Leila wrote:

> 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
>

Leila! More great stuff - thanks!

Ice cream, coffee, and art - oh my!

A garden tour at Alcatraz sounds terriffic (my irises are beginning to
bloom as we speak).

The spouse will be thrilled with a trip to a local library and
bookstores - a trade off perhaps for when I drag him through all the
food stuffs.

Irving Street sounds fantastic!

patrice