A Californian Holiday

After a week of music making in Berkeley, San Francisco, I am now sunning myself down in southern California before my friend Mike's wedding on the 20th. This is my first time in this part of the state, and it's really pretty. I took the train and bus down from Berkeley to San Luis Obispo, where Mike picked me up, and we drove 15 minutes to nearby Los Osos, close to the beach. The beach at Morro Bay is notable for a giant rock, similar to Piha beach in New Zealand, which I coincidentally went to recently on a day off with the Wallfisch Band.

The time in Berkeley was fantastic. Although I was being put up at a friend's place in neighbouring Concord, all the music making happened at various locations in Berkeley, a wonderful area with boutique shops and a friendly atmosphere. There is a great shop there called The Musical Offering, which specialises in an awesome collection of period instrument CDs. I also got carried away in a local book shop...aahh, if only I had a million bucks, I would buy both shops and not let any customers in, so that I could just live there.

The concerts went very well, and the audiences seemed to love us. We had our own concert on the 10th, which was well attended, and then the festival finale, which featured all the different groups that had played throughout the festival. The finale programme was LONG - 2 hours and 15 minutes without an interval, as it represented a Vespers service. I was glad I didn't have to make a dash off the stage for the loo, as I did towards the end of the first act of Parsifal several years ago with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. That was only an hour and fifty minutes long, but within the first ten minutes of the act I started getting increasingly busting, and I could only hold on for about an hour and ten minutes before I had to make a quick exit. Fortunately I was at the back of the orchestra, so could be fairly discreet. But anyway, this time I was fine, and survived the whole concert. Each group played about two pieces on their own at various stages, and then there was a final combined performance of Vivaldi's Magnificat.

There was some nice time to relax during the week as well. One day I went on a trip with a few other people to the Napa wine region, where we enjoyed some wine-tasting at a couple of local wineries, then had a fantastic meal at a wonderful restaurant in Sonoma called The Harvest Moon. They have a menu that changes daily, with all-organic foods, and an amazing dessert selection. The owner/chef of the restaurant married a pastry-chef, so they're the perfect husband and wife team. It was some of the best food I've ever had.

So, now it's time for some more relaxation down in Los Osos! More details at the end of the week...