Sin city!!

So Vegas Baby! As a 22 year old living a few hours away from Vegas I obviously had to pay this infamous city a visit with some of my friends. They say what happens in vegas stays in vegas, but I will reveal the secrets of the trip here (since there are no secrets its fine I didn't get married to any strangers or gamble away my inheritance).

I heard with Vegas you either love it or hate it. I wouldn't say I hated it but I definitely didn't love it. Vegas is about hotels, pools, gambling, shopping, shows and food!

The parties I went to were amazing fantastic clubs and best DJs in the world (Guetta, Avicii, LMFAO). I went to LV over a public holiday weekend Memorial Day so it was super busy and packed hence there were so many great parties although its Vegas im sure that is the norm.

Apart from the parties which meant we were exhausted most days, we spent our time laying by the pool and visited the hotels and the big Forum shopping mall. Everything is grand, over the top and slightly grotesque. Hotels from the outside look amazing, once on the inside however you are surrounded by flashing lights from all the gambling slot machines and tables. You instantly smell the smoke (yep legal to smoke inside), the alcohol and you see the array of very different people gambling away. There are the typical old men who I want to say probably come from the south of the US with their gold chains, bellies that just about fit from the chair to the table and whiskey. You will also be surprised to see many older women too dressed as if they raided their granddaughters wardrobe however also enjoying gambling with removing their eye from the table. I used the expression 'mutton dresses in lamb' a number of times, fortunately I believe many of these lovely women had no idea what that meant. I used a slot machine much to my fathers disapproval and spent 1 dollar and won 81 dollars- overall 80 dollar gain. I was super ecstatic considering I had no idea what lucky numbers I pressed. As soon as I won these 80 dollars I stopped playing and went shopping instead, yes my favorite thing to do at all times.

Shopping there is relegated to the shopping mall at the Forum or to the hotel lobies where you will only find designer labels like Chanel, Gucci and Oscar De La Renta. The Forum which is the mall there is covered in Marble and is like a mini visit to Rome as there are lots of romanesque features and a Fontana Di Trevi- the food however was no where close to what you would eat in Rome. I also visit a mini-Paris there. My hotel was the Paris and came with its very own Eiffel Tower. Many of the signage at the hotel was written in very fake French but I think most Americans who visit Vegas would think its actually real French. Although I am no French expect the mistakes were pretty obvious.


So Vegas is an interesting place but I must admit 2 days is enough to see the hotels on the strip, shop, eat and yes you will eat too much food. However I saw so many fat people walking that I was put off-that could a be new diet idea. If you do happen to go to Vegas you must obviously go to the Grand Canyon! Yes that really was an amazing experience. You can either go their by bus or helicopter. We took a bus and its a 4 hour drive both ways. The night before we slept for an hour as we go home at 4 and had to be up by 5.30 so luckily I slept the entire way! but the Grand Canyon is wonderful. We also so the Hoover Dam which is pretty impressive to see.

Will post some photos of Vegas, the Belaggio water show and the Grand Canyon.

Hello, it's been a while!

Hello again!

My blog has been pretty silent for the last two weeks. That does not mean I have forgotten about it but I have just been so busy! Two weeks ago was a very hectic period because of final presentations and assignments. I am currently working on a consulting project for my course and I have a few deadlines that keep us students pretty busy. I have also been doing a bit of traveling I went to Las Vegas, Grand Canyon and Napa finally. Will write individual posts to describe the places as there is a lot to say. When I was in Vegas I actually felt that I missed San Francisco. I always miss home, Malta is a great place and it is my home, but I do feel comfortable in SF as well. Its beautiful there's lots to do and there is the sea, as a person from the mediterranean thats a necessity. Im going to post a few more photos to show you why Im still in love with the city.

Busy week!

Today is wednesday evening and the last time i posted something was Sunday. We are swamped with work at the moment so I have spent the last few days at Hult working with my teams on our projects. We are currently working on a business plan due at the end of this week as well as our consultancy project. So all in all its a very busy week with most of the days spent in study rooms therefore I have no interesting photos to post. I can't even post any interesting restaurants I've been to this week other than Starbucks. Yes there is a starbucks on every corner and like many of the Americans I am now a regular customer because when you spend so long working on projects, caffeine is essential.

My stress relief at the moment is going jogging or walking around my neighborhood. I live in the Marina and Russian Hill area and its a beautiful location. Its great for jogging because there is a huge running park with an outside gym on the lawn for the die hard gym freaks here- Im trying not to become one! The area is also full of great boutiques, restaurants and wine bars! Unfortunately I have not consumer that much wine here but that should change this weekend when we have some free time.  I want to try the different wines from Napa Valley and Sanoma Valley to say that I at least know what they taste like. Yep this week has been crazy and the next two days will be equally just as busy so the weekend couldn't come any faster.

