It was a trip to remember for Summit Footwear store manager Jacinda Foulkes and store owner Jocelyn Brunner, as they got to reap the rewards after winning a national contest last year.

The contest was held by El Naturalista, a Spanish shoe maker, who sent out some details for a national contest to all their retailers.

The staff at Summit Footwear in Invermere decided to take the challenge and created a window display that included the spring/summer line and had to include six colours and four different styles.

The final product included an assortment of women’s sandals and shoes set on a background of moss and willow branches to go along with the nature-inspired, eco-conscious design of the shoes themselves. In the end the store won and the women just recently took the trip.

“We were excited to go like many people are when travelling. It was a great trip,” said Brunner.

The pair got to go to Barcelona and Pampolona during the trip. While in Pampolona they met up with a member of the shoe company’s staff, who gave them a personal tour through the city.

“They took us to their head office for a day and we got to meet the owners of the company and all their staff. On another day we got to go to their factories and see how things worked,” she said.

The pair agreed that having the chance to see the amount of work that goes into the company making shoes was an amazing experience and would help them explain to customers the process of making their products.

As for travelling in Spain, the women worked around not knowing the language and eating later than normal to have a wonderful experience taking in the sights and sounds of a beautiful European country.