What do you enjoy eating on your long-haul flights? And do you ever wonder what pilots eat on their long-haul flights? This pilot’s travel menu relied on three rules! Enjoy this article… it’s a fun read.
Amelia Earhart. Image source: https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2017/07/08/536024928/amelia-earharts-travel-menu-relied-on-three-rules-and-peoples-generosity
My boyfriend and I wanted to book a trip to Australia this year because we have a friend who is living there for work. We are somewhat flexible in our travel dates, but knew that we needed to visit in November and/or December due to other commitments, but also that we wanted to be home with our families for Christmas. Here’s how I went about planning our trip to Australia and what it is costing us for our flights.
As I already mentioned, we are pretty flexible with our dates (we both work online, so that helps). Our main two constraints are a friend’s wedding in New York at the end of October and Christmas. Since we have flexibility from working online, we wanted to travel as much of November and December as possible and spend a good chunk of that time in Australia.
Image source: https://www.dreamstime.com/stock-illustration-sleeping-face-koala-continent-australia-cute-snout-peek-up-australian-image78520349
There’s been a bit of blogger buzz these past few weeks about whether or not, in this age of being able to book travel from a device in our pockets, travel agents are still useful. You might say, “Travel agents are so 80’s”, but I think you’d be selling yourself short. Because I have cousins who are longtime travel agents, and do a ton of travel as well, I decided to pose some questions to one of them. Some of the questions are similar to what other bloggers have been asking of travel agents, but some are different. And even if you’ve made up your mind about the usefulness of travel agents, do go to the end of this post where I’ll tell you about how my travel agent cousin saved me both money and time in New Zealand! So, are travel agents still useful? Let’s find out!
Shelli: Which destinations are people most asking about these days?
Corkie: Iceland & Japan are way up in requests.
It’s not a bird. It’s not a plane. It’s Grant in Iceland on an iceberg!
You know how it is when you return from a trip and you’ve had the most wonderful time. I keep asking people, “Have you visited Portugal, yet?” The answer I receive most often is “no.” I’m on a roll giving people delicious reasons to make their next vacation spot Portugal. You’d think I worked for the Portuguese Tourist Agency :) I found it EASY to appreciate Portuguese food and wine. And of course pastries, too! So let me see if my delicious reasons sway you.
1. Mom and Pop. If I only had two words to describe the food I enjoyed, I’d say SIMPLE and FRESH. Some people might call it comfort food. I was so surprised and delighted that I could get a delicious, home-cooked meal from any one of the “mom and pop” eateries throughout Lisbon. They were everywhere. Simple and inexpensive I believe as a result of their locally sourced seasonal meat, fish and produce.
2. Licor Beirão. Portugal is known for its wine, and I’d agree; trying some is a must. I flew to Portugal on TAP in business class and my experience with Portuguese liquor started on my flight. The flight attendant asked me if I wanted to try Licor Beirão, the “Liquor of Portugal”, from the central Beiras region. It is made from a secret 100-year old recipe that gives it a delicious sweet, herbal flavor. I always sample digestives when I travel, so why not? The crew gathered and we talked some about Licor Beirao, how to drink it, and that if they ever feel like they are coming down with a cold or flu, they take some Beirao. I decided to have mine over ice, and a little bit goes a long way. I rather enjoyed it!
The one drink I didn’t get to try, which I heard will “knock your socks off” was aguardente bagaceira, or Bagaço as it’s commonly called. It’s Portugal’s version of grappa, made from leftover pomace. Pomace is the pulpy residue leftover after crushing fruit. The best Bagaço is said to come from the pomace of Vinho Verde grapes in the northern Minho region and is distilled on an open flame from small wine producers. This method is illegal, so the only way to find it is if you’re in a small, local restaurant where the owner generously pours you a shot from his “unmarked” bottle. Unfortunately, this treat didn’t come my way, but I’ll figure out a way to sample some next time I’m in Portugal! I did find out that you can try Macieira Centenário, which is a legal and respected brand of Bagaco! The other liquor that was popular is ginja. It’s a traditional cherry liquor from the town of Obídos served in a small cup. I like fruity liquors so this one is on the list for next time, as well.
Licor Beirão. Image source: http://www.licorbeirao.com/en/
Updated at 7:30pm PT on 12/10: I just got a postcard from The Jolt that the company’s name and website are changing to Chargii. Use promo code JOLT2CHARGII to get 30% off your purchase. Code expires on 1/1/19.
Updated at 7am PT on 2/21: Here are the 2 winners of The Jolt. If you did not win, you can still use the promo code TRAVELWITHGRANT to save 25% off The Jolt. Thank you to everyone who participated in the giveaway. Have a great day everyone and stay charged!
Good morning everyone. A few days ago, I reached out to GetTheJolt, the maker of my favorite all in one portable charger. I bought 2 of these chargers on Amazon in November and have taken them with me everywhere. My girlfriend uses 1 of The Jolt chargers almost everyday because she is always on her iPhone. Long story short, one of The Jolt chargers would no longer charge, so I contacted The Jolt through their Contact Us page. On their website, they state, “We have 3 customer service representatives that serve you from 7am – 7pm PST Monday through Friday. We promise to respond to all inquiries within an hour.” Oh really, let’s see if that is really true…
Image source: https://www.getthejolt.com/