Our day started at 9:30 am when we met our guide Agnese and walked to our first company visit, Stenders. Stenders was established seven years ago in Riga and now has franchises throughout Europe and Asia. They hand make their own soaps, lotions, body oils, and scrubs. Not only do they make luxurious bath products, but also their own special towels and robes. They have a very unique way of wrapping gifts as well. They have personalized boxes that protect the most fragile items complete with dried flowers and scented straw. This company sells products for the emotions and feelings it brings to their customers, not just to sell a lotion or a soap. Standardization is key for Stenders. Each franchise must have a similar floor plan with fixed lighting and music which sets the mood of relaxation for their customers. They are continuously working on market research to find new recipes that are high in quality and healthy to their consumers. Stenders was the first company to sell these high end products and is now the largest in their industry.
The girls really enjoyed this company visit and with the ten percent discount, they bought a lot to take home to take home with them. The boys didn't seem to mind it much either, especially when they got hand massages from the cute employee. Notice Dr. Shook in the picture!
Then it was time lunch. We were all really excited about trying the noodle bar, Macaroni. Here's half the group that sat inside, afraid to brave the cool air outdoors. 
It's still freezing here, but we were lucky enough to avoid the rain today. The food was delicious, even if we weren't sure what some of it was. They made their own variety of noodles to choose from along with whatever sauce you could imagine. They also had really good sushi and the infamous Bangkok soup. Afterwards. it was time for ice cream. (It will never be TOO COLD for us to eat ice cream!)
Afterwards, it was back to our hotel, Hotel Riga, where we were serenaded by Karen and Brandon on the piano. Their specialties were Titanic and Love Song, respectively. (Sorry we don't have a picture/video of that!) It was then time to head to our second company visit of the day. Lattelecom delivers integrated and innovative IT&T business processes outsourcing their services to residential, SMC and corporate customers. This company offers services in Internet and television, as well as mobile phones. The mission of the company is to provide people with more opportunities in the age of information. They were very informative and even gave us a special gift: a delicious chocolate bar and a 1 GB USB key. We were really excited about that! After the visit to Lattelecom, we had the rest of the afternoon to ourselves. Agnese is really good about planning our days where we have free time to really explore the city.
This is one of the bridges we cross everyday. The scenery around it is absolutely breathtaking. Riga truly is a beautiful city. For most of us the free afternoon meant napping and laundry. For dinner, several of us went to the grocery store for bread, cheese & wine. We're getting a little tired of eating out and really ready for a home cooked meal. Below is a picture of our feast! We're going to the beach tomorrow, so hopefully the sun will decide to come out!
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