Over the weekend, my college roommate and I flew down to Los Angeles from San Francisco for a mini-break to see the world premiere of “Eurydice”. Librettist Sarah Ruhl and composer Matthew Aucoin gave a pre-performance talk on their work.

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Based on a classic Greek story, Eurydice rushes to Hades to seek her dead father on her wedding day. Her husband, Orpheus, follows her to bring her back. However, he is instructed to not look back at her. In a moment of weakness, he looks and loses her a second time. This tragic love tale is told from Eurodice’s point of view.

The music moved the story, the stage sets were sophisticated, and the choreography was delightful. Yet it seemed to drift at times and lose its direction. I was surprised that critics from both the New York Times and LA Times were gracious and forgiving of Aucoin’s work.

The following day, we attended a sketching event in the sculpture gallery of the Getty Center. The free museum offers great sketching opportunities in the galleries.

With the expanded public transit system, you can reach many sights by bus and metro. Getting to the Getty by public transit required some careful planning, but we proved that it was possible to spend an entire weekend filled with activities and events without a car in LA.

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Staying at the Miyako Hotel in J-Town was a great choice. It was well located near Union Station, Disney and Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, restaurants and public transit.

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Our restaurant picks included Carlitos Gardel on Melrose Avenue, Manuela in the Arts District in East LA, and Jist around the corner from the Miyako for Sunday Brunch.