yk, between the T in Boston, the Oyster in London and BART and Muni passes in San Francisco, you are definitely the resident expert

sf7307- Perhaps it's because my brain likes to tackle these logistic sort of things! But don't ask me if you should go to Mike or Maria or Modern! Still haven't gotten around to do my cannoli taste test yet!

Plus, I'm always interested in finding the best deal that saves money. I get aggravated if I did something dumb and spent more money than necessary (like last year I used Oyster PAYG instead of a 7-day travelcard in London). Some people aren't bothered by that, but I am.

YK - that does bother me as well. I was so irked over the dumb mistake with the museum passes in Paris as well as knowing I spent more money on transit then I should have.

can't help you with bart.....

as far as sushi restaurants,
umami - sushi and amazing japanese fusion
yoshis - can combine some great jazz with the sushi
ozumo - wonderful views on the embarcadero

if you come in to sausalito, the absolute best place for sushi is sushi ran. i think it has a michelin star.

besides the spa at nordstrom, a spa that is getting a lot of raves is tru.
it is a few blocks from the westin union square.

as others have mentioned, the ferry plaza and the slanted door are great options.
for a taste of paris - macarons - try miette. the flavours are not very exotic but the macarons do make me nostalgic for paris.

abranz - thank you SO much! Ahhh sweet Paris...

I love Sausalito but am not sure with our limited time if we should go over?

I will look at Tru - one of the issues is not all spas will perform services on someone under 18.

i hadn't thought of the age limit at the spas.
i have always taken dd with me to any spa i have frequented and not thought to divulge her age nor have i been asked.
a couple that we went to that are within blocks of your hotel are the kamalaspa - ayurvedic indulgence and the burke williams spa in the westfield center - same complex as the nordstrom spa.
i don't think they even asked for dd's age.

abranz - that is interesting. The burke williams here requires you be 18 and does ask for id.

BW @ Wesstfield asked for my ID when checking in; 3/08 trip.

Deb

I forgot about Yoshi's! It's actually a jazz club (where you can order drinks and food) with an adjacent, excellent, restaurant. Also on Fillmore, but a few blocks south of SPQR.

I agree with the other posters, Yoshi's has really good sushi. Most of the places in Japan Town are good. If you happen to be in Berkeley, Kirala (on Shattuck) has good sushi. It can get really crowded.

Great ideas above. Just remember that Alcatraz is COLD. Don't forget to pack fleeces. Also be sure to get the audio tour of Alcatraz. Not sure what options you have on the Alcatraz tour, but if you can get the ferry that continues over to Tiburon, get off and either eat at Sams for burgers outdoors if it is sunny (and cute sailors for your niece to ogle) or great Mexican food at Guaymas. Both are within a block from the Tiburon ferry dock.

SF gets very chilly at night so be prepared with jackets when you go out. Capris and layers generally will get you through the day.

And of course, take a cable car! Try to hop on midway instead of waiting in the crazy lines.

BMarie

Bmarie and others thank you! I will check into Yoshi.

I have actually done the Alcatraz tour and agree - it is really not worth it without the audio.

I believe the ferries to Alcatraz go ONLY between Pier 33 in San Francisco and Alcatraz. You have to take a different ferry altogether for Tiburon.

i just checked the burke williams web site and here is their age policy

CLIENT AGE POLICY
Burke Williams is dedicated to providing excellent customer service in a "Beyond the Spa" environment. In order to achieve this, guests must be 18 years of age. Guests who are 16 and 17 are eligible to receive facial treatments and nail care, only when accompanied by their parent or legal guardian at least 25 years of age, and excludes spa use.

Yoshi's may also have an age restriction, the club part at least since it is a nightclub with alcohol. I checked their website and didn't see anything, but it might be worth a call.

Deb

Abranz - does that mean I have to be IN the room with the client? Yikes... I think that although I like BW better then any other day spa I have been to - I am just wanting to get my stepdaughter the teen facial so perhaps I can just get her checked in at Nordstrom and walk around myself? I did not want to pay for a treatment for myself as well with the entire budget that I have for the trip. I already splurged on the Wicked tickets. I would rather spend the 125.00 towards her then on myself for that weekend.

Another vote for Sushi Ran in Sausalito. From SF, it's really not a trek -- only about 15 minutes across the GG Bridge. It really is extraordinary sushi. The place is fun, too -- not a bunch of pretentious foodies. Great drinks, too.

If you want, you can spend a couple hours in Sausalito, shmitzing around the cool shops.

http://www.sushiran.com/home.html

Lucie - not a bad idea. Can you get a cab back to SF from Sausalito? I realize that sounds like a funny question but I had a really strange scary experience with my ds in 2006. We came to SF to look at an art school - he wanted to take pictures of the city at night so we took a cab over the bridge to this look out point and got the card of the cab company. The cab company told me when I called them that they could not come across the bridge in that direction for pick up (I am not kidding) I then called the hotel and it was a rather scary strange experience - it was well after midnight by the time we got back to the Hyatt...

MomDD, I have never heard that! I can't help wondering if the guy was just being a jerk; I would be pretty freaked out by such an experience, too. Anyway, if you're serious about going to SushiRan, you could contact any taxi company in SF to ask that question.
OR...you could take the ferry...
http://www.goldengateferry.org/schedules/Sausalito.php