Janelle's European Lingerie Tour - Day Four - Part Two

Well, it's the last day of my European Lingerie Tour. Bittersweet, because while I miss all the SOL Girls back home, I really could stay here in this beautiful place a long time.

You cannot visit Barcelona without seeing some of Antoni Gaudi's buildings. He is the defining architect of the city

The Sagrada Famila Basilica has been under construction for 129 years

Perhaps the most famous of Gaudi's works, it was consecrated by the Pope in 2010, it is set to be complete in 2018. It truly is indescribable and I suggest putting it on your must-see list! 

Barcelona is an very livable city; bike friendly, easy to walk around, mild Mediterranean weather. On our tour through the historic streets, we came across their famous, must-see open air food market called Mercat de la Boqueria.  It is the largest outdoor food market in all of Europe and the sights, sounds and smells of it are unbelievable. I wish I could bring back bags and bags of all the lovely fruits and vegetables I saw. 

September/October is mushroom season in Barcelona! So many kinds!

En route to our goodbye dinner we strolled through Roman ruins from 300 AD.

Can you even imagine the things that have happened here?

We arrived at the stylish Boca Grande where we had yet another incredible meal! we enjoyed a traditional Spanish dish of fish prepared and served in sea salt...extremely tender and delicious!  

That just looks like rice. It's sea salt! So yummy.

Is it really our last night? 

It was a lovely, drawn out dinner where I had the opportunity to catch up with Vicenc, who has been at Andres Sarda for eighteen years. He's been our account rep since 2005. I also met Carlos Mira, the Marketing Director for the company. It's official. Our SOL Man Bruce isn't the only man in the lingerie industry!

Seriously, how cute are they?

We don't wanna go home!

The late night gathering was the perfect ending to a wonderful trip! I want to say thank you to Inge for inviting us and planning such a memorable experience. It is rare to meet and talk to other women who understand bra fitting the way we do. 

I really learned from all of you.  Zee, Savannah, Judy, Eva, Jamie, Marla, Pam, Janet, Viktoria, Colleen, Susan and Kristy…. Thank you for all the laughter!  I’m still amazed at how well we all clicked. Until next time! 

And thank you to all who have followed my adventures. 

xoxo,

Janelle 

Janelle's European Lingerie Tour - Day Four, Part One

I cannot believe it's the last day of my trip. Say it isn't so! I could explore here for months and not see everything I want to.

So. Barcelona! So beautiful. We arrived late and scooted off to a late dinner of tapas at El Chiringuito del Vela.  It was the perfect welcome to Barcelona.  The view of the beach and skyline was incredible. The paella...bigger than our heads and divine. 

The beach spread out before us and I made a note to come back here when I could stay and stay. And stay! And I can also whole-heartedly recommend the Hotel Actual -  a lovely, modern hotel perfectly situated in the historic center on Passeig de Gràcias. 

Back to the business of lingerie - Barcelona is the home of Andres Sarda, a Spanish line SOL has been carrying for many years...almost as long as the Daisy Bra line from Marie Jo! The next day was all about discovering more about them.   

A tour of the Andres Sarda design center was like being in a candy store full of lace, gems and embroidery. Nuria Sarda is the designer for the brand and explained the steps she goes through to design her beautiful lingerie and swim wear. (My favorite!)

She was captivating. So inspired and passionate.

She described everything, from choosing fabric for lingerie...or a swimsuit pattern, 

To choosing the lace

To the jeweled accessory!

I'll take them all, please.

All the products are made right there - in the center of beautiful Barcelona!

It's truly a work of art - planned by artisans, made by craftspeople, in one of the most lovely places in the world.

And finally, the finished piece!  Did you notice that this is the same set that the Quality Control person was checking in Schellebelle?  We have come full circle!

It's been a long day. I'm off to take a little siesta (when in Spain do what the Spanish do..) and will report back about our last night later!

xoxo

Janelle

Janelle's European Lingerie Tour - Day Three

The tour of Belgian culture continues and I truly am smitten. What a charming and lovely place, such the perfect mix of old and new.

Today, we were about an hour from Ghent and took a detour to Brugge. Brugge is a classic old world city that is actually a  World Heritage Site due to its street pattern - which originates back to  medieval times. (!) For an American, this is almost hard to fathom. Do we have any streets in Denver more than 100 years old? Imagine 1,000! 

The city’s architecture is nothing less than fantastic. The city was spared from any bombings during the World Wars, and thus its architecture is completely original. In fact, it has not been attacked since the middle ages.  Some of you may be familiar with it from Colin Farrell’s dark comedy a few years back called “En Brugge.”  Of course, no one was thrown off the top of the Bell Tower on our trip. Well. That I know of.

Can you see me poking my head out of a window up there, all Rupunzel-style?  Well, except I have short hair.

If you go to Belgium you simply MUST experience their famous chocolate, and chocolate and also...their chocolate! There are fifty-five chocolate shops in this small town alone!

Must. Eat. It. All.

Godiva is the most well known but alas, there is much more to the chocolate world than that. Here I am getting up the nerve for the Sake flavored piece.  Tasty.  The Wasabi flavored piece??  Let's just say I prefer my wasabi with my sushi, when I'm expecting to have my mouth go on fire.

