Agreed on Alcatraz. Not something I would have chosen to do, but I was
escorting out of town adolescents who'd seen the movie (this was 9
years ago). Really worth the trip. I hear they have a "gardens of
Alcatraz" tour now, featuring naturalized roses and geraniums and weird
hardy perennials from the days when prison guards & wives kept gardens.

If you care about museums then of course get to the Palace of Legion of
Honor; also the Asian Art Museum in Civic Center has a world class
collection of Asian art.

The Ferry building is a must for foodies, any day but of course
Saturday includes the Farmers' Market. THere's another market on
Tuesdays *I think*. And Wednesdays in Civic Center (that one serves the
Asian community more and has interesting veggies you won't see at the
Ferry Building)

Go to any good bookstore or library branch in SF and look at Patricia
Unterman's "Food Lover's Guide to San Francisco" for more ideas once
you get there.

Then there's the whole ice cream thing. Local SF types - can you advise
on ice cream? I know there's a great place in the Mission that features
red bean and green tea and mango ice creams, home made; there's one out
in the Richmond, too, where the proprietor is an obsessive Japanese
immigrant who makes and packs amazing flavors by hand. Heck if I
remember names or locations. I do like the one at the corner of Union
and Hyde Streets, where the Union STreet bus meets the cable car line -
what's the name of that one? It's been so long...The ice cream parlor
at the top of the world.

For coffee: I like Peet's. Branches everywhere.

If you're in Golden Gate park (eastern end) and get hungry, you can
either go north to Geary and the ethnic restaurants along there (I
don't know them enough to recommend) or you can go south to Irving @
ninth and surrounding blocks, where there is a strip of restaurants and
bookstores with outposts or originators in the East Bay. As an
Oaklander I always feel at home on Irving Street - Naan-n-Curry, great
tandoori, naan and Indo-Pakistani food; Peet's coffee; Black Oak Books;
a bakery, a really good MIddle Eastern kebab-n-tabbouli place, lots of
other ethnic restaurants.

Leila