This music was interesting and surely very challenging for the violinist, but it didn’t capture me. I also felt that there was too much ‘sawing’ in the violin solo, which I didn’t care for. Try Scheherazade instead.

Beautiful violin and oboe voices. Mmmm… smile

Swan Lake is a classic, but I must say that I appreciate the satire of this piece, birdbrain, more. There are so many silly contsraints in the classical ballets, not to mention strange gender issues… thre is some beauty and artistry, sure, but overall the strict storylines and stricter choreography feels irrelevant. And yet, you can’t appreciate the satires (nor the amazing breakthroughs—One by Eric Skinner, for example) without some knowledge and appreciation of the classics.

Worth consuming, perhaps, but probably only once, and if you’ve got the money to spare. The biggest draw was the night-time cruise of the bay, including a short trip under the Golden Gate Bridge. www.hornblower.com

A fabulous cafe I happened upon today: the San Francisco location is on Fillmore just north of California. The Spicy Hot Chocolate is perfect—rich and earnestly hot with spice and cinnamon. The drink presentation is artfully done, and the homemade marshmallows are heavenly; I will definitely have to go back. (p.s. Next door is a pricey but very tasty Italian restaurant, and a few doors down on the other side is a Papyrus. Not bad. ;)