Most people love flowers and San Francisco puts on one of the great floral shows. The enticingly-named Conservatory of Flowers is located in a Victorian-era greenhouse and displays beautiful flora from all over the world. One of the backlashes of the industrial age was a yearning for open, green spaces and a wide interest in botany, leading to construction of giant botanic greenhouses in both Britain and the US. With its central dome and arched-shaped wings, many believe that the Conservatory of Flowers’ design was inspired by that of Palm House in London’s Kew Gardens. Sitting gracefully on a rolling hill in the city’s enormous

The Fillmore district, San Francisco, is sometimes called the Moe or the Fillmoe and really just covers the streets in the neighbourhood of Fillmore Street, an area renowned for its music venues. Below is a selection: • The Great American Music Hall is located at 859 Ofarrell Street and is over one hundred years old. Originally it was a bordello and restaurant and is now one of the finest rock venues in California. The interior offers beautifully carved balconies, frescoes on the ceilings, columns made of marble, and magnificent hanging lights. The Great American Music Hall is not that big but it is charming and generally holds about five hundred and fifty people within the rococo décor. • Another great music venue is the Fillmore which is at 1805 Geary Boulevard and it’s the kind of place that performers play in when trying to make a comeback. • On the other hand, Kimo’s Bar & Penthouse Lounge at 1351 Polk Street has the kind of lounge environment that encourages less formal performers and welcomes great musicians that just love to jam. The drinks are reasonably priced and the décor has an Hawaiian flavour. Through its two glass walls there is a fantastic ...