Getty Villa

Walking into this walled garden will stop you in your tracks: the beautiful Outer Peristyle patio at the Getty Villa Museum in Malibu. The Getty is a replica of the Villa dei Papiri country house from ancient Rome, in the town of Herculaneum, which was buried in volcanic ash by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 A.D. This formal garden is where scholars and the prosperous engaged in timeless conversation, surrounded by bronze and marble statuary, flowerbeds, herbs, grape vines, rest benches, and fountains. The long reflecting pool is mirror-like when the air is still, and ripples when the fountains spray water from the spouts. The perimeter is surrounded by columns of Corinthian marble, adorned with motifs, offering shade during warm summers. Come early to enjoy some solitude here, before the afternoon crowds arrive.

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If you could take just one photo: Getty Villa

The southern California sun is brutal in the valley, but in Malibu, it caresses more than it beats. And in the herb garden of the Getty Villa, sunlight nourishes fig trees, dappling plants with brilliant yellow light. Although the Villa itself - an impressive (and, except for parking, free!) museum - offers much to see and do, California is all about outdoors. In the Getty's herb garden, you can enjoy the outdoors. You can smell the salt air wafting from the Pacific below. But you'll want to do more. You'll want to admire the fennel and lavender, the spearmint and pomegranate. Do that. You'll be happy. And then, wander to the rosemary, the spikey, lovely rosemary. Bring your face to it, close your eyes and inhale. The cool ocean air, the fragrant rosemary, the gentle sun will live in your memory and soothe you on the most chaotic days.

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If you could take just one photo: Getty Villa

The Getty Collection in Los Angeles is famous the world over, but the extensive display of Greek and Roman works located on the cliffs of Malibu is a secret treat. A model Greco-Roman mansion, including expansive herb and statue gardens, a column-enclosed pool, and a theater house art, architecture, and artifacts from all the Classical ages. Statues, coins, carved gems, sarcophagi, tombstones, pottery, and a whole host of other remnants fill the halls and rooms of the Getty Villa. Its theater hosts after-hours plays and lectures. The wealth of history here is not to be missed. Tours are regularly available.

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If you could take just one photo: Getty Villa

High atop a hill in Malibu, much like Mt. Olympus itself, stands a haven for the Greek and Roman gods of the ancient world at the Getty Villa. The refurbished Getty is teeming with lion-clad Hercules statues and barely clad Venus statues. The collection of antiquities is one of the finest outside of Europe, and the view is spectacular. Stand at the top of the reflecting pool and face west; the Pacific Ocean looms below, the fresh sea air wafts up to meet you. Best of all, the Villa is free; with a ten dollar parking fee (reservations are required). It is the perfect outing for art aficionados. If the little ones get bored, bring the bathing suits, because you are right above some of the finest beaches in Southern California.

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Sometimes a single piece of artwork can define either the triumph or tragedy of mankind. Inside the 64-acre Getty Villa Museum in Malibu, a collection of 1,200 works of ancient Roman, Greek and Etruscan art are on display—including a terracotta drinking vessel (called skyphos) from Athens dated 470-460 B.C., titled as "Cup With a Woman Drinking in a Storeroom." The unknown potter depicts a young slave girl carrying a heavy wineskin over her shoulder while also carrying a wine jug in her other hand. She silently walks behind her master, an older woman of prosperity bearing a double-chin, drinking from a jug like a glutton. Here we have the timeless story of "the haves and have-nots," and of the unequal ranks of society that continue today. Even a silent object can speak volumes.

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