An enjoyable break in San Francisco

I've just returned from a sensational four-day break in San Francisco! Columbia has a fantastic concept called 'mid-term break' - a full week off from classes while people who were enrolled in half-term subjects do their exams. So, I took the New Jersey transit (train) out to Newark International Airport, and caught a Boeing 737 Super 80 to Chicago and on to San Fran. A big thank you to my good friend Tristen who hosted me for the four days and took me on several outings on the weekend.

Some of the highlights of the trip:

• Dinner amongst entrepreneurs - on the first night I joined a large group for a dinner in San Francisco's financial district - the main topic of conversation: Germany's lack on entrepreneurialism. This was in spite of one of the guests who had bucked the trend and co-founded a dot com in Germany that had reached Euro 10b market-cap during the boom.
  
• Shopping Downtown - picked up some new 501s at Macys and a very cool woollen trenchcoat from Banana Republic - all set for those chilly New York winter days now
  
• A visit to SF MoMA - besides the regular Picasso's, Mondrian's etc, there was an interesting exhibition of the varied works of German artist Gerhard Richter, and some 1850s photography by Lewis Carroll (of Alice in Wonderland fame)
  
• Networking the Bay Area - I met up with a couple of people working in the Bay Area VC industry for some informational interviews - lots of juicy advice and some potential further contacts! One of them even partially restored my faith in career fulfilment in a big firm.
  
• Jack Johnson concert - "Why don't the newscasters cry when they read about people who die / At least they could be decent enough to put just a tear in their eyes" - I went out to UC Berkeley to see Jack Johnson at a very classic open-air greek style ampitheatre.
  
• College Football - saw my first college football game out at Stanford University. Stanford beat Arizona 16-6. This was also my first exposure to the American concept of tailgating, an activity I sincerely hope never takes off in Australia.
  
• World Series - Go Giants! - the Yankees may have failed dismally in the post-season, but the San Francisco Giants made it all the way to the World Series. Games 1 and 2 were held in Anaheim while I was in San Fran, and I had the unique opportunity to watch game one in a San Francisco brewery bar with a bunch of very excited locals. (SF won game one 4-3, the series is currently tied at 1-1). Tickets for games three and four in SF have been selling in secondary markets for up to US$1000.
  
• A hike amongst the redwoods - on Sunday we headed across the Golden Gate bridge (US$5 toll - ouch!) and went for a breathtaking six-mile hike amongst the Californian redwoods at the Muir Woods National Monument. Absolutely beautiful.
  

Back in New York now - taking it easy for a day before classes resume with Advanced Corporate Finance on Wednesday.