Friday July 22

It’s the last day of class here in Asolo, and the beginning of one of the more exciting parts of the trip. We had finals today in both classes, Problem Solving and Decision Making, where we had to solve a couple corporate problems using our new Kepner – Tregoe method. Then Dr. Blakely, our WVU professor, who was talking about how we needed to study a couple of articles and prepare to write about both…suprises us at the door of his exam with two stacks of papers. Asks which article we want to write about, and tells us to make sure it is under a page. How cool is that?

After the tests, I finished packing. There were 2 bus trips leaving this afternoon, one at 1:00 and one at 3:00. A bunch of us gathered at the door around 12:45 to wish the first group off. I went and did a last check of the room and ate my bag lunch. Then it was off to the computer lab to get the last of the free internet while I was in Europe.

Finally time came to head to the bus. We all stopped by everyone’s office and said goodbye. Went I went to hug Margarita (not the right spelling), who was our secretary, she puckered up and leaned in for a kiss. I was a little startled, and she started laughing. She was going to give me the customary kiss to each cheek, which I was not prepared for. It was quite funny. We made our way to the bus and out of the town of Asolo…until I return.

We made it to the bus stop and caught a train to Milan. We were excited and sad to see it go. In Milan, we paid a little extra to take a first class sleeper train to Barcelona. This was a very wise investment. In the first class cabins they have 4 chairs, which they put away when the attendant comes around about 10:30. Then 4 nicely made bunks are laid down for you. There is a sink, a place to hang clothes, and a place for you luggage. Since there were 5 of us…Dylan, Lenny, and I stayed in one cabin (with one spanish guy) and Meredith and Brian stayed in the other…we found out later that they had a double cabin which was more expensive and more roomy. We woke up in Barcelona really refreshed and about one hour late due to some problems at the border. We all slept well and felt pretty secure all night. We were ready to face the Saturday in Barcelona.