Aeronaut

Can you believe I did it? People who know me soon realize that I'm scared of everything. I'm afraid of heights, cars that are too fast, bridges, skiing, falling, being cold, suffer from claustrophobia; I'm even afraid of Tzatziki Sauce! I never would have gone on a balloon if it hadn't of been my friend's 30th birthday and I knew my husband has always wanted to do this.

So with steely resolve I vowed to go on the balloon and hoped I wouldn't cry. I kept reminding myself how brave I had been to go on the Big Buddha tram in Hong Kong and how I would be able to do deep breathing and hold Matt's hand when I was scared. I reminded myself how scared I had been to snorkel and how by the end of our honeymoon it was my favorite thing ever. I reminded myself how many people go in balloons and love it. I prayed I wouldn't get hysterical and embarrass myself in front of my friends and ruin their trip.

All that worry was for nothing! As soon as the balloon took off I knew it would be OK. We ever so gently floated in our basket; slowly rising off the ground like angels. We climbed into the sky and saw the grape vine fields and citrus orchards and houses that looked like tiny models. My worries about the cold were unfounded—the heat from the flame was more than enough to keep us warm. I was at peace with the world and I didn't want it to end. Our landing was a little adventurous; we took out a couple of saplings in a small industrial park and came very close to a large plate glass window. But our skilled pilot and crew got us down safely with one big jolt and that was it—safe again on mother terra!

Afterwards, we enjoyed some almond champagne and a picnic breakfast (our adventure started at 6 AM!) and then went to a winery for a much deserved (and needed!) wine-tasting. As we drove home I was happy that we had enjoyed a perfect day!

Have you ever conquered fear and been surprised at the outcome? This time I was more worried about being scared than I was during the actual event. I'm glad it worked out and I could have a beautiful memory of a great day.

Guess what I did?

Can you guess what I did yesterday? I'll post the answer later...

Another Bathroom Story!

So what is it with me and bathrooms? I swear I have a bathroom jinx or something. I was traveling this week for work. I had to go to the restroom after I picked up my luggage. The handicapped (extra-large) stall was occupied, so I squoze myself into a regular stall, along with my laptop, briefcase, coat, and my suitcase. The problem was that somehow I got everything in there, but I couldn't open the door to get out! Yep—there I was trapped in the airport bathroom and I couldn't get the door open because my suitcase was in the way. I was jammed in the corner trying to squeeze my bag so the door would open around it. Nothing worked. Finally I had to put my suitcase on the floor and mash it down and push it under the door, inch by inch. Once it was outside the stall I could open the door and get out. Of course, my suitcase was covered in bathroom cooties, but at least I was free and I could breathe a sigh of relief as I ran to catch my shuttle!

Now just in case you're the kind of person who wonders what kind of moron wouldn't go to the bathroom first *before* they got their suitcase, I would like to assure you that I did go first, but the shuttle took so darn long that I had to go again! Sigh—travel is rough!

California Vacation Day 14 - Monday Part IV - Getty Villa (more!)

For the final episode of the Getty Villa, here's some fun pics from our day that make me smile!
Here we are at the entrance ampitheatre


This is a special room just for kids (and us!) They let us write on the pottery!
"Liannallama was here!"





Matthew peeks through a life-sized play vase.




The boys love posing for silly shots and posing like the statues.










Matt and Manami wave "Hello!"




Matt and Manami pose like gargoyles.

California Vacation Day 14 - Monday Part III - Getty Villa Interior, Malibu

The Getty has one of the best collections of ancient Minoan and Cycladean art and I could spend hours looking at these pieces. Most of them were in an area that was too dark to take photos and they had a beautiful Goddess display that was in an area you were not allowed to photograph.

This Cycladean face is my favorite piece in the whole collection. I love the beauty and simplicity of it and the serene feeling it has. I love its modern lines and the fact that it's so very old (about 2,300 BC). We know next to nothing about these ancient cultures and I love the mystery behind it.



Isn't this Roman lion beautiful? It is one of four feet for an intricately carved sarcophagus.



This frieze makes me smile. I'm not sure if it's Roman or from another culture; I can't remember which part of the museum it was in. Did you know that an elephant with his trunk up is good luck? When I was little I used to collect tiny elephant carvings.





I don't know which is prettier; the maiden or the marble behind her. I had to do some Photoshop magic to show them both off. I had trouble exposing this so you could see both parts well.






This statue tells the story of Leda and the Swan. Zeus thought she was so lovely that he changed into a swan to be with her. From that union, she gave birth to the beautiful Helen of Troy.



I believe this statue on the right is of Tyche, the Roman goddess of chance.






Here is the infamous Greek Kouros of the museum. There was controversy over whether this sculpture is real or a perfect fake. He is beautiful in any case. See this article to read more about it.







This is the ceiling above an alcove where a sculpture rests. I love the elegant white on white of this. It reminds me of a beautiful fondant wedding cake!







Do you like Greek pottery? I love the variations and of course I like the simplicity of the earliest, black versions the best!










Isn't this a lovely fresco? I love the ladies and the colors here.








I'm not sure of the history of these last pieces, but they are so whimsical they just make me smile!

