Leaving Paris to Lausanne in the morning!

Okay, so just a quick recap about some previous posts and the end of Paris.

So, the video below is of the band that opened for Plants and Animals, and i have an email in to the band to figure out what their name was, i'm interested because they were quite good.

The next day i headed over to the Musee D'Orsay, where under this post you can see some pics of a sculpture and of the famous Vincent Van Vogh painting "Bedroom in Arles".

The Musee D'Orsay was quite impressive and I enjoyed it more than the Louvre, as i could actually get through the entire museum in less than a years time. After that I wondered for about an hour trying to find a metro station, but finding some really cool places along the way. I some how ran into the street where i'm pretty sure the French Elite shop for their furniture and decor because it was pretty damn expensive stuff.

It was then off to La Grand Arch, which you can see in the photos below where i got some spectacular views of the City and Le Champs Elysee.

That night we went on a river cruise on the Seine (which i've done before) but it was still good and i got some cool pics of me holding up and hugging the eiffel tower, but they're on Casey's camera so i still need to get them and will post once i do.

Today was my Laundry day and my work day, so i got a lot done and an happy i did. I also got a very delicious baguette at a local bakery.

So early tomorrow morning we say goodbye to beautiful Paris and head out Lausanne. I'll update you then!

Bon Soir!

Tyler

More Pictures from Paris!

Plants and Animals Opener (more coming)

1st Night in Paris + Cold War Kids

So my first night in Paris was a blast. I found out that Cold War Kids were playing at Le Cigale right by Sacre Coeur, so i was able to get a ticket and the show was great. I even met a guy named John who just graduated from NIU and lived in the NW suburbs, he said he went to Holy Cross high school. And he was with a chick he met at their hostel, who happens to go to ASU. So Underground Railroad opened up for Cold War Kids, and they were pretty good. So we parted ways after the show and I had to get up early b/c the next day we had meetings with Graham Brown a traveling MBA professor who does consulting as well and with BETC Euro RSCG Advertising.

I thoroughly enjoyed Mr. Brown's lecture. Since i don't have my notes in front of me i can't quite remember what he all talked about, but he made us think, and that's the most important thing, right?

After that we headed to BETC EURO RSCG advertising which was very cool. I forgot how much i love marketing and things that are related to trying to sell a product. The offices are what you'd expect of an ad agency, full of creativity.

So that night I went to Le Point Ephemere, a bar/restaurant/theatre to see plant and animals. they were great! But the weirder story is that i stopped for a beer by a hostel nearby, and the girl (Andrea) who i had met at the Cold War Kids concert was there. The band that opened for P&A was really good actually, and unfortunately i never got their name, but i will do my hardest to try and find out.

More to come!

Au Revoir Brussels, Bienvenue Paris!

So it has been four days since my last post and oh the things that have happened.

Pictures will be forthcoming as since everyone has been taking pictures with their cameras I have been lax on taking some with mine. As soon as I get a hold of some SD cards from the others i will get them posted. I'll probably get a Flickr site up and running as well so I can categorize the pictures and you'll able to see some more of them.

So lets start from the trip from Paris to Brussels. We took the Eurostar Train under the English Sound, more often referred to as "The Chunnel". As fast and as cool as the train ride was, it was very surprising at how little time you are actually under the water. When we get in the chunnel it is only about a fifteen minute ride till we arrive in France. I was also surprised that my ears didn't pop under the water too.

It was also very cool to go through the hillsides of southern England and northern France, they really are beautiful. So after going through France and heading towards Belgium, we finally arrived in Brussels.

We went straight to the hotel (Thon City Centre), and then took a walk to La Grand Place where we went and got some dinner. The next morning was business meetings so we didn't stay out that long.

Chevron was the first company we met with on Monday. It was about an hour drive out of Brussels in a town called Overjise. Our speakers were Benny Mermans who was the General Manager of Europe and Africa (seemed like a big deal) and Dominique Henrotte who is the Controller for those regions as well.

They both did a fantastic job and treated us with a lot of respect. They had drinks and cookies there for us and took breaks in between their presentations, which helped keep us awake. I should say the trip to Belgium made us lose an hour of sleep, so some of us were trying not to fall asleep.

