Also anyone flown into any airfields around San Fransico ? Are their any new restrictions about flying close to the city since 911 ?
All the SFO Class B restrictions have now been lifted. I cannot now tell any difference between VFR flight in/around Class B from before 9/11.
Having said that, check the NOTAMS.
They will clear you into the SFO Class B for the 'Bay Tour', also known as the 'West Bayshore Transition' - which is well worth doing. Make sure you are up to speed on RT, it gets busy up there, and you will be transitioning much class D airspace and talking to Bay Approach too. It's far busier than anything you will experience in the UK. Call up Approach, tell them where you are going, and request flight following and they will handle a lot of the handoffs - or just clear you into the base of the Bravo from the start.
Plenty of GA friendly airfields in the Bay Area. Look on
www.airnav.com, don't bother with SFO though. It is common to have a marine layer in the morning, remember this when you are planning if you don't have a IR.
You should have a great time!