Brussels-Antwerp Journal 2: Showroom10 exports Greek Designers to the world

Thuesday  19/1/2016, 16:50  afternoon flight to Brussels. So exchited about this trip,  meet with new people, new shops and markets to discover. The first out of a series of trips that will follow for Showroom10.
Cosy flight , cold arrival at -4 degrees Brussels. Hosted at a traditional Belgium house, welcomed by friends , warm atmosphere.
Relaxing a little bit, some hot tea with milk and set our plans for the next day. Wednesday in Brussels, Thursday in Antwerp.


Wednesday 20/1/2016, cant wait to walk the trade center,and market places nearby. Started early at 9:00 am. The shops open at 10:00 and close at 18:00. So Rena and I will do a lot of walking . Lets buy a map, spot the shopping centers and study the metro.  Lets target the shops we know and the areas they are and of course the magic request lies in the ones we do not know. Off we go then.
Oops its colder today people!

The first out of a series of trips that will follow

It was a very cold day

Of course you ll see doors,(doors are actually my favourite part in a trip), and streets and paths and amazing buildings in our journal. These are the elements that create the surrounding but there are people als. The basic element in a journal are people. Warm or cold ,(sometimes the colder are actually the warmer), funny, or serious, joyful or sad, they add the most important drops in a such a survey. Actually they feel warmer that most Europeans and they are very helpful. The also speak English !!! Thats a nice thing you know. It feels friendlier. Ah, the city, Brussels! Brussels are flat and easy to walk, and manageably big in terms of finding ones way. Check these out:





13:00 and freezing, already made a start with new potential buyers and now a small break is necessary to catch our breath and reorganize our steps, so lets have a snack and some famous Belgian chocolate, at Pauls bakery .
Oh God there are ten persons per minute ordering and eating or taking away a snack here, they must know a secret. Nice and warm for a while , check the map for the next stop and on the road again. Rena is good in tracking !!! It smells like the best is yet to come.
We sure are going to light up Europe


  


19:30 evening becomes chillier and we ve been walking for more that 8 hours, we visited more that 20 shops today, walked with Rena to 5 different market places, and most of them welcomed our approach. The liked hearing, we are from Greece and they liked hearing that we go abroad to introduce our Greek Designer brands to Europe and more. Happy to meet us , they will read and learn about us, about Showroom10. No promises made, but sure it was nice hearing that we marching our brands abroad. Thoughts and ideas and plans are rolling in my haed. So so excited. Each start always feel like a unique endless moment. Hard and soft at the same time.
Lets buy a cake and get back to our friends. Its my nameday guys!!!

21/1/2016 day 2: We are going to Antwerp. Antwerp is not only the heart of diamonds but also a different fashion capital as well as the 2nd biggest port in Europe, after Amstedam! Did you know that? Moreover guess what? Today the weather is on our side, cold but sunny!

Arrival at the central train station, check it out , its absolutely magnificent !!!

Central train station

Central train station

Walking along tha main market we see all the big wide know fabulous store chains as well as new ones . There is a lot of people in the streets shopping and touring as the day is rather warm for the place and season.


  

Now lets visit our selected boutiques. Here’s what I mean describing a shop as more than a shop and the scents are all around!





We met with interesting buyers , discovered our selected stores and came across new ones. We have a fashion picture of Antwerp and sure people know how to dress in this part of the world. Moreover this market is surrounded by pasrty shops and marvelous coffee places, that can definitely make you happy, so lets have a latte and perhaps a brownie!

Lets have a latte and perhaps a brownie!

As our journey is closing we are already thinking about the next one, there one more thing to see: Antwerp Fashion museum that happents to exhibit an exciting shoe history. Mysterious and magic the display was and we entered all the dark rooms…there is fashion history here because anything can be a shoe!

There is fashion history here because anything can be a shoe

Antwerp Fashion museum

Antwerp Fashion museum

Antwerp Fashion museum

Shoe exhibition

Amazing tour… but now we really have to anjoy a nice dinner! We deserve it after all and guess who is meeting us from Amsterdam?
Stavrianna will join us and spend a beautifull evening before we go back to our friends in Brussels. Not another word from me, let Stavrianna's Olympus talk.

Mia and Rena, by Stavrianna

Mia and Stavrianna. Who's missing?

Rena and Mia in the end of a beautiful journey

Goodbye Antwerp , we loved the city and the central station

Rena and Mia in the end of a beautiful journey

A little tired but so happy we return to our trip base.
Chat with our friends, share our stories and say goodbuy. See you soon in Greece guys.