World Beauty-Turkey

Discovering local beauty treasures when travelling is very exciting!
Check out this amazing soap from Turkey. The Muftuoglu family have been making these little beauties since 1910! A wonderful mix of pure olive and sweet bay leaf oil made right along the Southern Mediterranean coast of Turkey.

RIO: where to stay

Check into this classic establishment where service and style go hand in hand!
The Copacabana Palace built in 1923 is a landmark French Riviera-style palace.
Don't forget to ask for a room overlooking one of the world's most famous beaches!

Getting to Rio

Getting to Rio is a snap! With over 25 international airlines flying into Rio's Galeao international airport there are options galore. Brazil's largest airline TAM is wonderful, with great service!

Destination of the Month: Rio de Janeiro

Rio has to be not only the most beautiful cities on the planet, but also the most sexy!
The city is busy transforming itself for the upcoming world cup in 2014 and the 2016 Summer Olympics.
The time to hit it is now!

off to market

Cologne really has to be the top contender when it comes to Christmas Markets. The city hosts not one but six separate markets over the city. Sure beats trekking to the mall!

jet pack

I have been in love with the Kevin Murphy hair product line for some time now. I was delighted to see they have developed a new travel collection called Jet.Pak. It comes with 40ml Hydrate-Me.Wash, 40ml Hydrate-Me.Rinse, Anti.Gravity oil free volumiser, 50ml Session.Spray and 57ml Fresh.hair dry shampoo!
If the product doesn't hook ya (believe me it will) the slickly designed products (in a cute mesh travel bag) sure will!

Musical Chairs

Perhaps this is the most innovative suitcase ever? This badboy not only totes your clothes but doubles as a handy seat. This little gem's secret weapon is it's built-in speaker system! Musical chairs anyone?

Perfectly Posh!

The Beaufort Bar at the newly reopened Savoy hotel in London has reopened after undergoing a $350-million restoration, by designer Pierre-Yves Rochon. With it theatrical Art Deco jet-black walls and soaring alcoves of burnished gold leaf it truly is THE place to sip Champagne!

Performance anxiety

Now we have all been in the situation...you are in a new city and are dying for a toilet. Well check out this one in Lausanne, Switzerland, it's completely transparent (almost..until you push the button)! Check out this video that gives you a quick demo.

Bookish airport!

We now have yet another reason to love Amsterdam's Schipol airport! Now housing the world's first airport Library with 1.250 book, 5 ipads this area of approx.90m2 is a surprising area for airport refuse!

carry-on

I'm not sure what it is about utilitarian style canvas bags, but I just cannot seem to get enough!
Not only do they look great but they are wonderful for travel. The latest to spark my interest is a line from Chester Wallace! The denim one has already been added to my Christmas list!

stopover: Amsterdam!

On a recent trip to Prague, my friend and I found ourselves with a few hours to kill on a layover in Amsterdam. Now as much as I love Schiphol airport my friend who had never visited Amsterdam was eager to explore. Downtown being only a mere 20 minute train ride from the airport we quickly dashed off.

With only 5 hours we knew that we would only scratch the surface, I also knew that the cool area of The Jordaan would offer my friend a good taste of the city.
after a quick coffee and pastry at one of the many great cafes we were off...



First we popped into a favorite antique store called Nostalgia. They offer a great variety from all over Europe. What I love is the fact that they offer a large variety of smaller pieces which you can easily tuck into you bag...many make memorable and affordable souvenirs or gifts.


Speaking of bags, just down the street is a wonderful shop called Property of... This Singapore based men's bag company decided on Amsterdam for their European outpost. The shop is in a handsome old canal house. Many of the bags and wallets will also appeal to women with their polished utilitarian/ military twist. I may have been guilty of buying one for a larger carry-on!



With being on a long trans-Atlantic flight our skin could do with some TLC. C. cosmetics was just the place! All the items available here are natural and organic. Many of the cosmetics are from smaller quality "boutique" lines from areas across Europe. If more time allowed we would have been tempted to try one of their treatments!



Before dashing back to the airport we made a quick stop at 't Goede Soet Chocolate shop . Here you can choose from a large variety of homemade bon-bon's made with callebaut chocolate. Your selection of homemade (please try the earl gray!) is packaged in your choice of a beautiful gift box. This beats a bar of airport duty-free chocolate any day!

Check-in (Allen)

NAME: Allen
SPOTTED: Singapore
DESTINATION: Hong Kong
OCCUPATION: Teacher
FAVORITE DESTINATION: The Netherlands
WISHES TO VISIT: Switzerland
WHY HE CAUGHT OUR EYE:
-His urban casual look
-A simple yet comfortable well fitting black t-shirt layered with a nicely textured sweater.
-Slim fit jeans in a mustard hue add a nice hit of colour
-Well-worn leather lace-up boots say comfort and worldliness.
-An over sized military inspired tote allows for ample space as a carry-on

ALLEN'S TRAVEL ESSENTIALS: a reliable well charged laptop, a great book and a PSP is all you need to help any flight fly by!

On the Fly!

Gorgeous! Wallpaper* s tribute to the best flight attendant uniforms through history!

Check-in (Alvaro)

NAME: Alvaro
SPOTTED: Prague
DESTINATION: Toronto
OCCUPATION: Photographer
FAVORITE DESTINATION: Barbados
WISHES TO VISIT: Paris
WHY HE CAUGHT OUR EYE:
-His clean and polished look!
-Hot Ray Ban Polarized sun glasses...great to hide behind after those those red-eye flights!
-Neatly tailored jacket...nothing increases your chances more for an upgrade!
-Stylish and practical scarf...those long flights can be chilly!
-Jack Spade duffel and M0851 shoulder bag...both instant classics and extremely practical.

TRAVEL STYLE ADVICE:
-Get shirts pressed, folded and packed in dry cleaning bags. When you arrive you are set to go, you'll shirts will look crisp and fresh!
-Use a roller bag with a top garment bag section...this helps keeps things in their place.
-All other items....Roll! Keeps out the wrinkles and you can pack more!
-Plan your outfits, you can easily re-work all bottom items.

ALVARO'S TRAVEL ESSENTIALS: Kiehl's Eye Alert! and Muji's mesh bags help keep everything organized and in it's place!