Ciao Travellers!

Finally I can let you all in on a project I've been working on. I'm a big fan of the Aussie site, Ciao Bella Travel, makers of the handy 'Single Shots' travel toiletries range.

Aside from these extremely popular products, CBT also carry a wide range of cute travel accessories- from bags and tags to gadgets to make life on the road easier.


The girls at Ciao Bella also have some great travel tips, blog articles, city guides and a travel forum- so you'll never miss those must-see places or local secrets on your holiday.

I'm also pleased to say that the CBT girls & I have teamed up to bring you 'Ask the Flight Attendant'- a new section of their newsletter aimed at answering those things you always wanted to know about travel & flying, but were too afraid to ask!


So pop on over to Ciao Bella Travel, check it out & sign up for the newsletter- you'll be glad you did! In case that's not enough to tempt you, check out "Bella Benefits"- great discounts at some cool places. Best of all, Ciao Bella are based in Brisbane- I love Aussie brands! :)

If you have a question you'd like to see answered in the next Ciao Bella newsletter, send an email to info(at)ciaobellatravel.com.au or Tweet me! :)

Travel Finds & Treats!

One of the perks of being a globe-trotting flight attenndant* is the fact that one gets to spend time in various cities, and frequently getting to return to those same cities, so that one can seek out new shopping haunts, places to eat and relax or just find that perfect gift for a friend or loved one that no one else at home has.

Now my regular readers will know that I do love a bit of a shop, sometimes too much so lately (my poor credit card, ouch!) which has resulted in my cutting the worst offender into four pieces and leaving it in the bottom of my dresser drawer. But I digress...

On my travels, I have found some of my most loved items in places such as airport gift shops, chemist and newsagents. Since a lot of fun can be had even window-shopping, I'm going to share some of the designers & places that put a smile on my face. Maybe you might discover something new...

The first is Catherine Manuell Design, an Australian luggage & accessories brand which has been around for about 11 years. Manuell has been designing a lot longer, however. Her colorful designs are well known and can now be seen in many a business & even economy cabin, standing out proud on the baggage carousel.


Here's a bit behind her design choices:

Black spells 'classic' in a lot of instances. There are cars that look better in black than in any other colour (okay, perhaps we'll give you an occasional red), bank account balances, and be honest; a penguin suit really has no business being anything else.

But luggage? Well, it can make for a confusing time at the carousel - which is exactly what Catherine Manuell thought eleven years ago.

"I've always loved colour, so when I came to buy luggage, I never wanted a black bag, but I realized that was basically all that was available," says Manuell. "I thought it was pretty dull and I was suprised that there was no more choice available, and so I decided to create something completely different for myself and others!”

And plain black is a far cry from the range that Catherine Manuell Design (CMD) now sports. Forget plain black, think faux red croc, french peasant prints or cranberry alligator, floral haby's, swirl black flat fur, poppies, and Aboriginal artist painting prints - the list of options is long.

One of my first purchases as an 'international air hostess' was a CMD luggage tag, bought while my flight was delayed in Darwin airport. (Of the lily-pad carpet fame in 'The Amazing Race') I still have it now and it started off my rather strong obssession with luggage tags. Among others I have the Singapore girl tag, a retro 50's tag, and pin-up girl tags.

Next on the list is Christopher Vine, another Australian designer probably best known for his homewares such as mugs, plates and other knick-knacks featuring feminine shoes, corsets & clothing.

As well as those, he does a cute line of cosmetic bags, luggage tags and stationery. Another favourite in my collection is his 'First Class' cosmetic bag, with retro flight attendant print & some Pan Am-style zipper pulls. Too cute!

One of my more recent discoveries was the gorgeous Sex Kitten Boutique in Brisbane, Australia.

This place is worth going to just to gape at the fitout alone! If you're a girly girl, love chic French boudoir style or burlesque, you'll want to put this on your list of places to see! From gorgeous retro-styled dresses, to day-wearable corset tops, cheeky lingerie & some beautiful jewellery & accessories, they've got a little bit of everything to satisfy your inner Dita von Teese. The branding is very thorough, right down to the price tags but I just love it! The clothes are heading towards expensive, but this is because they are limited in each edition, so you won't see the dress on every second girl. One of my favorites is the Chicago Pinstripe dress.

Very sharp!

You can take a virtual tour of the boutique if you're a bit too far away to visit in person. The best part is, Shipping is Free with Australia, and only $30 for International orders! =)

Stay tuned for my next few Travel Treatie Discoveries!

*(However, not as much of the globe as I would currently like)

Brisvegas Travels...

Well, I had so much planned to post on my original blog, but it seems that JournalSpace has bitten the dust- possibly for good. I found out too late that the archive backup feature doesn't save the favourites-only posts. Crap. Oh well at least I have my original blogs back from 2005 when I first started blogging. Better than nothing I guess!

So I recently went to Brisvegas (or Brisbane for you non-Aussies) which isn't unusual, but for once it wasn't a late night arrival with a minimum layover then out on some horrendous red-eye flight to god knows where. We actually got decent layover time. Which of course is bad for the credit card as my older readers will know I love to shop in Brissie!

We had a bit of action early on in the trip as one of the crew was hurt in turbulence, we then had to get a replacement (sound familiar SHB???) :p Not much else happened on the flight which as it turns out was bad as we were all walking around trying to stay awake. *yawn*

I had full intentions of getting a good night's sleep then heading out for a walk in the park before getting something to eat and maybe just a LITTLE bit of shopping. Of course I ended up oversleeping and went straight to Queen St Mall for something to eat. Good old Subway, means I don't feel too guilty about what I ate for lunch. (Italian BMT with extra olives if you must know)

Bought an awesome pair of shoes, whih unfortunately didn't come in my size, but were exactly my sister's size, so those are her early birthday present (hers is in January)

Wandered around playing with all of the new makeup testers in Myer, spritzed on some new perfumes to try and just generally looked around. Really needed new jeans and managed to find a half-decent pair. I really want a pair of jean-style pants butin black (not that black denim but totally black, you know they're cut like jeans but black stretch not denim) but could I find some that WEREN'T skinny-leg jeans??? Noooooo. What is with this obssession with skinny leg jeans? They look good on hardly anyone except size 2 models. The salesgirl kept trying to convince me to buy them and I said to her eventually, helloooooooo, have you LOOKED at my figure? I'm all hips and ass with thin legs, if I wear those I will look like a beer keg!!!

Managed also to score two pairs of cropped jeans on sale (capri I suppose they are called) to replace my old faithfuls which are sadly looking less than stellar.

After stopping back by Myer to take advtange of their 40% off perfume, I got my standard Gloria Jean's iced choc and wandered slowly back towards the hotel. Took a few happy snaps on the way.

Christmas tree made of suspended giant Ferrero Rocher chocolates... sadly the photo from the top of the tree didn't turn out...


Tree in front of casino and the library square... and check out the outfit of the girl walking past lol... it was really hot that day, what's with the socks?!


Close up of the reindeer...


Casino building with those funky metal balls. I really need to go at night when they're lit up... how cool




Festive windows in the Myer shopfront which had moving Santa puppets.






Storm brewing...


I love these metal globe things, they're awesome!