Around the World in 4 Weeks

So Dave and I were fortunate enough to travel abroad together with other business students on a study abroad around the WORLD! Literally we went all over the world. It was absolutely amazing. Here are some highlights from the trip of a lifetime.

New York.

We arrived in new York after a long red-eye flight from salt lake city. The flight wasn't too bad, but unfortunately I did not sleep as long as I wanted to. I wish I could fall asleep more easily on flights, but I am just a light sleeper!

Our hotel was overlooking times square which was fun. During our stay we had business visits which included Agency PR, Johnson & Johnson, and McGarry Bowen. Dave and I walked around times square and got our favoritr shakes from the Shake Shack. They're called Upper East Siders and they are soooo good! They have broken up pieces of strawberry short bread in it. I highly recommend this amazing treat. :) We also saw the broadway show Mamma Mia. It was so funny and had good music to dance too. Even the old men and women were all dancing around. We loved it! And that was NYC in a nutshell.

France.

Mmmm j'adore Paris, France! The moment we arrived there our group went straight to the Eiffel tower... Oh my what a sight. I did not know how BIG it really is! We rode an elevator up to the very top to see the gorgeous view of Paris. I got the butterflies because we kept going up and up and up... But it was well worth it! (pictures) We took a huge stroll around this romantic city. We explored the Louvre museum, a modern art museum, and best of all the Palace of Versailles water fountain extravaganza.  All of the fountains in the Versailles gardens were synchronized to classical music. After that they had an amazing firework show. There were so many people! Oh and not to mention we ate tons and tons of CREPES while in Paris! Nutella, nutella and banana, chicken and cheese, ham and cheese... You name it and we tried it! I couldn't get enough... They were just too yummy! I also loved the macaroons and baguettes. The French eat so much bread! Dave and I thought it was interesting that the French literally eat baguettes for every meal. Don't they notice? We basically ate a baguette sandwich for lunch every day... And by the time we left France we seriously got sick of them. But I think for me the macaroons were my fav! NYC then to Paris was a great start to the trip. Paris was a dream come true for me! I have always wanted to go since I was a little girl. It's just one of those cities that everyone has got to see. I loved every minute of it and would love to go back!

Switzerland.

Ok this is by far my favorite stop on this trip so far! Even though we were there for only a few days, we were able to explore this absolutely gorgeous city. After a visit with an international business consultant, we rode our bus over to the Chateu Chillon castle in Geneva. It is built right on Lake Geneva, so it has a beautiful view. I felt like we stepped back in time while touring inside and outside this building. It really felt like the Medieval times as we were exploring its walls. It was so beautiful and had a great view. Everything was so old and antique.We then traveled back to the other side of Geneva to our second meeting with the International Committee of the Red Cross. I was so tired by then that I couldn't keep my eyes open! Ha I felt bad but we have hardly gotten any sleep on this trip! It was a good meeting about how the ICRC really helps individuals in need suffering from the terrible effects of war,  no matter what side of the conflict they are on. I learned a lot in that meeting.Then at night we SWAM in LAKE GENEVA! How adventurous right? It was the most refreshing thing at that time... And we felt so clean after from that lake water! We swam out to the buoy and back. After that Dave and I roamed the streets of Geneva, just the two of us. We always have the best time together. Always!In Geneva we also stopped at this chocolate factory and learned how they make CHOCOLATE - my favorite thing in the world! We got tons of samples and felt sick after because we ate so much chocolate! So good though. They gave us liquid chocolate in a cup that came straight out of their chocolate faucet. It was cool to see the process of making chocolate starting from the cocoa bean.Switzerland went by way too fast since we were only there for two days. Next stop - Italy.

Italy.

Bonjourno! I loved Italia! I could definitely get used to having gelato everyday. It's so yummy there you just can't get enough of it! I seriously had it three times in one day.

