1. Carrie (left) finds out that her bag is 10lbs. over the limit! She took out a few things and weighed in at 49.5lbs., just under the 50lb. limit!
2. View of one of the many canals in Amsterdam.
3. Culture shock at its best: Some students just realizing that they are looking at a public restroom.
4. The group in front of the Stayokay youth hostel.
5. Tonya, a Finance major, was designated as the accountant for the group. Tonya's "disclaimer" is that Millikin did not teach her to handle Monopoly money. Nice try!
6. Heineken Brewery tour. The Heineken family has been brewing beer since 1864. Heineken is the largest brewer in Europe with their Heineken and Amstel brands at first and third respectively. The tour explained the brewing and distribution process on a large scale.
7. What a pose! The new "Heineken Girls" team!
8. Give it up guys! You don't have a chance!
's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands
1. Weighing John on the RAVAS Mobile Weighing System. Surprisingly, only the guys were interested in weighing themselves. Co-owner Henri Van Seumeren discussed with the group the decision and reasons to acquire their main competitor located in Germany and to move most of their production—except final assembly—to China.
2. Out to dinner with Henri and his wife Carol.
3. The Sint-Jan Cathedral is half-way through a ten-year, $50million renovation.
4. The impressive organ inside Sint-Jan's Cathedral.
5. Leaving our hotel in 's-Hertogenbosch.
Brussels, Belgium
1. Train to Brussels.
2. Group photo at the European Union Parliament.
3. The "Committee to Lengthen the School Year" fields questions from the Press.
4. Group photo at the Cantillon Brewery. The group received a private tour of this small-scale brewery which is over 100 years old. It remains in the Cantillon family to this day.
5. Cantillon produces a beer—called Lambic—that is spontaneously fermented in wood barrels an average of 3 years! Similar to wine, "traditional" Lambics can mature in a good cellar for 25 years. At the turn of the last century, Brussels was home to over 100 breweries. Today, few remain and Cantillon is now the last remaining traditional Lambic brewery there. "Modern" Lambics are produced in a few weeks and sweetened for a more mass market/global appeal.
6. The Cantillon Brewery owner (grandson-in-law) on the right and our tour guide.
7. Waiting for the high-speed train (up to 150mph!) to Paris.
8. Still waiting....
Paris, France
1. Business visit at Schlumberger, the world's largest oilfield services company specializes in helping oil companies such as ExxonMobil find and extract oil. Quick facts: $11.48 billion in revenue (2004); and 58,000 employees, 140 nationalities, operating in 80 countries. In this photo, a question is being posed to Stephen Whittaker, Director of Corporate Communications.
2. Mark Smith, Internal Communications Manager, explains an interesting trip he took last year to the Caspian GeoMarket for an article in the Schlumberger internal magazine.
3. Business visit and wine tasting with the co-owner of La Derniere Goutte wine shop and Fish, a great little restaurant just around the corner. Juan explained how he got started in the wine and restaurant business in Paris and what it's like doing business in France. He then moved to the highlight of the day — the wine tasting! No better experience than to learn about wine while in France. Nice touch having the spit buckets, but it won't be necessary for this group.
4. Looking, smelling, tasting... Some of the students are clearly wondering if the same could be done with beer. Nope, too time-consuming. Although, they have learned to enjoy long dinners with friends the way Europeans do.
5. Two wine experts enjoying a glass.
6. Teri shows a perfect example of how not to hold a glass of wine. Thanks Teri for reminding us,...always hold the stem!
7. Anne Flemming, founder and owner of Ad Nova, a marketing communications agency in Paris, shows students some of her agency's work for Intel and Thales. Anne explained to students how she got started and what it is like to operate a small 7-person firm in Paris.
1. Group photo in front of Notre Dame.
2. Chasing pigeons never gets old!
3. View from bridge near Notre Dame looking over the Seine river.
4. Sledding in the center of Paris.
5. Interesting view of the Louvre Museum.
6. Students in front of the Louvre Museum.
7. View of the Garnier Opera.
8. Learning to ride the Metro in Paris. Hey! Let me off! That was my stop!!!
9. Grilling at the dinner table? Not sure it would fly in the States, but it sure was fun...and good!
10. Group in front of the Palace of Versailles.
11. View in the "gardens" looking back at Versailles.
12. View looking out over a fountain and the lake at Versailles.
13. View of the Eiffel Tower.
14. Immitation is the greatest form of flattery.
15. View of a Paris street with some rare sunshine.
1. By law, sales in France can only take place during two designated periods. Here, people line up to get into Gucci at the start of the winter sales.
2. View of the Arc de Triomphe. Do drivers really use lanes?
3. Hey guys, back up just a little bit more....
"Fear Factor" Paris Style
1. Another new experience: Learning to eat escargot. It sounds soooo French, it must be good. What?! Snails?!! Is it too late to drop this course?
2. Okay, I saw you grasp it, pick it out, and eat it...BUT IT'S A SNAIL!!!
3. Carrie (left) still pleads her case, while Rose (right) is trying to figure out if it really tastes like chicken.
4. Way to go Carrie! If it weren't for cameras, no one would believe it. "Fear Factor" has nothing on these girls. Eat you heart out Joe Rogan!
Madrid, Spain
1. On the overnight train from Paris to Madrid: "Are your passports valid?"
2. Iberian Moto Tours group photo.
3. Scott Moreno, founder and co-owner of IMT, shows students some of the BMW motorcycles used on their tours through Spain, Portugal, the French Pyrenees and Morocco. Scott also explained how the dollar's slide affected the business and what they did to counter the negative effects.
4. One of three partners and Director of Motorcycles at IMT, Montxo is also Director of Movilnorte, the largest BMW dealership in Spain. Montxo makes sure that all IMT bikes are in top working order.
5. The group at a soccer game. There's Beckham! I'm sure of it. No, wait. There he is! No, wait....
6. Colegio Europeo de Madrid: Founder and owner, Martín Marsá, explained to students how she started her private school, which has grown in 15 years from a few children, including her own, to just under 1000 students and 130 employees. CEM focuses on all five senses from pre-school through high school. Languages, art, music, chess and physical activities play an important complementary role to academics. As an example, CEM was the first school to take 3-year-old children to the Prado museum. Although skeptical at first, museum administrators were pleasantly surprised to find that the children knew more about the various paintings than most of the adults visiting the museum.
7. Sorry, you can't stay...you don't have the right uniform.
8. The children are so well-behaved...and the ones in green too!
9,10,11 At Vaughan Radio, a bi-lingual radio station in Madrid, students were interviewed by talk show host Drew Crosby about their life back in the United States and their trip through Europe. The listener base is between 75,000-125,000 at any one time.
1. In front of the Royal Palace.
2. Royal Palace.
3. Cathedral at the Royal Palace.
THE END!!!
