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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What do I do When I’m Stumped Booking an Award Ticket?

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Do you ever get frustrated when you’re booking an award ticket? Or trying to use points for hotel rooms? Or are those the stupidest questions ever? Of course you do. I do, we all do.  Even Grant gets his knickers in a twist every now and again when booking his travels!

A few months ago, Jennifer at Jetsetter’s Homestead wrote about what to do when your seat assignment sucks, as well as other travel mistakes she’s made. I like her writing style because she’s honest about when things go wrong and when she forgets to use her own best practices, but she’s also proactive about fixing situations as best she can. She talks about screwing up seat assignments, having to sometimes switch flights, and other costly mistakes she has made, and it got me thinking about the cost of travel, especially travel using miles and points, that goes beyond the fees we pay that are tacked onto award tickets or hotels booked with points. There’s a cost to the time we spend researching and actually booking our flights. The cost time ratio is one we all have to figure out.

I’m busy, both professionally and personally, as I’m sure you are too. And while I take enormous pleasure in the awesome privilege of traveling, it’s the travel and the planning of what to see and explore that actually brings me pleasure, not booking the trips. I know for some, it’s the game of accruing miles and points that’s the most fun. And for others, it’s the hunt for the perfect award space or crazy routing that’s possible on award trips. But I’m in neither of those camps. My camp is called Camp Get Me There In Business Class With A Lie Flat Seat. I have a feeling (due to the lack of business class award seats), that my camp is full of people just like me :)

a bed in an airplane

Lufthansa A380 Lie Flat First Class Seat.
Image source: https://www.businesstraveller.com/news/2015/01/11/lufthansa-a380-what-you-need-to-know/

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a group of babies sleeping

The Real Story Behind the Siesta Culture

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When you’re in certain European countries, thanks to the concept of a midday siesta, conducting business or even going out for a meal can be a challenge. Recently, when I was in Florence, I needed to go to a travel agency to see about purchasing a train ticket. The staff at the hotel told me they better call ahead because at this hour (it was about 1pm) the agency would likely be closed for the long siesta midday lunch. Sure enough, the agency was closed and I was told to go there much later in the day. I wasn’t really sure if the siesta idea was followed outside of the smaller towns and cities, but judging from my most recent trip to Europe, it’s definitely still being honored.

But this article explains it all: the history of the siesta concept, as well as its current status. Did you know it didn’t even originate in Spain? It was imported from Italy! How those Italians can take a midday nap after all that espresso is beyond me :)

Anyway, I think this article is a fun read and hope you will too!

close-up of a currency note

A Penny for your Thoughts: Tips for Getting the Best Currency Exchange

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Last week. I wrote about My Simple Currency Exchange Rate Philosophy and helping my nervous friend find a more relaxed approach to spending money when he travels. Reader Danny wrote: “I think it might be an interesting topic for how people get better rates for getting currency exchanged similar to your Disneyland best practices (read The Ultimate Disneyland Playbook (Full of TWG Reader Tips!)). I always do the ATM, but I’d be curious to see if there are any other good ways.” Danny had a good idea, and indeed many of you replied with your ideas about getting the best exchange rate possible. I still think this topic is worth fleshing out a bit more, so let’s begin.

a group of different colored paper money and coins

Image source: http://www.sfgate.com/business/article/A-brief-history-of-money-11059182.php

I’ll go first, as I’ve had many varied experiences over the years, and I think some of it has to do with the varied locations of my travels. For instance, when I was in Bali, cash was king. My lodgings did take credit cards, but otherwise, the local merchants wanted cash. The owner of the small family-run place I stayed at didn’t want me going to any money changer, bank, or ATM on my own. I was traveling alone and he was the personal friend of friends of mine, so he felt very protective of me. He took me for a twenty minute ride on the back of his scooter into Ubud where he escorted me to his money changer and handled the transaction for me. Later, when talking to other travelers, I learned that I got a really good exchange rate, but of course, a scenario like this is POSSIBLE, but not the norm. Continue reading →

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Italian Vacation Part 3: Hotel Mozart in Rome, AquaSalata Fish Restaurant & Villa Borghese Gardens

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Are you taking advantage of Europe being on sale these days? I know many readers are heading over the pond. If Italy is in your plans, either now or sometime in the next year or so, be sure to read this post. After all, who doesn’t plan on visiting Italy sooner or later. I’ve got four Italian destinations for you, so let’s get started. In Part 1, I talked about Venice and Milan; in Part 2, I talked about Florence, and what to see/do/eat in those cities. In this post, I’ll share tips with you about Rome, so let’s dig in.

