The view of San Francisco from the top of Coit Tower.

San Francisco

Felix Wong's avatar
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After visiting a few iconic places of Silicon Valley, we headed over to the San Francisco. This turned out to me a much different experience than any other time I’ve visited the City by the Bay.

First of all, parking was incredibly easy. I have nightmarish memories of circling city blocks looking for parking spaces for 20 minutes, parking in an inconveniently located parking garage for $20/hour and having to hail a taxi from said garage. Today, there was none of that. Be it Coit Tower, the zig-zagging stretch of Lombard Street, Chrissy Field, or the Sutro Baths, parking was both free and immediately available.

Part of the reason for that is because it was November 30th—long after peak tourist season. Another reason is because a lot of people in San Francisco are still working remotely, reducing trips to downtown by up to 50% compared to pre-pandemic levels. The pandemic also had been motivating many people to move away from SF.

Likewise, traffic was not even that bad. There were about as few cars on the streets as when Steve McQueen chased the bad guys in the movie Bullitt.

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Of course, the cars in San Francisco are a lot different nowadays than 43 years ago. Far more ubiquitous than Mustangs and Challengers are Teslas, which seemed to have supplanted even the Priuses or BMWs that were commonplace 15 years ago.

There also were these Waymo autonomous vehicles:

A Waymo Jaguar I-Pace autonomous vehicle in San Francisco.
A Waymo Jaguar I-Pace autonomous vehicle in San Francisco.

All these differences made the latest visit to San Francisco one of my most enjoyable ones. Andrea really liked it too (it was her first time).

Andrea in front of Coit Tower in San Francisco.
Andrea in front of Coit Tower in San Francisco.
Andrea peering out windows to east from the top of Coit Tower, including a view of the Bay Bridge.
Andrea peering out windows to east from the top of Coit Tower, including a view of the Bay Bridge.
The view of San Francisco from the top of Coit Tower.
The view of San Francisco from the top of Coit Tower.
The view of the Embarcadero and Treasure Island from the top of Coit Tower.
The view of the Embarcadero and Treasure Island from the top of Coit Tower.
This is the famous zig-zagging Lombard Street of San Francisco.
This is the famous zig-zagging Lombard Street of San Francisco.
Felix on some steps by the zig-zagging portion of Lombard Street.
Felix on some steps by the zig-zagging portion of Lombard Street.
Andrea standing on a curb by the cobble stones of the most famous stretch of Lombard Street in San Francisco.
Andrea standing on a curb by the cobble stones of the most famous stretch of Lombard Street in San Francisco.
The view down Lombard Street towards Coit Tower and Telegraph Hill.
The view down Lombard Street towards Coit Tower and Telegraph Hill.
Andrea at Crissy Field with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background.
Andrea at Crissy Field with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background.
Felix and Andrea with the Sutro Baths and a sunset over the Pacific Ocean behind.
Felix and Andrea with the Sutro Baths and a sunset over the Pacific Ocean behind.
The Golden Gate Bridge at night as seen from the Sausalito side.
The Golden Gate Bridge at night as seen from the Sausalito side.
Andrea at the Seafood Peddler restaurant in Sausalito, with a nice view of the harbor through the window.
Andrea at the Seafood Peddler restaurant in Sausalito, with a nice view of the harbor through the window.
Felix and Andrea at the Seafood Peddler in Sausalito.
Felix and Andrea at the Seafood Peddler in Sausalito.
A lobster and corn on the cob at the Seafood Peddler in Sausalito.
A lobster and corn on the cob at the Seafood Peddler in Sausalito.
We had a chance to stop by for a very quick visit with my friend Angie in San Francisco.
We had a chance to stop by for a very quick visit with my friend Angie in San Francisco.