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.

a close up of a letter

Happy Chilean Census Day! My Thoughts on Quirky, International Holidays

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I don’t know about you but I enjoy learning about holidays in foreign countries. Especially if they seem quirky, strange, funny, or even just so different from what we have here in the states.

My cousin married a Chilean woman and for years he has lived in Chile. Today I got an email from him and it said, “Today is Census day. Everyone has to stay home and wait for them to come. A forced holiday. If not – you get a big fine.”

It gave me a good laugh. I can’t comprehend how this would work, but sure wish I was there to observe how it happens, and what the census people ask. And then what happens as the day goes on, that would be interesting too. Surely no one wants to be the last house to be visited.

Chile Flag

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a close-up of a map

Award Booking Services are like 21st Century Travel Agents

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Do you ever use a travel agent? Maybe that’s a silly question to ask miles and points people, but maybe not! I came across a blog piece written by Christine over at Frugal Travel Guy. She points out that there are several situations where it’s “prudent and even beneficial” to use a professional. And I agree. I have two cousins who are long-time travel agents and are dedicated to their clients, but you know what I found out? Neither of them knew much at all about miles and points.

Christine’s reasoning for using travel agents got me thinking, and so much of what she said also pertained to using a miles and points award booking service like Juicy Miles. So let’s take a closer look at 4 reasons and see if you should EVER use an award booking service.

1. An event that’s too important to leave to chance is a good reason to use an award booking service. Special occasions are, after all, special. I’d say getting to safari locations, big events where you need multiple seats, and honeymoons, certainly qualify. I’m not saying getting multiple awards seats is always easy, but I’d certainly suggest that a professional has a bird’s eye view into whether or not that’s even possible given your miles/points, destination, and dates. Continue reading →

a blue and white sign

The WHY of Traveling

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Some days I wake up, my mood feels practical, and I start writing about miles and points deals, or how to maximize some promotion, or where to get the best cup of coffee in some city I’ve visited. But other days, I start writing and feel much more philosophical. I was thinking about this last weekend when two different friends asked me, “Why do you travel so much?”

I’m sure people ask you the same thing.

On the surface, it seems like an easy question to answer. But below the surface, the answer has deep meaning and develops over time. Since I have conversations in person with people about this, I thought why not converse in writing and see what your WHY is, and if it changes over time.

I’m not ticking destinations off some list or can even tell you how many countries I’ve been to. I sometimes return to special destinations, and don’t think everywhere I’ve been has been a fabulous adventure. I don’t enjoy buzzing in and out of a place quickly, so I prefer to settle in for a week or longer and relax into my experience. But while that’s a travel style, it still doesn’t speak to my philosophy or my WHY, does it? Continue reading →

a heart made of coffee beans

Shelli’s World Coffee Tour – San Francisco (Part 2)

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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. You may recall that I started this series with San Francisco – Part 1. If you haven’t already read it, please do before reading this article. It will give you background and a review of the first three coffee roasters I sampled. So let’s open the TWG cafe society doors and talk coffee. Here are the next three coffee places in San Francisco I visited.

Verve is the new kid on the block. I say “on the block” because in fact, they’ve been down in the Santa Cruz area since 2007 (the owner is from Chico and a surfer dude, so he chose Santa Cruz to open his shops) but only opened a cafe on the corner of Church and Market in mid-February of 2017. Stewart, the wonderfully friendly and informative assistant manager, sat with me for a good while and we had a fun chat. He told me that Verve had actually been looking for a space in San Francisco for some time. They wanted a space with a lot of natural light, and while they had this San Francisco space for two years, due to all the rules and regulations in city coding, it took them two years to build out the space and open their doors. Stewart said, “You can’t really be a big dog on the Northern Californian coffee scene without a shop in San Francisco!”

The space is very thoughtfully designed, very modern, lots of natural light, and has a few different seating options. The tables were big and would be good for working. All their beans are roasted in Santa Cruz and they use Colombian and Honduran beans. Pour over coffee is actually their biggest seller and cappuccino the second most requested beverage. And of course like all the other roasters, they are heavily focused on their wholesale bean business.

Verve Menu Board

Verve Menu Board

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a heart made of coffee beans

Shelli’s World Coffee Tour – San Francisco (Part 1)

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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.  You may recall, I started this series with San Diego. When I wrote about the coffee scene in Hawaii, the topic of coffee in San Francisco came up. Readers gave me a bunch of places to check out the next time I was in the Bay Area and I had a chance recently to do that. And I’ve got a LATTE to share! So let’s open the TWG cafe society doors and talk coffee.

First a few parameters. Readers gave me coffee places to try all over the Bay Area, but this time I only visited places within San Francisco. Next time I’ll explore places outside the city. Secondly, I’m going to talk about the cafes in the order I tried them. You’ll know by my comments which ones were my favorites :) As you might recall, I’m judging more than the coffee. I’m also taking into account the ambiance, service, and general vibe.

The first place I went to is Andytown Coffee Roasters. They have two locations, both of which are in the Outer Sunset. They turned out to be one of my favorites, so besides the fact that their beverages are 50-75 cents less than the other coffee places, the whole experience is worth heading out to the beach for!

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