California Vacation Day 14 - Monday Part II - Getty Villa Grounds, Malibu

I have to apologize; I just couldn't do the whole museum in one post! I decided to separate it and today I will show you the beautiful grounds. I hope you don't think I am posting too many photos but it's so hard to choose. I told you yesterday that we took 500 photos, but I was wrong. It was really only 411, ha ha! I love living in this digital age and you can guess how much I love my digital camera.

When they renovated the Villa, they also added some buildings. They did not try to blend them into the Roman architecture; instead they did an ingenius juxtaposition of ancient and modern. I'm not positive, but I believe they used the same architect as the Getty Complex. He certainly has my undying gratitude for creating such beauty. The new entryway, ampitheatre, gift shop and restaurant are magnificent in my eyes. We ate at the cafe and the food was delicious. I had pasta and wine and we shared a fabulous desert.

Here are some photos of the side gardens. They contain herbs, grapes, and some lovely fountains.

Here is the main garden, from the front and also from the second floor looking the other direction at the ocean. It's hard to see the ocean because it blends into the beautiful blue sky.

Here's a close-up of the cutest statue. I love this little guy as he peeks through the flowers, enjoying their fragrance!





You can enjoy this garden from the shade of one of the beautiful covered halls.

The next two show the interior garden. I'm sorry, but I can't remember if they call it an atrium or a peristyle. (So much for the Ancient Humanities course I took in college!) Each lovely lady beside the fountain is different from her sister.

This small side garden has such pretty fountains! You may know of know my fascination for gargoyles and I also love the mosaic tiles. We would have stayed out here longer, but it was very hot by the time we got out to this side.

I hope you enjoyed the Villa Gardens! Next we will see some of the beautiful treasures inside!

California Vacation Day 14 - Monday - Part I Randy's Donuts

I'm sorry to say this was the last day of my local vacation. It took place way back in July and I'm finally documenting it. I'm going to split this entry into two parts because there are just so many photos and I want to share them all! Well, maybe I won't share all 500 that I took that day, but I'll show a few.

One thing Manami really wanted to see in Southern California was Randy's Donuts. It is one of those quirky things you see sometimes on TV and she really thought it was cool. Matt had never even heard of it and really couldn't understand why someone would want to see a giant donut in Inglewood. Inglewood's not a very nice part of town, but luckily the stand is right off the 405 and on the way to Malibu. So we made the pit stop to get donuts for breakfast.

If you've never been to Randy's, their donuts are so very fresh and tasty you should try it out! They are open 24 hours with a drive thru so you can grab a donut and be on the way. I've only been there late at night after events at the forum, so I was surprised to see how many people were there in the morning. And many of them were doing just like us and taking photos and posing, so I didn't feel too much like a stupid tourist, ha ha!

We enjoyed our donuts, posed for photos, and were on our way to the Getty Museum. There are two absolutely stunning Getty Museums in LA and I highly recommend both of them. They both have gorgeous archeticture and gardens and they both have stunning ocean views. The "new" Getty Complex is a fantastic modern series of buildings and I absolutely adore it. In one of the buildings they feature some Rococo style art and decor which I honestly hate. It is my least favorite style of art, but luckily they have other buildings with modern photography, changing displays and other art. Even if the whole museum was Rococo, I would still love it because of the beautiful modern buildings.

Here is a photo of it; I hope you agree that it's wonderful. It was taken in May of 2006. My camera ran out of juice that day, so I don't have any more photos for you to see.

The "old" Getty Villa has recently been renovated, so we can almost call it the "new-old" Getty because the "new" Getty is really not very new at all now, being somewhere between 10-15 years old, ha ha! The "old" Getty is a replica of an ancient Roman villa. It has Roman gardens and fountains and a beautiful herb garden off to the side. Inside the villa you are in for a treat because it is filled with Greek, Roman and Minoan antiquities. What a wonderful museum it is! I absolutely love the art in this museum as much as I hate the Rococo in the other museum. Stay tuned tomorrow because I will feature the Getty Villa and the beautiful day we spent there this summer. It was my favorite day of the whole month we spent with Johnny and Manami.

California Vacation Day 12 - Saturday - Downtown Disney

This day of my vacation was a nice day! We started out with breakfast at the Harbor House in Sunset Beach. We met tons of family members there, including two of Matt's brothers a sister and mom and their families. After eating we walked to the beach and fooled around for awhile. Of course, with all those boys around, they had to throw someone in the water, and Johnny was fair game!


Don't you love this funky house!? It was for sale, but unfortunately, we couldn't afford the four million dollar price tag!

After some beachside shenanigans, we went to Downtown Disney to look at the shops and to see Harry Potter. Oh, how I love those movies. It was a special treat for Johnny to see an American movie with American voices! You can see them in Japan, but they usually dub them over in Japanese, so it's hard for him to watch.

The stained glass is from the Disney Grand Californian Hotel, an arts and crafts style building (redone in Disney style, of course!) I am hoping one day we can spend the night there and enjoy their hospitality. Until then, at least we live close enough to visit it sometimes.

Later on we had Pizza for dinner back in town and then went to Joanie's house.