Day 6 - Laundry Day

Long road trips include the spectacular as well as the mundane. Today began with the more mundane. It is Monday, and as my mother taught me, Monday is laundry day. So off we went to the Wash & Dry Laundromat on Lincoln Blvd where we joined a great cross section of society. With a bag full of coins and laundry soap, we thought were ready; unfortunately, we really did not know how to act. We filled a machine, and a gentleman came over and said, 'that broken'. Hmmm, okay, we pulled out the clothes and filled another washer with clothes, soap and nearly 20 quarters. When the clothes were washed, we filled a basket and rolled everything over to the drying side of things. We filled a machine and when we were confused about where to put the coins, another gentleman, of different ethnic background, came over and said, 'that broken'. We said, 'how do you know', and he replied, 'trial and error'. In spite of our confusion, a couple of hours later we had a bag of clean clothes. We were off to our next adventure. This time, not so mundane. 

John Paul Getty's collected antiquities are housed in the Getty Villa just up the Pacific Coast Highway from Santa Monica It is just above Malibu beach and as we walked up the hill to the main gate, the sun began to shine. Honestly, we were never sure if we were in Los Angeles until then or in some grey, drizzly Seattle suburb. After a lovely lunch of heirloom tomatoes and a glass of wine, we strolled down to the museum and walked through the exhibits. 

The collection is mostly Greek and Roman sculpture, with pottery, jewelry, frescoes, and more adding to the displays. When I saw the mosaics I thought, 'oh my gosh, I have to redo my mosaic fireplace in Tucson. Yikes!"

Art has an amazing power over us, even (or perhaps especially) through imagery of very common human experiences. Husbands and wives gazing at each other, a hand stroking the head of a favoured dog, girlfriends gossiping together, youths playing sport. My favorite, however, was part of a fresco of a young woman with a cup of tea, glancing out a window looking down over her garden in the morning. 

We ended the day following up on a recommendation of our friend, Rhos. We strolled down to the beach to have a drink and some nibbles at the bar of the Casa del Mar. The view was sublime, the cocktails delicious, and I have to say, the company stimulating. 

We are now set to have breakfast at Mel's Diner tomorrow morning before we finally get our wheels on to that highway of song, Route 66. Farewell to Los Angeles and the west coast.

My book recommendation today was inspired by the frescoes at the Getty. Years ago, I read a novel about the flooding of the Arno in Florence, called Sixteen Pleasures. I will never forget a scene in the book where art restorers are madly trying to save frescoes from the water that was trapped in the walls of the city. 

Our musical selection is also inspired by the Getty collection. Even though we did not get a chance to see  Van Gogh's Irises, we thought of Don McLean's Vincent.

" Vincent ( Starry, Starry Night ) " - ( Don McLean ) - Bing video