I will hopefully have some more interesting news to post this weekend including some photos and some restaurant and wine reviews for my fellow foodies and wine connoisseurs :)

The residents of Pier 39

If you are in San Francisco and you happen to head down to Fisherman's Wharf (and I suggest that you do) you will certainly visit Pier 39. Pier 39 is full of activity consisting of fish restaurants, tourist shops and a huge amount of tourists. But it really is a spectacular part of SF. My friends and I love going to the pier for coffee and a cookie to see the sun setting after a long day or week of work.

Anyway once you are down at the Pier you are likely to hear barking sounds. These barking noises do not come from dogs but instead from the sea lions who reside close to the Pier. They seem to be used to us tourists going to take photos of them as they are always ready to pose. I took these photos at 8am whilst I was out jogging so indeed they will be up for taking a photo at any time of day. 

The embarcadero is the waterfront area where Pier 39 can be found. Its a long but beautiful walk with amazing views of the waters and the bridge. Whilst it is a tourist attraction and can be busy at times, it is certainly not as busy as tourist attractions in say London or Rome.

But if you do end up in SF and go to Pier 39, going to see the noisy but photogenic sea lions must be on the to do list!

Beach day!

Yesterday my friends and I went for a long walk in the Marina area. The plan was to walk until the Golden Gate bridge, but the sandy beach close by was too tempting. We decided to stop for a break and lay on the sun soaking up the sun- despite the annoying wind. The break lasted two hours followed by a coffee and brownie. The beach was great and as usual in SF it was filled with families and dogs. The Sea was freezing for us humans but the dogs seemed to love it a they were jumping in and out and playing with their fellow canine friends.

I also found a shop dedicated to pampering you dog, from grooming to day care to a boutique for clothes to making your own dog food for your pet! Yes only in SF!

Business culture in SF

An interesting comment I heard this week:

"Silicon Valley is successful not because of any geographical position, but because of the attitude."

I heard this interesting comment at a talk by an entrepreneur in the healthcare industry based over here. I think what he said does have a significant meaning to it. The West Coast has become synonymous with the start-up culture potentially due to the laid back attitude. This laid back attitude translates to being less scared of the unknown- the unknown of whether a business venture you would like to pursuer will be successful. Here if you business fails it does not mean you are failure and will forever be branded as such. Instead it shows you have guts and talent and can try again learning from your previous mistakes. The laid-back attitude also translates to the business dress code: Comfortable. This means flip-flops, shorts, t-shirts and the infamous hoddy as seen on Mr.Facebook.

Thus this is what he meant when he said it is the attitude. Whilst I have only been here for a short while I think thats why I really like living here. I come from a somewhat entrepreneurial family background and it is inspiring to be in a city where the concept of risk in business is understood but not feared. This attitude allows ideas to flow which is not something that you can feel in every city.

Hopefully I too will pick up some of the 'laid back attitude' however I still won't be seen entering any office in Hawaiian shirts and flip flops like most of the business start-ups here- thats where my European culture comes in.

Finally the sun is shining in San Francisco. In the last few days it has been very cloudy, foggy and dull. But the sun decided to grace us with its presence! Unfortunately the sun also brought lots of wind with it so its not actually very hot! We're planning on going to Napa Valley this weekend so hopefully it will get better (will keep you posted on that)

However the weather isn't a very important discussion. Living in SF and therefore very close to Silicone Valley I would not be able to get away without mention of some very important news. Today is the eve of the Facebook IPO. Tomorrow FB, after much public hype and excitement, will go public. It is set to be the biggest IPO in history where the company is valued at 100 BILLION dollars!!

As a finance and business student we have been discussing often. We are wondering is the company actually worth that amount since its revenue model only generates funds from advertisement and this revenue does not actually add up to 100 billion dollars. Obviously the hype that surrounds the deal is surely having positive effect on how many people are probably queuing up to buy the shares after they are sold on the market. I think the hype is also generated because Mark Zuckerberg is going to be a multi-billionaire at the tender age of 27. He still owns 57% of his own company (which is not always the case when founders bring in outside investment) and yes he still wears jeans and jumper.

I will also be attending a pre Facebook IPO party. So yes all of SF is pretty excited about the Zuckerbergs big day tomorrow.

Whatever happens to shares in the next few weeks and months whether they do live up to the hype of whether it turns out to be another IT bubble, it is great to be in the city that is so close to where this is happening. SF is the city for start-ups, entrepreneurship, technology and venture capital. It could be the relaxed atmosphere of the city that makes people think if you have an idea just get up and do it! Try if and if it fails, try again! You will always learn from your mistakes!

If you need inspiration I suggest you stop looking and buy a one way ticket here . You are bound to think of some fascinating idea or to bump into the next Zuckerberg at your local starbucks.

SF is truly a fascinating city and despite being so busy with  projects at the moment, I still feel that part of my motivation comes from the city itself.