I can’t believe we are almost done with this trip. Time has flown by and we are already back in Milan, which is where we first began. The itinerary for today was pretty relaxed, and I appreciated that because most of us are tired, dehydrated and some are even sick. I don’t know how Italians do it, but they really do not drink much water. This was something that I found shocking considering their lifestyle.

The day started with some breakfast in the hotel, I had a cappuccino and some fruit. After breakfast, we had our final walking tour of the trip. During the tour, we saw all of the high end luxury brands in Montenapoleone. Dior, Balmain, Salvatore Ferragamo, and Cartier were just a handful of the store fronts that we saw walking around. This street is exactly what I had in mind for the fashion capital of the world. Our first destination was a department store called The Excelsior. This place was unlike anyplace I have ever seen in America, and the only comparison I could draw was to Harrods in England. Previously a cinema, this seven floor department store caters to high end clients. From a grocery store, to personalized fragrances, The Excelsior has it all. Although this place was built in 2011, it looked brand new, and was home to many clothes and accessories. With brands like Gucci, Christian Louboutin, and Altuzarra, it was apparent that I was here to merely take in the beautiful displays rather than make a purchase.

After drooling over all the shoes and clothes, we left the store to make our way to lunch. Our tour guide, Luca, told us we were going to a four star hotel for lunch, but no one could tell if he was being sarcastic or serious. We walked past the Duomo and through busy streets learning about what we passed, until we reached the Una hotel. Here, we said, “Arrivederci” to our old friend the radio and sat down to eat. Lunch consisted of multiple courses, including a Milano staple, risotto with saffron. The risotto was followed by a breaded veal and potatoes. This is another thing I was shocked about when arriving in Italy, they do not eat chicken, but rather veal is their staple protein. I also came to the revelation that my diet has solely consisted of carbohydrates this entire two weeks. Espresso and tea cookies came next to wrap up the meal, and my stomach was absolutely  stuffed.

Since we had some free time until our Velasca lecture, some of us headed back to the hotel via the Metro to take a nap. After I rested a bit, I felt more energized to take on the remainder of the day. The lecture was in the hotel, so we did not have to travel far. Velasca is an Italian shoe company that hand makes men’s shoes for around 200 euros. A representative from the Velasca company spoke to us about different business models including B to B (business to business) and B to C (business to consumer). It was exciting to hear real world applications to different approaches with regard to marketing and sales that I have learned about previously.

Now, I am planning on eating dinner and then going to bed for one of my last nights abroad. It is weird to think that after tonight we only have one more night in Italy.