A most wonderful visit to The Huntington: Library, Museum and Botanical Gardens

The Huntington Library

One of the attractions we visited in our LA trip was the Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens in San Marino. This turned out to be the best attraction we went to in this trip. We absolutely loved it!

Here are some of the highlights about The Huntington:

• Their library is one of the world's great research libraries with 12 million items, dating from the 11th century.
• They have more than 45,000 pieces of British, European, American and Asian art, paintings, prints, drawings, photographs and sculptures.
• Their Botanical Gardens are spread out across 130 acres with more than a dozen spectacular themes and about 83,000 living plants including rare species.

Needless to say, we spent all day there and we did not even finish exploring everything. 

While the parking was free, there was an admission fee. And, if I lived in the area, I would have gladly gotten a membership so that I could explore this place at length.

The first place we checked out when we arrived was the Library. What an amazing collection! I loved seeing the manuscript of Canterbury tales, and the Gutenberg bible with its hand-printed illustrations was just beautiful. It was great to note that the library was not just a collection on display, but that researchers from all over the world, actually make use of their materials.

manuscript of The Canterbury Tales @The Huntington

After the library, we went to the next building, the main Art Gallery, hosting British and European Art. We marvelled at their collection, which included Gainsborough's The Blue Boy. We were also happy to be able to catch the touring exhibition of Raqib Shaw with his vibrant, fantastical works showcasing his Eastern influences. They have paintings spanning from the 1400s including van der Weyden's Virgin and Child and new works by California's Mizuno. 

The Blue Boy (C) @The Huntington

Before we explored further, we decided to have lunch at the 1919 cafe where they have a wide selection of salads, sandwiches, soups, grilled items, Mexican dishes and even pizza. They also have a bar and you can enjoy your drinks and meal indoor or outdoors. The prices were not so outrageous and the girls and I enjoyed our Poke.

After lunch, we set out to explore the gardens. We decided to just focus on several gardens as we could not explore them all. Their gardens include Australian, California, Camellia, Children's, Chinese, Desert, Herb, Japanese, Jungle, Lily Ponds, Palm, Ranch, Rose, Shakespeare and Subtropical. They also have a Conservatory! 

view outside the main Art Gallery @The Huntington

We first went to the Desert garden which was the best garden we have seen! We were ooh-ing and aah-ing at almost every turn. Maybe it was because we were coming from the North and not normally exposed to such a wide array of desert plants, but the collection was just beautiful!  They apparently have one of the largest outdoor collections of cacti and succulents in the world! I could have spent more time here but there were so many other gardens to explore.

one of the beds of the Desert Garden @The Huntington

The Huntington has shuttles to take visitors from one garden to another, so we took the shuttle to visit the Japanese garden--another beautiful garden featuring a moon bridge, Japanese house, Zen garden and a most amazing bonsai court. For a while, I forgot we were not in Asia. We also explored the heritage Shoya house which was a restored residential compound from 18th century Japan. They had disassembled this house from Japan and brought them over to the US, including some of the rocks in the gardens! Listening to the audio tour and talking to one of the docents, gave us a glimpse to Japanese rural life centuries ago. 

at the Japanese Garden @The Huntington

Connected by a walkway, we then went to the Chinese garden. Yet another beautiful one, with a lake and several pavilions to relax in. There were rock formations, stone bridges, wood carvings and calligraphy. They even have a tea shop (and they served bubble tea :)  haha). 

at the Chinese Garden @The Huntington

While it was not in full bloom, we went to visit the Rose garden next. There were still some roses in bloom and we can just imagine how beautiful and fragrant it will be in spring. Beside it, we saw the Herb garden which had both common herbs and many unusual ones as well. We briefly walked through the Shakespeare garden which featured a variety of plans cultivated in England during Shakespeare's time and mentioned in his plays. Nearby, we saw garden sculptures, a collection reminiscent of what we saw in Versailles. The grounds were just awe-inspiring and brought such serenity and relaxation to our otherwise busy vacation. 

at the Rose Garden @The Huntington

We had a quick look through the American Art gallery before we ended our visit at their gift shop. Even the gift shop did not fail to delight us. The items they sold were unique and I would have loved to get a few things, had there not been such a long line. It was one of the more beautiful museum gift shops we have seen.

We loved, loved, loved our visit to The Huntington and would recommend in a heartbeat. I hope I get a chance to visit again some day.  

A visit to The Getty Center

Getty Center

We were in LA one week before the devastating wildfires. We were thankful we had just made it home before this happened but sad for those who were affected and had to evacuate. While we went to the Getty Center and did not have a chance to visit the Getty Villa, we were still watching the news closely and hoped the museum would not be damaged. We still got chills knowing the fires were so close to the Getty Center as well, where we just were!

Admission was free, but reservations needed to be made and there was a fee for parking. From the parking, you will have to take a shuttle tram to get to the Center. From the Architecture Tour that we took, we learned that it was intentional as the architect wanted to take us out of our daily cares and transport us to a different place where we can relax and explore the modern architecture, gardens and galleries. 

After joining the tour, we decided to have a quick lunch before exploring the galleries. We went to the cafe and got some over-priced salads and sandwiches. If we lived in the area, we would have followed the locals and brought our own lunch. There are plenty of areas to sit and enjoy your own food and drinks.

view from The Getty Center

As the line up to see Van Gogh's Irises was long at the West Pavilion, we went to the North, East and South Pavilions first. Their collections were beautiful but it did not take us too long to explore--about an hour to 1.5 hours per area. I loved that I was able to see some of the early works of Rembrandt. And as well when I finally got to the West, I saw a few works of Monet (my other favourite Impressionist) that I had not seen before!

Of course the highlight for me was catching the temporary exhibit on "Ultra-Violet: New Light on Van Gogh's Irises," which I lined up almost half an hour for. It was amazing to see how modern science was able to uncover the artist's materials and methods to reveal how the colours were originally. 

Recreated Van Gogh's Irises (C) Getty Center

We did not explore the gardens at length but viewed them from the platforms of the pavilions. It turned out great as we were able to see the masterful landscaping top view!

view of the gardens at Getty Center

We spent less than 5 hours at the Getty Center, though I can totally imagine staying much longer to just take in the views at the courtyard and gardens or to contemplate art further. I hope to be able to visit the Villa next time.