San Fransisco Trip
 

I had really good gnocci with gorgonzola someplace in SF several years ago. mmmmm.

San Fransisco Trip
 

Yeah. sidd always makes fun of Detroit so I just assumed you guys had it all......

San Fransisco Trip
 

Oh yeah. Good point.

Have fun Hank. And don't forget the Golden Gate Bridge. Maybe see a Giants game. There are actually tickets available this year.

Top of the Mark?
Cable Cars?
Ghirardelli Square?
The Castro?

San Fransisco Trip
 

Is it the brown acid or the orange that's bad?

San Fransisco Trip
 

You could throw rocks at the drum circle hippies in Golden Gate Park. That's always fun.

San Fransisco Trip
 

what about muir woods? or for a few hours you could go across the bay to berkeley and hike that rock(ty would know where it is) that gives you a fabulous view of everything? or rent a car and drive down the coast for a bit? if you have nice weather it would be a crime to spend all of your time in an urban setting. the city is great, but it's the closely surrounding areas that are physically spectacular, so even if you have only 2.5 days you could get out there a bit.

San Fransisco Trip
 

Are there redwoods within an hour drive?

San Fransisco Trip
 

Oh yeah. The Haight. No parking, so you'll have to walk miles to get there, but you can get a really good deal on some paraphernalia. Show your kid what's what.

San Fransisco Trip
 

I think I have a cousin who lives there. I'm sure she'd love to babysit.

San Fransisco Trip
 

Muir woods should be, unless traffic is bad.

Can't you just take the same route as in Basic Instinct? (or was that to somewhere else)

San Fransisco Trip
 

Yes. It takes about 30 minutes to get from San Francisco to Muir Woods. I'd drive up 101 to Stinson Beach using the inland route, and then come back, stopping at Muir Woods, along PCH to Muir Beach. The DD and I used to do the hike from Muir Beach to see the point of the Golden Gate all the time. It's spectacularly beautiful.

San Fransisco Trip
 

Stay at the new Hotel Vitale on the Embarcadero across from the Ferry Building. Let me know how it is; I've never stayed there. Go to the Ferry Building for lunch. Get there by 11:45 so your kid can beat the line at Taylor's for a burger. You and your spouse, on the other hand, should go inside the Ferry Building and eat at Lulu's or one of the other gourmet stands. Eat dinner at least once at Boulevard at the corner of Mission and Stuart right across the street from the hotel. Iconic modern seafood spots are Farallon and Aqua if you want to avoid the 1950s iconic spots at the Wharf like Alioto's. Try to get Giants tix if they're in town --- PacBell/SBC/whatever they're calling it is a pretty cool ballpark, although it will confirm a lot of your prejudices about California.

The Chronicle has a pretty good Tour for San Francisco Virgins. I tend to agree that Alcatraz has a very high opportunity cost for a 2.5 day trip compared to other more efficient pastimes here. Driving to Tiburon and having lunch at Sam's will give you equal views without having to spend the entire afternoon on a godforsaken rock. Then you can do Muir Woods after lunch, too, or Angel Island if you're keen on a pricey boat ride.

I'll assume you are rich and can afford this because on the other boards you are an asshole. If you come, Belden Place is the place for SF GAs not to meet up after work, as you know. You may want to go there while you're here so you can begin participating in the Slave Inside Joke of the Day that Isn't Very Inside. Welcome to the Cool Kids!

San Fransisco Trip
 

Where to stay? Tons of nice hotels in the city, I like the Parc Hyatt in the Embarcadero, or the Prescott Hotel, there's also the Mark Hopkins and the Fairmont, though I've never stayed at those. If you like stumbling around, out of towners may like walking in North Beach and the Union Square area, there's the park, palace of fine arts, exploratorium for the kid, blah blah blah. What you really ought to do is eat well. Not necessarily expensive, but well, and I'll defer to more local SF'ers for their recommendations.

If there on weekend, the farmers' market at the ferry building is kind of neat on a nice day. Get some bbq'd oysters.

eta: re: restaurants, others may argue, but I think the Tadich Grill is a nice place to eat seafood and feel all old-time San Francisco-y.

San Fransisco Trip
 

You're thinking of Claremont Canyon. Hank's from Motown. Homey don't hike. Drive to the top of Mt. Diablo. Bit of trivia: the vista from the top of Mt. Diablo is the second most extensive in the world, i.e., you can see 40,000 square miles of landmass, second only to Mt. Kilimanjaro. From Mt. Diablo on a clear day, you can see the Farallons to the west, the mouth of Yosemite Valley to the Southeast, and the Mt. Lassen volcano to the north. In other words, you can see two-thirds of the state from one spot that's a short drive from S.F. And the one-third you don't see is L.A. What could possibly be better?

San Fransisco Trip
 

Cite please! and by Hotels i meant neighborhood mostly- Embarcawhatever is where I should stay? Where's the Harvard Club?