A Vacation to Begin the New Year!

My husband and I decided to treat ourselves to a quick but rather indulgent vacation to begin 2016. We flew to Los Angeles to see my sister and stayed in the rather grand Century City Hyatt. Here is what the lobby looked like the evening of our arrival:

That night we attended a hockey game at the Staples Center. I had never been there before and it certainly is impressive. We saw the LA Kings play the Toronto Maple Leafs - and I think I was one of only  a handful of Toronto fans in the entire stadium. Having lived in Toronto many years ago I learned to love ice hockey!

Next we drove to Santa Anita Racetrack. It was a cold and gloomy day but the rain held off and we enjoyed seeing the magnificent thoroughbreds up close and photographing them in action. Serendipitously, California Chrome ( the horse that won 2 of the 3 Triple Crown Races in 2014) was racing that day and Penny Chenery (the owner of Secretariat) was there to receive a special award. It really was a fun day! A few photos:

California Chrome

Penny Chenery accepting her award. Bob Baffert, the famous horse trainer, is the gentleman with the shock of white hair.

Perhaps there is a future painting among the many photos that I look!

The next day found us at the Getty Museum. I had never been there before and marveled at the electric tram that swept us gently up the mountain and at the cluster of  modern buildings that house the art. For some reason I had expected the entire place to look like an Italian villa and was very surprised to be proven so wrong.

Entrance to the Getty Museum / Los Angeles, CA

Some highlights from the collection:

Early Picasso - I LOVE this portrait! Thick and yummy paint!

The incomparable Sargent

Degas! And my personal favorite in the entire museum!

The Impressionist Gallery - Renoir, Van Gogh's Irises and Cezanne in this photo!

 

Punchinello being Helped to a Chair by Tiepolo / brown ink and wash on paper 

Old Masters Gallery

Magnificent Nativity from 1400,s by Fabriano

Head of Christ by Allegri

After overwhelming my senses with all this beautiful art, it was off to the airport to catch a plane to Las Vegas where we stayed in the Mirage Hotel - the room was very large with big windows overlooking the Strip. Photos of our view at night and in the morning:

We spent the day wandering around the hotels and shopping in the Caesar's Forum Mall as neither my husband or I are interested in gambling. It is a wonderland there and was an experience that was almost surreal in nature.

Gold and Silver horse in the Bellagio Lobby

Shoes from Fendi that I absolutely covet!

Henri Bendel storefront

The Caesar's Forum Mall entrance with Roman statue and Chinese dragon!

Pegasus and me.

We came across a small art gallery that was exhibiting a serious Picasso show - 42 works of art - all Picasso - from a private collection. No photos were allowed but it was well worth seeing. I can't even begin to imagine a single person owning all those works by Picasso! Wow!

Our last event was the real reason we traveled to Las Vegas - to see the Cirque du Soleil show - The Beatles Love!

It was fantastic - so creative and unique - quite a feast for all the senses. And the music! The music - it was heavenly!

Back home safe and sound now - and I surely need a week to recover! Hope every one else is having a great and auspicious beginning to 2016! It promises to be a wonderful year!