At 9:15 AM today, we left for our last site visit by taking the Metro there. I feel like I am slowly becoming a pro at the Metro since we have used it so often during our time in Milan!  Our destination today was Linea-Pelle which is a business organization that coordinates exhibitions around the…

Today we had the opportunity to hear a lecture at Cattolica University by Francesca Romana Rinaldi on the subject of sustainability in the fashion industry. Learning about this topic in our pre-departure classes was a good introduction to the wealth of information presented today. The lecture was very informative and enhanced my understanding of fashion…

Last night, I appreciated the chance to catch up on much needed sleep and give my aching feet a break!  (Ironically, we started our day at 10:15 this morning with plans to visit a shoe company.) After eating breakfast, we walked to a nearby hotel to learn more about the men’s shoe company, Velasca and…

This morning was bitter sweet. We left the beauty of Verona at 9:20 AM to make our way back to bustling Milan where we started our adventures in Italy.  On our way back to Milan we stopped at Sartoria Cavour Tailoring Company, had lunch at a small restaurant in town, then visited Mario Foroni Knitwear….

This morning a group of us took advantage of our free time to explore Verona. We visited the Amphitheater, Roman Theatre, and Castelvecchio (The Old Castle)! We walked almost five miles and saw so much before our company visit to Mero and More. We walked to the bus stop which was near the train station…

Today a small group of us woke up at 6:00 AM and went to church in Verona! We made our way to church and back walking four miles in total before our day even started. The entire group left Verona and took the one-hour train ride to Venice and arrived by 10:00 AM. As we…

Today a group of us woke up to make our 8:30 AM appointment to climb to the top of the Duomo in Florence. We had to get an early appointment online in order to be back in time for our 10:00 AM departure from Florence to Verona. The climb to the top of the Duomo…

Today we woke up early in Florence to begin our day with a company tour of the Scuola del Cuoio. I was particularly excited about today’s site visit since this was the company that our group did research on before we traveled to Italy. I was interested in hearing more about the Florentine leather school…

    Today we took over a three-hour bus ride to Florence and toured the city. I was amazed that our bus could get through the narrow streets of Florence. After checking into our rooms, we were ready to begin our walking tour where we saw the Duomo and other historical buildings. We spent the…

Today we woke up bright and early to make the hour-long journey to Como by bus.  Once we were there, we visited the family-owned and operated Mantero Seta Spa established in 1902. This company is now run by the 4th generation of the Mantero family. This company is vertically integrated for the most part because…

Leonardo Da Vinci was a genius. He was a man of many talents and interests – an artist, an engineer, and an architect with a passion for nature and anatomy.  There is no better word that can be used to describe the level of his diverse talents and enduring contributions to mankind.  I have always…

After our morning crash course in Italian, I was ready to begin our journey by Metro to the Duomo, the cathedral church of Milan, where we would go on a tour of the surrounding city to learn more about the culture and businesses within the Galleria and ones further outside of the Duomo area. We…

After a long day of traveling: waking up early so that both Plus3 Costa Rica and Plus3 Italy could take the bus to the airport (at 7:00 AM), an 11:00 AM flight to Newark airport from Pittsburgh, a six hour layover in the Newark airport, and an eight hour flight from Newark to Milan, we…

“From the classroom. To the city. To the world”. . . Ciao, my name is Alaina! I am a business student in the University of Pittsburgh’s Undergraduate School of Business studying HR and Marketing (at the moment). I am from Wexford, PA and am thrilled to be spending a portion of my summer across the…