One last timeWe've had our friend Susan staying with us for a week, giving her a much-needed break from the chill factor of a bleak Chicago winter — brrrr!
Apart from her obvious delight in the sunshine and warmth, the big thing she noticed was that there are flowers in the gardens and leaves on our trees!
With gardens in mind, and art, and just because I wanted to be there one last time before we're off, I took Susan up to LA yesterday and we visited the Getty Center.
I've blogged about it before, but it's worth raving about again.
Yesterday the weather gods not just smiled on us, they positively guffawed and gave us a perfect, brilliant day.
It was really cold, and there was a brisk and chilly wind, but the sky was amazingly clear.
I've been to the Getty Center many times, but I'd never before seen the sea — click on the pic below to see what I mean:
By the way — this is where we had lunch yesterday — just gorgeous.
This is what it looked like when I was there last July:And it wasn't just the surprise of seeing the sea. We could make out a line of palm trees along the Santa Monica beachfront, and see ships on the ocean, and islands on the horizon.
To the south, we could see planes coming in to land at LAX, and beyond that the cranes and derricks of Long Beach, with the 405 freeway cutting a huge swathe as it wends its way south, eventually to rejoin the 5 and carry on towards San Diego (click on the pics for bigger images).And looking south-eastwards, we could see way beyond Century City to the Los Angeles city centre, and even further, to the snowy peaks of the San Bernardino Mountains.
It was staggeringly beautiful.
What a place! Snow, mountains, the sparkling ocean, and one of the great cities of the world spread out before us — or part of it anyway!We walked about the gardens, marvelling at the mix of traditional cottage flowers, like sweet peas just starting to climb ...... succulents, and more 'architectural' plants, to say nothing of the sculptural hedge that forms the labyrinth in the pond — so much fun for the ducks!Inside, we had a fabulous hour or so inspecting the miniature treasures of some of the illuminated manuscripts created in the first decade of the 15th century for the Duke of Berry — not the Tres Riches Heures, but the Belles Heures.
I am so going to miss Los Angeles ...