Thoughts about the trip

Europe was beautiful but I'm proud to be an American! I had never been out of the country prior to this trip. It was a wonderful first overseas experience. I thought the cities we went to were great. I was sad we were so busy in London, I would have liked to spend a little more free time there, but it was still great. I think Barcelona was my favorite city. London was a close second. I just enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere in Barcelona. Even though there was a language barrier, it was not as hard as it was in Paris. We were ignored sometimes in Paris because we couldn't speak the language. It was not good at all.
I think the length of time was perfect. We spent between 3 and 4 days in each city. It was just the right amount of time. I think I would have preferred to go for a whole semester vs going any longer moving from city to city. It was just the right amount of time because we were packing up every couple of days and traveling.
Mango was my favorite business visit. The focus on their designers and employees makes it feel like a very positive atmosphere.
I would recommend going abroad to anyone. Even though I was there for only two weeks, I got a great feel for European culture and it was different across the three cities I was in.
Sorry I couldn't keep up on this like a normal blog, but time flies when you're having fun and I just didn't have a whole lot of time to sit and write!

Cheers, Au Revoir, Adios!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Day 10- Mango and last day in Barcelona

Our last full day in Europe...very bittersweet. I was sad to leave Barcelona because it was beautiful, but I was excited to get home and back to the states. Our last business visit (which was also my favorite business visit) was to Mango Spain. We met with Ms. Vilajoana, the PR manager. Mango is a clothing company based out of Spain, but is located all over Europe and a few stores are in the US. We started with a tour of the design center. This is where all the designers create their items. It was so cool. She took us through the entire process of how it starts in the designer's mind to when it has been manufactured and is sent off to the stores. The design center was build specifically to give the designers a creative atmosphere. The lunch room has a view of what would be a tropical garden. The company put up a wall blocking the parking lot and created a soothing atmosphere for the designers so it did not feel as if they were in just a regular old office building. Mango began over 25 years ago and has grown to have over 1600 employees today. There is a high focus on communication in this company. The building is created to have each department working closely together. This makes communication easy between a designer and their superior. Mango is constantly working to prepare for the following season. When we went to visit, they had just finished their fall/winter 09 line and were starting design for spring 10. They constantly work 2 seasons ahead. Mango is said to be like Banana Republic in the US. The CEO of Mango came up with the name when he tried a mango for the first time. He thought it would be a good name because a mango is a mango in every language. He saw it as an international tool that would be understood all over the world.
After our business visit, a few of us decided to go to Park Guell. It was about a 20 minute bus ride north of the hotel. The park was huge! It was not a typical park with green open areas and trees. This was a tropical oasis set up on a hill overlooking the city. The architecture was beautiful. Lots of tile and bright colors. There were trials that lead in every direction. We spent a few hours there and felt like we barley dipped our toes in. I was more interested in the flowers I found at the park. They were beautiful and very unique.
After the park, we headed back to the hotel to pack and to prepare for our last group dinner in Europe. We went to the Attic Restaurant for tapas and a choice of duck or fish. I took the fish. Not quite ready to experience duck. The meal began with a choice of wine and tapas. We were given 7 or 8 choices of tapas (another way to say appetizers) and each choice was served on 3 or 4 plates. So, we were all pretty full before the meal even arrived. This was by far the best meal. The fish was so fresh and the veggies were just the right accent to the fish. We ended the meal with a chocolate mousse and espresso. It was a great way to end our trip to Barcelona and a wonderful way to say farwell to Europe.

Day 9- Peli and Exploring the city

Our 9th day started out with a business visit to Peli. This Company manufactures and creates flashlights and storage containers for the military and the police/firefighter departments. the company has had tremendous growth since the begining of their development. In 1997 their projected sales were around $3MM. Today, they budget for over $27MM. the UK is their biggest market even though they are based out of Barcelona. Their company is comprised of employees from across the world. This helps them because their employees are aware of not only the culture of Barcelona and the home country of their company, but also aware of other countires that they makret to. Peli's company motto is "Think globally, act locally." This motto helps drive thier sales and marketing teams to explore the boundires of global sales, but, also to research and adapt to each country's needs of their products.

After Peli, we were given the afternoon off to ourselves to relax as we pleased. Anna and I took the Metro to the La Sagrada Familia. This temple sits at the center of the city and is just massive. It is still not finished. They builders hope to finish it on the 100th anniversary of its beginning. Gaudi's vision is still being carried out, even after his death, his vision continues.

Day 8- Barcelona!

We got off the train and were greeted by our guide who led us to the coach to take us to our hotel. This hotel was my favorite from the trip because our room had a balcony that overlooked the street. We were given the day off to relax and then had our group dinner that night. As a whole, we decided that we wanted to hit the beach for our first day in Barcelona. After breakfast, we grabbed our towels and headed for the beach. The beach was a bit of a culture shock, with topless women everywhere! It's part of the culture there, and we almost looked out of place leaving our swimsuits on, but we had a good time. The ocean was BEAUTIFUL!! I personally fell asleep and took a little nap laying out on the beach. It was great. So relaxing. We went back to freshen up at the hotel and get ready for our group dinner. Dinner was about a 2o minute walk. We saw a flamenco show. The food and the entertainment was great! After dinner we just went back to the hotel and sat on our balconies enjoying the night.

