We ended up touring the city the last weekend before the new lockdown
I guess it is a good thing that there are less people in the city now because all street parking has been replaced by those outdoor restaurant patios since indoor dining has been prohibited. But again thanks to less people going out, we were able to eat at my favorite Pizza place in San Francisco: Tony's Pizza! It is so good but in "normal" times on a Saturday evening it would be impossible to get a table without having to wait at least 45min. While we were waiting a local news crew was on site interviewing the patrons to ask them about "their last meals" outside. Overhearing the journalist I asked her "last meal? Isn't it a little too dramatic?" and she looked at me and replied "well isn't it though?". Yes we are experiencing very strange times but I would hardly describe having to eat my pizza outside instead of takeout "last meal" but I guess it's just me or I have been in lock down for too long!! Anyway whether you can dine in or take out, don't pass on Tony's Pizzas!!
Tony's Pizza Napoletana
1570 Stockton St, San Francisco, CA 94133
Hop On Hop Off Bus Tour
I was actually surprised to find out that the tour buses were still functioning. It turned out it would be the last weekend they would. Again not many people at all were on the bus and an attendant was making sure that we were all spaced out according to Covid social distancing rules and knew to keep our masks on at all time even on the top floor. It turned out that the mask was a necessary accessory that day because of the cold and the wind, not only did it keep us from Covid germs but it kept us from wind burn! Like I mentioned in other of my posts, the Hop On Hop Off buses are the best way to explore a new city but since I have already posted and taken many pictures of San Francisco before, I did not take a lot of new ones on this trip. Well to be honest the main reason was that I had not brought my gloves and I was freezing!
What most surprised me on this tour was seeing all the outdoor parking replaced by outdoor patios for all restaurants. Since dine in was not longer permitted (thanks Covid!), the restaurants had to adapt to keep in business and I have to say that I love it and I hope this trends stay after the pandemic. I love all those wooden patios with their heaters and decorations. I come from Europe and we are so much more used to outdoor dining than American and it has always been something that I missed. Yes in some bigger cities it is more common than others but again in general there are no patios. Why? Well I believe that Americans like the AC too much for once when it gets too warm or too humid; I think they prefer avoiding nature (little flies or occasional bee); and mostly they do not spend a lot of time eating or people watching (which is the best part of dining!). So please all you restaurants owners out there that have invested in outdoor patios, please keep them forever and all year round!!
Alcatraz
Since my coworkers had never been to SF, I suggested taking a little trip to Alcatraz as it was one of my favorite attractions. Again it was easy to buy last minute tickets since not a lot of people were touring the city. So we ended up taking the last boat of the day at 2pm. Unfortunately due to Covid again but also to renovations inside the prison, we could only tour the outside grounds. To me that was perfect since the view is breathtaking from Alcatraz. And despite the chilly temperatures and it ended up being a gorgeous day.
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