Any chocolate is a good chocolate.

I also saw bacon, fried onion and pepper flavored chocolates. They were created by a Michelin-starred chocolatiere called The Chocolate Line. 

To wash down all this chocolate?

My favorite beer?  Cold.

Beer.  Stella Artois may be one of their most well known Belgian beers in the States, but Belgium has more than 400 breweries. We visited a bar well-known for their huge selection of beers. When Pam asked if they had a blonde - or light colored beer our waitress responded, "Yes! 110 kinds!"

Travel is all about the adventure - getting out of your routine, seeing things you would never see at home. And I gotta tell you, this is something I never thought I'd see. Anywhere. I can't even explain it, really. Here. Take a look.

A woman's urinal. Yep. That's what it is.

And with that? We're off to Barcelona.

More tomorrow!
-Janelle

Janelle's European Lingerie Tour - Day Two

It seems like a big theme on this trip will be food. As someone who usually eats lunch at her desk and dinner while leaning on the kitchen counter...I am not complaining.

Today we were joined by Dirk De Vos, International Sales Manager from Van de Velde. He is the only man in our group of fifteen women.

He seems fairly comfortable with the male-female ratios, doesn't he?

We spent some time walking the lovely streets of Ghent where we saw a lot of beautiful lingerie!

This window features the new Marie Jo and Andres Sarda. Ruby Daisy alert!

Then we loaded onto a bus and took a short ride from Ghent to Schellebelle, where Van de Velde's design center, manufacturing facility, quality control center and shipping warehouse are located. We got to meet a lot of their staff - so warm and welcoming. 


I have to say, it is really exciting seeing the very first steps in the design process for something that ultimately becomes a bra, and possibly one that is one of your favorites.

Who says bras need to be black, nude or white?  Look at all these glorious colors!

Then, how does it fit?

They really do check and test every.single.piece. of EVERYTHING (fabric, lace, hardware) before it ships. Check out the attention to detail!

She was concentrating so intently she didn't even realize I took her picture.

 And then...time to eat! Yay!  

We headed back to the center of historic Ghent to the Ghent River Hotel.

Located right on the canal, it has a lovely dock where you can take evening boat tours of the city.

Is it really so hard to believe that a boat and canal offer a fantastic backdrop for sharing bra fitting tips and ideas?

Some of the very helpful Van de Velde customer service reps joined us. So fun.

Tomorrow? Off to Brugge, Belgium...famous for Godiva chocolate...Mmmmm.

xoxo,

Janelle

Janelle's European Lingerie Tour - Day One

Toto, we're not in Colorado anymore.

Lingerie is a European invention, and as such, most quality lingerie is still designed and manufactured there. Which means, for me to properly do my job at SOL (which for those who don't know me, is Marketing Director) ...sometimes Cindy has to twist my arm and force me to go to Europe.

Yes, I know. Poor me. (Squeal!) But I'm taking YOU all along with me!  I'll be blogging for the next 4 days, reporting back all that I've learned and experienced. 

First stop...Belgium!

Van de Velde is a Belgian company that designs some of our most popular brands. They’ve invited bra fitters from six of their top stores in North America to Ghent, Belgium and on then to Barcelona, Spain. We'll get to meet their staff, tour their design centers, do some sightseeing and…most importantly...meet each other to exchange ideas and enthusiasm about bra fitting.    

Have I mentioned yet how much I really love my job?

That's me in the red glasses - just after we arrived.

Inge van Hecke (front right) is their fabulous Director of North America and our welcoming guide. Hi Inge! The women represent stores from Vancouver, Toronto, South Carolina, Connecticut and, of course, SOL!

Look how hard we are all working! Okay, maybe this was taken during a break.

We dined at the Belga Queen and  I shocked a few of my colleagues by ordering steak tartare. It was a good idea, as it just happens to be a Belgian specialty.

Beautiful, no? I love artful presentation almost as much as food!

See that little thimble in the middle of the meat? It held a tiny serving of a special Belgian gin called “jenever."

  
Read more about it here... but suffice it to say, YUM. 

Ghent is a picturesque medieval city, with cobblestone streets and fantastic architecture.

We learned, though, that the weather is usually gray and rainy, in fact, it rained all summer. Fortunately for Ghent, we North Americans brought along some beautiful Denver blue skies with us and our first day was their warmest October day in NINETY YEARS. Yes, NINETY. We are kind of their heroes now.

See, they even had Guards for us!

The outdoor cafes were packed, canals were full of boats and happy people lined the canals and streets, soaking up the sun.

You are welcome, Ghent. Anytime.

As in many parts of Europe with small streets, the main mode of transportation in Ghent is the bicycle. People of all ages and sizes ride around on bikes of all types... but they're mostly older single speed models.

I love his bell!

And a little rain can’t stop you!  Tie on your scarf and you are ready to go! 

 She just pulled out a scarf and kept pedaling!

Even the public art encouraged a bimodal lifestyle. So cool. I love Belgium!

Jet lag kicking in, time for bed. I can't wait for tomorrow. We're going to tour the Van de Velde factory, see more sights, and eat more heavenly food. 

xoxo,

Janelle