It’s the final countdown, t-minus 1 day until we leave Italy. While I am not ready to leave the beautiful country that is Italy, I am ready to be home, get into a routine, and have some quiet time.
Our only (and final) media visit of the day was Hearst Italia. Hearst owns several different magazines, including Cosmopolitan, Elle, and Marie Claire. We toured the different floors and spoke to so many employees in different positions at the company.
One thing I noticed was that everyone at Hearst was so willing to talk with us and answer questions. Even questions that dealt with body image and changing dynamics in the model industry. Also, they are all so passionate about what they do.
Actually, this is a trend I have noticed at almost all of our media visits. These people are so happy to be doing the work that they are doing and truly want to make a difference. I hope when I move into a full-time career path that I can enjoy my work as much as they do.
The afternoon was at our leisure to shop or sightsee around Milan. While I didn’t do much shopping, I picked up some last minute souvenirs (Venchi’s chocolate, yum) and made a pit stop at Luini’s again (double the yum!)
The evening concluded with our special farewell group dinner. It was held at AUUM, which was a short walk from our hotel. This was much appreciated as we all were most likely tired of walking at this point in the trip.
This was the dinner of all dinners.
It started with a tasty appetizer of various cold-cuts and an endless surprise of bread. I probably say this after every meal, but this was the best bread of my trip and I ate waaaay too much of it. Next came the most delicious plate of ravioli I had ever tasted. 
I was pleasantly surprised with how good it tasted. The main course was steak and roasted potatoes. I seriously cannot get enough of those potatoes, that may be one of the biggest things I miss back home. Sadly, I didn’t eat the steak, as they served it to us rare. I’ll admit I’m incredibly picky and only eat my steak well done. (At least I was full from all the bread and ravioli.)
Dinner included with a surprise rendition of happy birthday for the one girl on our trip, and we were all treated with a slice of cake and glass of champagne.
Another highlight of the dinner was getting to know our Milan tour guide, Serena, better. My friends and I shared our embarrassing and funny stories from the entire trip, and she got a kick out of it to say the least. She even joined in and started making jokes about it herself.
This dinner was the perfect way to end the trip on a high note. I made so many friends that I probably wouldn’t have known well otherwise, and I felt like I had a lot to take away from the media and culture trips.
I can’t wait to look back on this trip in the years to come and remember the memories I made here. For now, I need to focus on getting packed, waking up at 5 AM, and handling a whole day of traveling in front of me.
Until next time Italy. Ciao ciao!