There P.R. guy Joss was there also, and he was a small funny looking man with a Camera and Camcorder just taking pictures and videos of our group the whole time, it was funny and awkward because he did it the whole time and it would make sounds every time an image or video was captured.

After Chevron we got back on the bus and headed towards the European Commission, which is one of the most important parts of the European Union. It is the Commissions job to introduce legislation to the European Parliament, and the are the sole generators of legislation. I will touch base more on it later, but the EU consists of The European Parliament, The European Council and The European Commission.

Since we got there early, Adam, Mollie, Cassie, and Alex went to a little place just north of the Commission which was pretty authentic italian (seems to be that Italian food is the most popular everywhere) and we got a nice bottle of Chianti and some of us had pasta (Gnocchi) and others pizza.

When we got back to the Commission we sat in one of their board rooms and had a very interesting discussion with Maro (some italian last name) and he was the typical italian, he spoke the whole time and with such vigor. So he went over the basics of what the European Union is all about, and what each division's job is. Also, which i found out later, it turns out that he holds several P.H.D's in Political science, wrote a book about The Psychology of International Business Dealings and was the closest aide to the former President of the EU. He knew his stuff.

So we ended the meeting and took the Metro home, which was quite dirtier and more crowded than the Metro in London. We had to wait two trains just to get on because of how crowded they were. And the one that we did get on...well let's just say I got to know some people on the trip a little more than i wanted to.

So we finally got back to the hotel and the fun began. Although i had been tired mostly the whole day the minute we left to go out I was springing with life. So slowly we all made it down for Happy Hour in the hotel bar and hung out there for about an hour and half. The majority of us headed to a bar called Delirium where Me, Casey and Kevin had a "das boot", which is a litre of beer in a boot shaped glass. The beer was quite delicious but i can't remember the name. When the others arrived, some of them got the boot as well, while Cassie ordered a "Das heel" or so it looked, but it had almost two litres of beer and was taller and filled with Cherry Beer. So after everyone else got there i believe I ventured off to get a Belgium Waffle, which i had covered in chocolate syrup and ice cream and it was delicious. Got back to the Bar, and then had another beer and Casey, Kevin and I went out to help find some food for them. We ran into a shop that sold beer and bought another beer, which turned out to be pretty good, but since the bar wouldn't let me bring it in i had to chug it.

So while everyone else was back together, i met some kids from Michigan State who were on the same trip we were but going to different countries and leaving to go back to the U.S. this week. So when my group left i stayed with the MSS kids and we ventured around and I was with them having a good time till about 2:30AM where i crashed back at the hotel.

Next morning was little rough, i woke up only with about 15 minutes to spare before our mid-term discussion so all i could grab was a water and a crescent for breakfast. The discussion wasn't too interesting. We just talked about the few places we had visited and the professors gave us a hint at what will probably be on our final exam.

After the discussion we headed over to Planete Chocolat! Where we met with their head Pastry Chef, Jean Philippe, who also happens to be the Grandson of the founder of the Chocolat Shop. So after getting the history if Chocolat, we got to the good stuff, which was, you guessed it, CHOCOLAT! The things i tasted. Belgium definitely makes the best Chocolat, and my mother would be proud because i didn't even buy any on my way out, but that could have been because i had about ten chocolates for free before i left so i was kind of Chocolat'd out. But it was very fun and Philippe had a very funny personality and kept us all interested.

So the day was young and Me, Katie, Caitlin, Lindsay and Kevin headed over to the Brussels Nord train station and embarked on the 2hr40min trip to Amsterdam! The train ride was awesome, and we got to see the hillsides of the Netherlands and Northern Belgium. Once we got to Amsterdam we realized how cool of a city it actually is. It resembles Venice in regards to its infrastructure and the canals that run through the city. Of course the first thing we did was head to a coffee shop to experience what that was like. It was called "Funny People". We met some Americans and a couple Hollanders who were all very nice. Next we headed to the Red Light District, which was so much like it is portrayed in Movies. You walk down the street and their are women just standing in body length windows egging you on to come to them. We all resisted. It is pretty amazing how much the district is just a normal and non taboo part of life in Amsterdam. When asking ordinary people how to get there, it was always just, Oh! Just head right that way, and etc.. When imagining the same scenario elsewhere, you can expect to get some dirty looks and stares.