ROMA (Rome, Italy)

a large stone building with a fountain and statues with Trevi Fountain in the background

Trevi Fountain in Rome, Italy. Image source: http://www.cntraveler.com/destinations/rome

To begin, let me talk about taking the train from Florence to Rome. Usually, I use Trenitalia train service, which is owned by the Italian government. I heard about Italotreno which is a competitor and offers relatively new high speed train service. I had heard that the main advantage was that it cost less. However, that’s only if you buy your ticket ahead of time, so beware of this. I did decide to give them a try, even if the cost was the same as Trenitalia. Their trains were late and there was insufficient storage for luggage. So sure, the savings might be worth it, but if you don’t buy your train ticket ahead of time, I still prefer Trenitalia. Actually, I think next time I’ll try BlaBlaCar, the long distance carpooling service!

For lodging, I stayed at Hotel Mozart which was recommended to me by my cousins. The hotel is near the Spanish Steps on Via Condotti, which if you’re at all familiar with Rome, you’ll know is a busy part of Rome. Do make sure to ask for a quiet room. My cousins warned me about asking for a quiet room, so I did just that and didn’t have any issues with noise. The room was lovely, the concierge Rosella was very helpful, and Alex at the front desk had a great sense of humor! The breakfast spread is included with the price of the room and it was everything and more that you could want. There’s a music conservatory on the same street, so I enjoyed hearing opera being sung when I was in my room during the day. The hotel is priced on the high side, but like Hotel La Scaletta in Florence, if you use your Citi Prestige Credit Card 4th night free benefit, the cost is offset.

a counter with food on it

Breakfast at Hotel Mozart in Rome, Italy. Image source: http://www.hotelmozart.com/en/gallery/

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Italian Vacation Part 2: Fishing Lab in Florence, Leaning Tower of Pisa & Wall Walking in Lucca

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Are you taking advantage of Europe being on sale these days? I know many readers are heading over the pond. If Italy is in your plans, either now or sometime in the next year or so, be sure to read this post. After all, who doesn’t plan on visiting Italy sooner or later. I’ve got four Italian destinations for you, so let’s get started. In Part 1, I talked about Venice and Milan, what to see/do/eat and what not to eat in Venice! In this post I’ll share tips with you about Firenze, so let’s dig in.

FIRENZE (Florence, Italy)

a city with a river and mountains in the background

Florence, Italy at night. Image source: https://www.lonelyplanet.com/italy/florence

When in Florence, I stay at Hotel La Scaletta. It went through a renovation a few years ago, so it’s much more modern than it was back in 2011 when I first discovered it. I like a lot of things about this place. First off, Silvia, Sara, and the rest of the front desk crew are absolutely the best. They are so Italian and warm and when you’re there, you’re family! The hotel is well-positioned in being on the side of the river AWAY from all the crowds and heavily-visited sites. Yet, it’s close enough that you could walk there from the train station and you can certainly get to any of the main sites from Hotel La Scaletta with an easy 15 minute walk.

The Hotel La Scaletta rooftop has tables and chairs where you can have meals or just hang out and enjoy the views. The rooms aren’t large, though, certainly clean and recently refurbished, but the WiFi was glitchy, so if you have a lot of work to do, it’s frustrating. Breakfast is an extra fee, so I’d suggest taking your breakfast out at one of the many cafes in the area. Hotel La Scaletta is very reasonably priced and if you use your Citi Prestige Credit Card 4th night free benefit, well, it’s even a better price!

a rooftop view of a city

Rooftop View from Hotel La Scaletta in Florence, Italy. Image source: http://www.hotellascaletta.it/?act=gallery

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