Getting Touristy For Friends Afar Part 2

Welcome Back for Part 2! This is the second batch of touristy photos I sent to my friend Elnur in Russia. 

Continuing where we left off on Broadway in North Beach... Just a little further East on Broadway is another stripper bar thing, Garden of Eden. I remember seeing this sign lit up as a kid when we visited SF. It's a cool sign...but who knew it was for a strip joint? 

I had continued down Broadway a bit---not to see more strip clubs, but to get some photos of the Bamboo Hut, a minor tiki bar in the area. Nadir had no idea what a tiki bar was, so I thought this might help him out some.

As I trudged back down Broadway, back to Grant (Chinatown), I got another photo of the Condor Club and the others on the other side of the street.

Back in Chinatown, I got a shot of a butcher shop/deli selling cooked ducks with their neck and heads (?) still attached. But then I realized this may not be so unusual in Russia? Who knows?

I passed a bakery. I remembered finding a bakery (not this one) with my parents when we had gone years ago. We had had these yummy things...but I couldn't remember what they were. It was NOT these nasty things. YUCK! Later, talking to Mom, she informed me they had been coconut rolls. Oh. Those had been so dang GOOD!

And then I came to the Li-Po. By this time, it was a little after 2 pm. My first tiki bar wouldn't open until 4 pm. I had some time to kill, so I decided that I WOULD go in and check this place out...

It was beautiful and old and, thankfully, NOT updated. Zowie! The perfect dive bar.

The bartender was an older Chinese woman. She told me that the Li Po was the oldest and first bar in Chinatown, having opened in 1937. I can believe it is the oldest bar in Chinatown, but first? There MUST have been others in gold rush era that have been forgotten... But whatever.

While not a tiki bar, but definitely kitschy, beer seemed to be the main drink of choice in the place. But I, of course, had to try the house specialty, the Chinese Mai Tai.

Mmm. It was NOT bad at all.

While my photos are not that great and the place was dark, I really liked it. It had a great vibe and the bartender made me feel so welcome and comfortable.

The Li Po was a pleasant surprise. If I ever have to return to Chinatown, I will for sure drop in again.

Okay...after a nice little stay at the Li Po, I decided to be on my way. Although I still had time to kill, I thought I'd find someplace closer to the Pagan Idol to wait for 4 p.m. to roll around. I ditched Grant Street in favor of some of the side streets as I made my way over to Bush Street, just a few blocks away. Although not as festive as the touristy Grant Street, there were still cool Chinatown-y things to see.

Again, Grant Street is a Chinatown for tourists. The "real" Chinatown can be found on some of the side streets and alleyways around it, like this one.

As I headed away from Chinatown and towards Bush Street (and tiki time), I snapped this shot of the skyline as I walked along...

Stay tuned for tiki time and witness the horror when (gasp!) BART breaks down!

Cheers!