that roll and some of them were so tiny!