After the RLD, we got some dinner at, what do you know, an italian restaurant! lol. It was pretty good though, i had pizza for the first time oversees, and it wasn't that bad, a little greasy but good. I wanted to head towards a Casino but when i got close enough to one i realized that they do require you to be 21 in Amsterdam to gamble (which seems completely backwards???), but what are you gonna do. So soon enough it was our time to head back to the last train back to Brussels.

So the worst part of the trip comes here. As we were headed off the train, i was busy getting my stuff together and everyone was already off, i made the mistake of thinking it was our last stop so i took my time. I soon realized the train was going to get moving again and quickly made me way to the door and jumped off as it was about to go. Unfortunately the shear force of my jump caused my ipod to fly out of my bag and off of my headphones and into the train while i exited. So the doors automatically closed, wouldn't open and there we are on the platform whilst my ipod lay face down on the trains floor. I could do nothing but be taunted by the train and as it started to roll down the tracks it was kind of a sad moment seeing all of my music leave me, but thankfully i can fill my iphone with some music or use my laptop, so all is not lost! I'd like to see the lucky bastard who picks up that ipod, he'll certainly enjoy my music.

Well now it's the morning of the 27th, I'm on the bus to France writing this, and tonight will be a nice one in the heart of Paris. We are staying at the Novotel Tour Eiffel.

Pictures and Posts forthcoming.

Au Revoir! ~Tyler

Last day in London and Brussels!

No pictures for this post, but there will be some more to come!

So on our last day of being in London we had the whole day to ourselves. A group of us headed over to the Tower of London for a guided tour by a Beefeater. It was probably the most fun of all the places i have been to. The beefeater, which back in the time of King Henry VIII guarded the tower, walked us around the entire castle showing us places of importance and gave us some really interesting facts about the Tower. He also had a very funny sense of humor. Although the tower is often thought of as the prison of London and the place of immense torture, its not all quite true. The tower was home to prisoners of importance. Kings and Queens that were convicted of treason or wrongdoing or people such as Anne Boleyn would be the type of persons held there. The tower is surrounded by a now dry moat, an outer wall, and inner wall and then you have the White Castle, the castle that the kings would live in and the inner workings of the rest of the castle. While we were there we also saw the Crown Jewels which is also held there. The Crown Jewels are owned by the people and that is why they are displayed so prominently.

After we saw the rest of the Tower, the group I was with headed to the Globe Theatre (made famous by Shakespeare) while i headed over to Harrods to meet with Mollie. We ate lunch at the Harrods cafe (after searching for her for about half an hour, its quite a complicated place) and she had Salmon Lox and i had some potato soup and a roasted chicken baguette. They were all delicious. So i bought a really sweet Jacket in Harrods that is the brand Junk DeLuxe, a brand they DO NOT! carry in the United States. Then we just cruised the store for a while and realized there isn't one thing you can't by in Harrods besides a car.

After Harrods we headed over to H&M where i went a little nuts. First off the store is about ten times bigger than the ones we are used to and they carry much better items. So after spending some time there we headed over to Oxford Street (the other major shopping street), and we found "Top Shop" which i have never heard of but which Molly had been before. After realizing it wasn't just for girls i made my way to their 4th floor which carried all mens and made a few purchases. The amount of styles available at a cheap price in London is ridiculous. I wish we had the availability of items that they do at their prices. But from what i've heard a top shop has just opened in New York.

So after me and Mollie met up back in the store front of Top Shop at the time we said, she wasn't even done shopping so i headed back to the hotel and when i got back i decided to take a nap; as did my roommate. Unfortunately when we woke up it was 2am!, needless to say we missed out on our night. So with little more to do than to go back to sleep, we dosed off and packed in the morning and headed to the Eurostar to take over to Belgium.

So we arrived here in Belgium at about 4 0'clock local time and took a coach to the hotel and headed to the Grande Place. There a group of ten of us went out to eat and had a good meal. Their frites here are quite good. Now we're all back to the hotel getting ready to hit the sack. We go to the European Commission tomorrow as well as Chevron. I'll let you all know about it tomorrow!

By the way, i watched "Yes, Man" today during the trip. It is actually pretty good, Jim Carrey does a good job. You should rent it.