Day 7- The Louvre and Overnight Train

On the 7th day of our trip, our last day in Paris, we had a guided tour of the Louvre. We met at the basement level of the museum and were told we would see the "key points" of the Louvre. We were given the option after our tour to stay and explore on our own. Our guide told us that to see all the exhibits in the Louvre, it would take at least 2 or 3 weeks. Well... we only had a few more hours left in Paris, so that wasn't an option. But what we did see was great! We were shown a wide variety of art from sculptures to paintings and even just the simple design of the Louvre was art in itself. Of course, when people think of the Louvre, you think of the Mona Lisa. What amazed me was how little the painting actually is. The room she is displayed in is a square room filled with paintings all around the perimeter wall. Then Mona hangs on a wall all alone in the center of the room like a pilar. She is the only painting in the room protected by a large rope and she is behind a glass wall. All the other paintings could easily be touched (if you dare...) but the Mona Lisa was very much protected. We saw a sculpture of a women standing for "victory." She stook tall and proud at the front of a boat. Her head was missising but by the way her body stood you know she was the symbol of power and victory.

After the Louvre, we grabbed some lunch and walked around the shops near the Louvre. We hopped on the Metro and went to shop a few more places before we needed to return to the hotel for our overnight train ride to Barcelona. We packed up our bags and met everyone at the hotel to checkout. I had bought a few postcards and was able to send those out before we left. We got to the train station and got a quick bite to eat to bring aboard the train.

The train. hmmm, well it was interesting to say the least. Being a first time european traveler, I didn't pack lightly. And neither did the three girls I was rooming with. So when we were shown our sleeper room, we were a little overwhelmed by the lack of space in our sleeper room. To give you a little bit of an idea, we had to give up two of our four seats to our suitcases which left the four of us girls to squish together to sit for the first couple of hours on the train. When it was time for bed, our dear friend Brandon was such a gentleman and came to help us rearrange the room and took out one suitcase to put in his room so we would have room to put the beds down so we could catch some sleep. Once it was all organized and we each had a bed, our stress level started to fall and we were actually able to sleep for a few hours. We were woken up by the train attendent letting us know we were about an hour out from the beautiful city of Barcelona...

Day 6- Sightseeing and Shopping

Something I really wanted to do while in Paris was see the sights. As tourist as it may sound, but this was a once in a lifetime opportunity and I wanted to make sure to see it all. We started the day by going to the Arc de Triomphe. There, we took lots of pictures. It was funny, we couldn't find the tunnel to go under the street and over to the Arc, so we decided to run across the street. Not just a two lane street, but about a 7 lane wide round-a-bout where cars were driving mad!!! It was fun though. We made it, safe and sound, both ways. After our visit to the Arc we decided to stop for lunch. We found a cute little place that served sandwiches and we thought that sounded great. I ordered a ham and cheese sandwich. Not quite like the ones I made at home on the griddle. They served the ham in between the two bread slices and then melted mozzarella cheese all over the top slice. I had to eat it with a knife and fork. It was still good though. After lunch, we met up with a few of the other girls and headed for Notre Dame. One word: Beautiful. It was breathtaking... and massive. We were able to walk along the sides of the cathedral while they were preparing for mass. All of a sudden, this guy was pushing us to stand back. We were like "huh?" Then, around the corner comes the processional. The choir, the word of the lord, the priest. Right in front of us. Down the side of the church and back up through the center aisle. It was beautiful!!
After we had seen those two landmarks, we headed back out into the street of Paris for a little more shopping. We found some great deals and lots of little gifts for our families and friends. After a long day of shopping, we met back at the hotel with the rest of the group to go on our Seine River Cruise. This river runs right down the middle of the city. We decided to take the cruise at sunset. It was a great idea for sure. All of the building and monuments were beautiful. Probably one of the best parts was seeing the Eiffel tower light up. It is always lit during the night, but on the hour it sparkles. I know it sounds crazy, but it does, it sparkles for about 10 minutes every hour with tons and tons of twinkle lights. It was beautiful. After the cruise, we made our way back to the tower to take some up close pictures of it all lit up. It was great! We got a few more crepes and then headed home for the night to prepare for the Louvre the next day.

Day 5- Eiffel Tower Ascend and Shopping

After an early breakfast, we gathered the group up and headed for the Eiffel tower. This thing is MASSIVE!!! Since we were in a group with a tour guide, we were put to the front of the line and were one of the first groups up the elevator. We were taken all the way to the top. There we took a few pictures, walked around, took in all the beautiful sights from above.
Fun fact, while taking pictures, we heard this weird noise coming from behind us. We turn around and there is a man, attached by just a rope and clip, painting the tower at the very top. Not on the inside with us, but hanging on the outside of the Eiffel tower at the very top. CRAZY!!! We were given the rest of the afternoon off to do as we please. Instead of taking the elevator back down. We decided to walk. It took us about 25 or 30 minutes, but it was fun. Relaxing and we stopped to take a lot of pictures along the way.
After our long walk down, we decided to treat ourselves to a snack. What else would you get in Paris other than a crepe? Filled with chocolate and bananas, it hit the spot for sure!
We divided ourselves into two groups and my group decided to hit the shops for the day. We were all over town.
After a long day of shopping, we returned to the hotel to freshen up and head to dinner. The 5 of us girls found a little Italian restaurant with outdoor seating. We had some great pasta and a few glasses of wine. It was a great girls night out! Afterwards, we returned to the hotel to get some sleep so we could go out and go shopping again the next day.