Wohoo! I'm off to the belly of the beast to the First Conference on Email and Anti-Spam [www.ceas.cc] in the Microsoft Silicon Valley Technology Center [microsoft.com]. Damn fools accepted a paper of mine. Anyhoo, I've never been to San Fransisco before, and not likely to be there again soon, as it is quite a cycle from the land of leprechauns and alcoholics and alcoholic leprechauns.

I'm sure there is a panoply of wonderful places to go and see and that this is all out there on the web. But I am oh so damnably lazy that I couldn't be arsed searching for it. So it is up to you, good goats-folk (and I don't mean satyrs) to direct my tourist wanderings.

I've got a week to pass in the San Fransisco area. Where should I stay? Where should I go? If I stay will there be trouble, or if I go will it be double? What should I drink? Where should I eat and dance and perhaps make monkey noises? Is anyone from the area and need a drinking buddy?

I was about to make a post very similar to this, so I'm going to jack this one, if you don't mind too much.

I'll be flying into LA next Monday morning, and will be heading to Palm Springs that evening for a week long conference.

Being from the right coast, and not knowing anything to do out there, can anyone offer anything to add to my trip?

Most people aren't aware of the tyranny of the alcoholic leprechauns. Free the O'Gill five!

Wohoo! I'm off to the belly of the beast to the First Conference on Email and Anti-Spam

I keep getting emails about that thing.

I don't know much, but no trip to SF is complete without getting a port (for Jack) at the Vesuvio.

Well, your conference isn't in San Francisco, but if you've got the week...

San Francisco: There are of course the typical touristy things in and around the Wharf. Ghirardelli Square [ghirardellisq.com] should not be missed; I highly recommend the Chocolate Soda. Neither should Boudin's Sourdough, right on Fisherman's Wharf. There was WWII diesel submarine moored at Pier 45 for a while, the USS Pampanito (which served as the USS Stingray in the movie Down Periscope). I also highly recommend going up to the Marin Headlands on the north end of the Golden Gate Bridge. Alcatraz is cool, too; just make sure to go for the morning... the afternoon tours fill up fast. Other points of interest: San Francisco Brewing Company [sfbrewing.com] on Columbus Ave (under the shadow of the Transamerica Pyramid... you can't miss it) and Anchor Brewing Company [anchorbrewing.com], SF MOMA [sfmoma.org], the Sony Metreon [metreon.com], Union Square, and SBC Park (home of the San Francisco Giants).

San Jose area: First off, I must mention my favorite restaurant: Hardy's Bavaria [rrich.com] in Sunnyvale. Great for lunch or dinner, but be warned: they are closed Sunday and Monday. Points of interest in San Jose include the Winchester Mystery House [winchester...yhouse.com] (if you enjoy truly f*cked up architecture), the Tech Musem of Innovation [thetech.org], the Computer History Museum [computerhistory.org]. This is Silicon Valley, after all, so expect plenty of geeky things to see and do.

In Response to Clan_Hanna (#18612):

Well, your conference isn't in San Francisco, but if you've got the week...

I meant to say that I am staying in San Francisco for a week afterwards. My inability to say this bodes poorly for my presentation!

Also, thank for the info.

In Response to Clan_Hanna (#18612):

When I was in Chinatown in San Francisco, there was this massive Dim Sum place -- occupancy rating over 1000 people. Know what place that was? The food there was fantastic. Basically, for us, it consisted of us pointing at things and asking, "Chicken?" They bring carts around, the whole nine yards. A great Cantonese experience, no doubt about it.

Have any idea where this is? Because he should really go there.