~Tyler

Day 3: U.S. Embassy, EBRD & Ice Bar

Well today was bonkers!

We started off early this morning at about 8:45AM we met in the lobby and head through the tube to the U.S. Embassy to London. We heard from Mr. Richard Stanbridge who is the director of commercial services for the Embassy. In a nutshell, his department provides American Companies the assistance they need in exporting or investing (setting up operations) in London. He was very thorough and detailed and definitely knew what he was talking about. Getting into and out of the Embassy was even factored into our day. The amount of time it took to get into the building was about 45 minutes. Security is pretty tight and the building pretty old.

After we heard from Richard we headed out and saw the 9/11 British memorial which is outside of the Embassy and took some pictures. Next we headed to the Liverpool area where the EBRD (European Bank for Reconstruction and Development) is headquartered. They are a public corporation owned by 63 countries yet the U.S. owns 10%, Japan 8%, Canada and Russia 3% and then the rest is made out of small investments by a large sum of investor states. Basically what the bank does is use the money provided to them by the investment nations to help invest in private and public sector projects that in the in the betterment of the human race and that will have very positive long-term effects.

Some of us then travelled to the London Museum (which was just OK), I wasn't the best museum is but the information presented was very thorough and one in a sway i had not seen before.

Okay, so now i head back home get changed, meet the whole group minus Casey, Kristen and Shavaugn. We deiced to head to regents street to get a place to eat nd then head towards our clothing unit. Unfortunately most of clothes are the sit national outside of the U.. like turkey, malaysia and mandarin.

Okay, so i'm about ready to fall asleep, ther was a lot left i missed otu on that i will touch tomorrow morning. good night!

Recap Day 2 & Day 3 7:50AM

Pictures from last night at the London Eye (London's famous Ferris Wheel)

Good morning, it is 7:48AM here in London, i've had breakfast some coffee and read the newspaper, and we're scheduled to head out from the hotel at quarter to 9 to the U.S. Embassy to speak with some of their Attaches.

So yesterday was a great day! We all spent about an hour and a half at a conference room in a hotel about a block from ours (i can only assume our hotel's were either too expensive or booked). We met the MBAs of our program who will be traveling with us for 1 1/2 weeks until they go back home. We then went over some of the basics, are whole itinerary for the trip and what our instructors expectations of us are. After that it was about 11:30 and a lot of people were looking to hit up the pubs, where as i was more interested in going to see more sites. Thankfully Kassie was too, so we hopped on the tube and went to go see Wimbledon, and for those of you that are unaware at what that is, it's probably the most famous tennis championship in the world and the most famous tennis colosseum in the world as well. We also went and stopped in their Museum, which i have to say, for a tennis museum was pretty damn good. They some how managed to maked Tennis interesting to everyone and that seems pretty hard to do. As soon as we arrived at Wimbledon my camera went dead so i wasn't able to take any pictures myself, butKassie did and i plan on just grabbing some of hers.

So we left Wimbledon and ate at a little italian place by the tube station called Rubinos where i proceeded to have the best Panini of my life. The waitress and waiter (whom i also think were the owners) were both italian friendly and it just was a great experience.

So we got back, stopped by Waitrose, their superior version of whole foods here. Sooooooooo much better than any grocery store i've ever been too! The food is all fresh, everything, and the way its prepared and presented is in a way i have never seen before. I would base my decision to live here solely on the reason that the Super Market is amazing.

After that we did the City Tour of London which was pretty good i have to say, we just hired a coach bus and a tour guide and we drove around for about 3 hours and saw the whole city. We were all pretty beat after that, but hungry as well, so we got back and quickly changed and Me, Kevin, Lindsey, Lindley, Caitlin and Kathryn headed over to westminster and rode the London Eye (pictures above), and then went out to dinner at another little italian place which was absolutely delicious and we had about 2 bottles of Champagne (cheap in respect to Champagnes) and it was pretty good. Then we headed back to the hotel area in search for a pub, but quickly changed our minds to grab a quick desert with coffee (well me and Kathryn had coffee). That was pretty good, and then we decided it was time to check in instead of go out and drink so after showing Kathryn and Caitlin how to use the internet we crashed. Last night was so far the best night of the trip.

