Author Archives: Shelli

About Shelli

Shelli Stein is a health and fitness entrepreneur who travels the world in search of culture, food, and fun! Besides contributing to Travel with Grant, you can find her at Joy in Movement.

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40% Bonus when you Buy Alaska Airlines Miles (Expires April 9)

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We all have our favorite airlines and miles programs. Maybe I’m biased because I usually start my travels from the West Coast, but I’m a big fan of Alaska Airlines and can never have too many Alaska miles. If your Alaska miles account is short on miles, Alaska has a 40% offer on purchased miles expiring on April 9. This brings the cost to 2.1 cents per mile. Alaska miles have great value for me. Why? I like that Alaska isn’t a part of an airline alliance, but rather that they have a long list of airline partners that offer incredible business and first class products. My two favorite Alaska Airlines partners are Cathay Pacific and Japan Airlines. I recently flew Cathay Pacific Business Class to Asia. My first time flying Cathay Pacific was back in 2012, and even after all these years and having flown many different airlines, I’m still a huge Cathay Pacific fan. I have a Japan Airlines flight booked using Alaska miles, so I’m really looking forward to experiencing their current product.

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New Ice Cream Parlor Open in San Diego – Should you Try It?

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There was quite a buzz when rumors started that a new ice cream place would be coming to San Diego. I wouldn’t say San Diego is a big ice cream town at all. As much as I like great ice cream, I only enjoy gelato here because I’ve never sampled ice cream in San Diego that I thought was very good. Having grown up on the east coast, and having lived in many places where there are many choices for great ice cream, well, San Diego just doesn’t cut it as an ice cream city.

Last summer, it was officially announced. Salt and Straw, the Portland, Oregon based, family-run by two cousins, small batch ice cream shop would be opening up in San Diego’s Little Italy area. They finally did open just before New Year’s. Recently, I went down to Salt and Straw and spent a few hours talking with one of the managers about ice cream, the company, and its location here in San Diego. Before I give you the full scoop, though, let me first tell you about my relationship with Salt and Straw ice cream.

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How to Prevent your Hilton Points from Expiring

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A friend of mine recently asked me if her Hilton points will expire. That got me thinking that sometimes people don’t even realize that points do in fact expire. Also, keeping track of hotel points expiration dates can be tricky. It’s true that there are multiple ways of doing this and you’ve likely found one that works best for you. We often think of points as a currency and since currency doesn’t expire, we forget that points do! So the first answer I gave her was that YES, Hilton points do expire.

Hilton Hotels loyalty program is called Hilton Honors and the points expire when the account has had no eligible activity in a 12-month period. Of course, after telling this to my friend, I knew her next logical question would be, HOW do I keep my points from expiring? Good thing there are many ways to do this, so let’s refresh your memory on this topic, too. Here’s what I told her:

Eligible activity that will keep your Hilton Honors points from expiring include some obvious and some less obvious options, such as:

  • Staying at a Hilton property on a points-earning eligible rate
  • Putting spend on a co-branded Hilton credit card to earn points
  • Participating in the Hilton Dining Program and have a qualifying dining expense
  • Shopping online through the Hilton Honors Shopping Portal
  • Transferring points to a Hilton Honors account from an external program, such as American Express Membership Rewards
  • Purchasing points
  • Earning points using programs such as e-Rewards or eMiles
  • Using Hilton Honors points to shop at Amazon

Let’s take a closer look at some of these options. Continue reading →

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Shelli’s World Coffee Tour – Coffee Houses in Lisbon, Portugal

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I guess it’s time for a true confession. I’m a coffee snob. And when I travel, I have a passion for supporting local roasters and coffee houses. Let’s just say I’ve BEAN Around the World and I’m feeling like now is the time to start sharing the love… and caffeine, one city at a time. Recently, I had a wonderful holiday in Portugal, which focused on Lisbon. And though it was hard to tear myself away from the incredible pastry scene, I did explore the coffee houses, and I’m glad I did. Lisbon, because of it’s traditional ways of drinking coffee, has one of the more challenging scenes when it comes to the one-off local roaster and coffee shop business. I drank plenty of coffee, talked with baristas, and I’ve got lots to share with you. Let’s open the TWG cafe society doors and talk coffee, Lisbon style.

When I travel, I only review and like to support coffee houses that roast their own beans or use locally roasted beans. But before understanding what’s called the “New Wave” of coffee houses, it’s important to understand the history of how people in Lisbon take their coffee. If you’ve been in Lisbon, you’ve heard the locals order “bica.” Bica is the term for coffee and it stands for Beba Isto Com Acucar. You’ll receive an espresso Italian style, and the custom is to drink it standing up at the coffee bar. It will cost you under 1 euro. B.I.C.A. actually stands for Please Drink With Sugar, because the espresso can have a rather sour taste. The main supplier of coffee for the espresso is Delta. Delta is a Portuguese coffee roasting company and even though they have their own cafes, they still supply most of the Iberian Peninsula with coffee. So basically people in Lisbon are getting their “espresso for kicks”, as they say, all day long! In fact, hanging out with friends who live in Lisbon meant stopping for many shots all day long.

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BICA style coffee using Delta coffee

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My 4 Favorite Restaurants in Portugal

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It’s always a treat to try some famous higher end restaurants when you travel. I’ll admit to not always taking the opportunity to do this. And of course “famous” can mean a lot of different things. When I say “famous” I mean restaurants that are run by well-known local chefs who usually I’ve never heard of. Famous can also mean that the locals eat here and absolutely rave about it and may not have any association with a local chef celebrity at all. In Portugal, I had the opportunity to try four restaurants that I’ve been meaning to tell you about. I also contribute my favorite of all the gelato places!

Do you enjoy ceviche? If so, A Cevicheria in the Principe Real area of Lisbon is a must. I spent quite a bit of time both in Principe Real as well as walking through the area to get to other neighborhoods, so I passed this place a few times and didn’t realize what it was. The menu is dedicated to South American cuisine, especially Peruvian tapas and Ceviche. It’s the creation of Portuguese Chef Kiko Martins.

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Cevicheria Cornbread Starter

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