Ask HN: What to do & where to stay in San Francisco

Hey all, my girlfriend and I will be in San Fran for new years eve and about a week after that before heading home from our around the world trip (5 months).

Thought I would see if I could get some thoughts on what we should do and where we should go/stay while in the area from the HN community as I read here often.

I'm hugely interested in the start up space (I work for a small, growing company in Australia) and love chatting technologies and new businesses etc. so I like to hopefully meet some people around that, either randomly around or at a networking event if there are good ones?

Other than that we both love good food, boutique beers (mainly I love these) and tea.

Is it worth staying in the city area or in the valley? Or somewhere else?

Thanks in advance guys and girls

Cheers, Luke