So that was yesterday!

So I'm actually quite excited about hitting up the U.S. Embassy, we passed it yesterday and it is huge and heavily guarded. There is also a little park right on its grounds where the british made a 9/11 memorial for the 67 british that died that day in the attacks. So after that we are headed to the EBRD (The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development) which was created in the wake of crumbling communist countries in the early 90's. So i'm off to take a shower and get ready and heres to a good day!

Cheers!

Tyler

Second Day in London: Mission Briefing and City Tour

Good morning! It currently is 7:20AM. I slept from about 6PM to 530AM so I think i've gotten enough sleep. I made my way down to the breakfast, which for a hotel is pretty damn good. I enjoyed some british style scrambled eggs, fruit, a crescent and some bacon. I also read the paper, which was eagerly reporting about the scandal going on within the Parliament here and how their PM's (Parliament Members) were abusing Tax Dollars in very unethical ways, and the Speaker of the House is resigning.

So the schedule for today is a briefing at 8:45AM to go over some details and fundamentals for the trip, then some free time and then a group Tour of London at 2PM. I know i'll want to head over to see the Tower of London and the London bridge, and i think a group of us are going to go on the London Eye which is the gian Ferris Wheel right on the River Thames. I wouldn't mind hitting up some Museums as well.

So i'm going to start getting ready for the day. Oh, and Treacy told me to give her a Shout Out on here to make her famous? ...sure Treacy, so Hey! to her.

Adios

Tyler

11 Hours IN London! (well in an hour, but just for continuity)

So We are here! No baby from hell on the plane ride over and as soon as we landed it was a new day! The minute we arrived at the baggage claim the luggage was already there, in fact the second i walked up my bag was in front of me, so that was very nice. Greg and Mindy met up with us at the Exit of Gatwick and we boarded the bus for an hour long ride into the City of London.

We're staying at the Holiday in at 97 Cromwell Road. We couldn't check in at the time of our arrival, but i'm in now. The rooms are quite small and compact but they will do, I'm just happy the internet vouchers i bought are working in the hotel room.

So while we waited to check into the hotel we all took the "tube" to Leicester (prounounced Lester) Square and then split off from there. Me, Mollie, Patty, Cassie, Adam and Forrest went off on our own in search of a Fish and Chips place off the beaten path. In the process of doing that we stumbled upon the National Gallery which was Beautiful, and i'll post pictures a little later, it takes a while to load. I might end up redirecting to Flickr, but we'll see. So we ate at a pub and had lunch and we all had a pint along with it. I enjoyed a glass of Guinness, my first, and it wasn't half bad. Very different from any beer i've had before, but i'd drink it again.

Unfortunately during our pub visit Patty got her wallet stolen, so her and Adam went to go file a police report. I kind of got tired of waiting so me and Cassie broke off from the others and went and saw the House of Commons, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace and St. James Park. After that our feet were starting to get tired so we headed back onto the tube and got back to the hotel, checked-in and now we're all pretty much back and relaxing until we go out for dinner. 7:15AM wake up call tomorrow so i can get ready eat breakfast and get to the lobby by 8:45. We are going to just go over a few things within the group and then i believe we have a city tour at 2PM.

I'll write about my experiences tonight on my next post. Till then!

Tyler

11 hours till London!

From last night:

I though i'd be writing this blog post on a computer but unfortunately the night before my trip my electricity has gone down due to what seems to e a mini-monsoon that has knocked out a generator near my house...OOOH! The lights have come back on, time to continue packing...

Present Time: Philadelphia, PA 3:50PM.

So I fell asleep at about 1AM last night after just finishing packing. I woke up at 4:30AM, took a shower, double checked that i had everything i needed. Was out the door at 4:50 and Forrest was out there waiting already (he lives a couple blocks from my house and since i was getting picked up i offered him a ride). Molly was dropped off about ten minutes later as i also told her if she wanted a ride i'd gladly have her along. So Mike came to pick us up at 5:15 right when he said he'd be there and we were now embarking on our 3 1/2 week European adventure.