Florence was a fun place. Our hotel was right in the middle of the center of everything - all the museums, shopping, food, gelato, and more. Everyday our time was spent just walking around - and we loved it! Our hotel was right next to the Duomo.The first night we went to this cute authentic Italian restaurant by the Duomo. It was soooo good. I got pesto gnocchi and Dave got lasagna. We were living the Italian dream! (picture) We were so tired so we went to bed right after that.Our hotel room was hilarious. Our toilet was literally in the shower! When I first walked in I couldn't find the shower head until I looked by the toilet and there it was! (picture) The hotel was pretty ghetto but good for what our program paid for.The next day we went to Pierotucci Leather Factory - oh my gosh it was awesome! The moment you walk in the air is permeated with the smell of leather... Which is the best! We met with the director of marketing and got a tour of the factory. The workers showed us how they make their quality leather bags, jackets, and accessories from cow hides. We then got to look around the store at all the leather goods they had for sale. I really wanted a leather purse but you could not buy one for less than $200! Everything is so expensive in Europe, especially because of the currency exchange rate. I didn't end up buying anything there, but my hubby almost did! Haha it was so funny... The Italian guy that gave us a tour chose Dave to model this leather jacket... As soon as he put it on I totally started blushing because he looked sooo good!! Unfortunately he didn't buy the 450 euro jacket (which is equivalent to about $320!!) but he analyzed the decision for a long time. We decided that a $300 jacket and $200 bag is just not within our newlywed budget!

China.

One word - pollution! I could not believe how much pollution is in the air in China! However it was a very cool place. Since we were on the Global Marketing study abroad, we went on business visits to learn about international business and marketing around the world. We met with Walmart, Deloitte, and Apple in China. It was awesome! We learned how companies have to adjust to different cultures and customs. 

The BEST thing we did in China was hiking the GREAT WALL OF CHINA!! It was sooo cool! Even though it was hot and we were sooo sweaty, we soaked it all in! The whole time we couldn't believe that we were actually climbing up the Great Wall. Check that off my list! And not to be negative Nancy or anything, but the food was definitely not as good as I hoped. They have tons of seafood which I like, but everything seemed unsanitary and not cooked all the way. We kind of felt sick after a lot of dinners. However, our breakfasts in the Regent Hotel (which was the most luxurious hotel by the way!) had the best food... that was definitely one of the great things we had while in China!

Ok! The SILK MARKET! I have never seen anything like it. It's a 7-story indoor mall with TONS of counterfeited items! It's hilarious!!! Dave and I really got a kick out of this. As soon as I walked in the door for the first time, about a million Chinese women say, "Hey lady, hey lady, want to buy leather purse? I have best quality, it's real leather you know..." They were so aggressive that they LITERALLY would grab you buy the arm or shirt if you walked away not buying something from their booth. Dave almost got his shirt ripped because this crazy Chinese lady was pulling at his shirt so hard because he wouldn't buy her fake LA Dodgers hats!! Hahah!! Well... that was China for you. The Great Wall was definitely one of the coolest things on the trip that we got to see (and hike).

India.

Last stop - INDIA! We went to New Delhi first, then Agra, then Jaipur. It was awesome. Since it was my second time in India, I had already seen the Taj Mahal and Agra Fort, but it was still cool to see it again, and I learned even more than I did the first time. And... I got to be with my hubby!! 

The best part of India was riding a CAMEL and an ELEPHANT!!! It was so much fun. I loved riding the elephant because we got to go up a hill to the top of the fort where they had a cool temple. Dave almost bought a turban for currency that was equivalent to $1... but he refused. Who knows how many heads it touched?

We only had a few days in India, so we didn't really meet with any businesses. But we did get to go to a carpet factory and a marble factory and learn how they make really nice carpets (we wanted to buy one sooo bad but it was way out of our budget) and cool marble items. India is an interesting place. They have so much going on there and so many people all over the streets, whether they are working in their business, literally living on the streets, or just walking around town. It's a crazy place! But I do respect the fact that they are so religious and cultural and always stick to those standards no matter what. They are a dedicated people.

Well, that's it for now! I really could say SO much more about this amazing trip that we had... but it would take me hours and hours to write! (if it wasn't for the fact that I didn't have any internet hardly while on the trip, I would have had all these blog posts posted already throughout the trip!)

Ciao!