Now you know when everyone tells you they had the "flight from hell" and even though it sounds like it was bad, it really wasn't that bad. Well that was the case with me, although the poltergeist baby behind me threw a fit before takeoff and about till an hour after, and was kicking my seat (even in his sleep!) it wasn't that bad. I read half of "Outliers!" by Malcolm Gladwell, so far it reminds me a lot of the out of the ordinary thinking that was published in "Freakonomics". I am really enjoying it as of now and i'll probably finish it on the Leg from Philly to London. The book is about how success isn't always how it is portrayed be the masses and there are so many factors that are involved in the creation of a success.

So now in Philly, we've got about 2 hours till our next flight and all the 21 year olds are going to start heading to the Airport Bars while me and Lindley (the other 20 year old) head to the McDonalds play place (not really, but not being 21 makes me feel like a kid).

Well time to head over to get some food, maybe i'll write b4 i leave, if not i'll get back on when we have time at the hotel!

À de grandes vacances!

Europe in 11 Days!!

Only 11 more days and I will be be on one of the most eagerly anticipated trips of my college life! On May 19th i'll be headed to London, U.K. with a (hopefully) quick connection in Philadelphia.

This trip is part of a course offered at W.P. Carey (Arizona State) called MGT 350 International Business Seminars. Throughout our travels we will have sessions with several Companies and Organizations in Europe. These include:

The U.S. Embassy in London

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Develop.

Chevron Phillips Chemicals International

The European Commission

BETC European RSCG Advertising

Microsoft Europe

Cailler Chocolate Factory (Nestle)

The World Trade Organization (WTO)

Innsbruck Tourist Board

Leitner Ski Lift AG

Swarovski Crystal

BMW Welt Plant

Paulaner Brauerei

So like I said before, we start our trip in London, but we don't stay there for long. From London we leave to Brussels, Belgium (Home to the world's best chocolate...sorry Switzerland....get an army and then we can fight about it). After 3 nights in Brussels we head to Paris, the home of Le Tour Eiffel, and home of the foreign language I failed to learn after 4 years of it. Having been to Paris before, I find myself wanting to do everything I didn't when i was there last (about 3 years ago) For those of you that haven't here is a quick video on some essentials:

My friend Nicholas got me into correspondence with a guy named Armando. He knows the ins and outs of Paris and gave me these suggestions (with more to come):

1- Chez George restaurant bar and terrace - Centre George Pompidou - best view of paris and very good food. Perfect for a sunny day

2- Kong's restaurant on top of the Kenzo building with nice view, good atmosphere, perfect for dinner and/or drinks, international crowd but necessarily touristy

3- Le Cab - restaurant and night club younger crowd for a late dinner and dancing starting around 1 am

4- ChaCha - Restaurant, lounge bar - the place for the young and fashionable Paris crowd - best to have dinner there otherwise it's almost impossible to get in unless you know someone

5- Hotel Amour for dinner and Chez Moune for drinks

So i'm going to have to check out a couple of those places.

So from Paris we head to Lausanne, Switzerland. I've been to Lucerne, Geneva and Zurich before, but not Lausanne, so I'm pretty excited. From there we are taking a side trip to Geneva and Gruyere, both about 45 minutes from Lausanne. I'm hoping while in Geneva I can make my way towards the LHC (Large Hadron Collider) at CERN (That thing that was going to destroy the world with a black hole for some of you).

From Lausanne we head to Innsbruck, Austria. I was in Innsbruck three years ago. I remember stopping by a Culinary Academy to create some Apple Streusel (I'm not a big fan). I will say out of all the countries in Europe i visited before, I find Austria to be the most beautiful. The mountains are amazing and Vienna is a fantastic city. We also are going to take a Day Trip to Sterzing, Italy which is about 45 minutes south of Innsbruck. It is the same route we took up to to Austria from Italy last time I was there, and it goes right through the mountains and is quite the scenic drive.

After Inssbruck we head to our last destination of Munich. I'm really excited about Munich because 1) I have yet to have travelled there and 2) We visiting with BMW and Paulaner Brauerei (Brewery). So we spend a couple days there and before we know it it's June 11th and we're on our way back home.

STAY TUNED!

During the Trip I'm going to be posting pictures, thoughts, experiences and much more right here. I'll have profiles of all the companies we visit as well as reviews of all the places i go to (attractions, restaurants, transportation, etc..).

Back to Finals Studying!

~Tyler