Category Archives: Trip Reports

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Get to the Sonoma County / Santa Rosa Airport (STS) with SMART Train + Connect ($9 / Person) or with Groome ($20 / Person)

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Good afternoon everyone, happy Friday!  Several years ago, I wrote The Fastest Way from San Francisco to the SFO Centurion Lounge and Get to the Oakland International Airport (OAK) Escape Lounge Like a Pro.  In those posts, I showed how you could take BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) from various parts of the San Francisco Bay to get to SFO and OAK, and then the fastest way to get to the Centurion Lounge (SFO) and Escape Lounge (OAK).  I’ve taken a few flights from the Sonoma County / Santa Rosa Airport (STS) over the years, so I thought I would write a post on how to get to the airport from Marin & Sonoma County (north side of the Golden Gate Bridge).  STS is in the heart of Santa Rosa, which is part of Sonoma County and a short drive to Napa County – paradise for wine lovers.  As a geography refresher, STS is 60+ miles north of SFO and OAK (thank you Great Circle Mapper!)

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Image source: http://www.gcmap.com/mapui?P=SFO-OAK-STS-SFO

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The Sites, Smells & Tastes from 3 Days in Amsterdam, Netherlands

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Good afternoon everyone, happy Friday!  A few weeks ago, my wife and I decided to book a last minute trip to Europe this summer with stops in Prague (PRG), Copenhagen (CPH), and Amsterdam (AMS).  In case you missed it, here are the first 2 stops on our European trip: The Sites, Smells & Tastes from 3 Days in Prague, Czech Republic and The Sites, Smells & Tastes from 2 Days in Copenhagen, Denmark.  We both had a great time to Amsterdam (Laura’s first time and my third trip, first since 2016).  Here are some of the highlights from our 3 days in Amsterdam.

After we checked out of our hotel in Copenhagen, we took the 15 minute train ride from Copenhagen Central Train Station back to the airport for $5 / person.  As I wrote about a few weeks ago (Some KLM Business Class Awards (Booked with Virgin Atlantic) are Cheaper than Economy Awards for Flights Within Europe), we flew KLM Business Class from Copenhagen to Amsterdam (CPH-AMS) for 9,000 Virgin Atlantic Points + $12 in taxes/fees.  Since we were flying business class, we were able to access the business class section of the Carlsberg Aviator Lounge which had a few Carlsberg beers on tap to try out before our flight.

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Beers on Tap at Carlsberg Aviator Lounge (CPH) in Copenhagen, Denmark

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The Sites, Smells & Tastes from 2 Days in Copenhagen, Denmark

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Good afternoon everyone, happy Friday!  A few weeks ago, my wife and I decided to book a last minute trip to Europe this summer with stops in Prague (PRG), Copenhagen (CPH), and Amsterdam (AMS).  Yesterday, I wrote about The Sites, Smells & Tastes from 3 Days in Prague, Czech Republic. After a great time in Prague, we took a $17 Uber back to the airport and then flew to Copenhagen, Denmark (CPH) on Norwegian Air for $89 / person.  We took the 15 minute train ride from the airport to the Copenhagen Central Train Station for $5 / person and then walked a few blocks to the Comfort Hotel Vesterbro, where we stayed for 2 nights for 20,000 Choice Points / night.  To be honest, the hotel looked better in photos, but it was in a decent location.

Literally next to the Copenhagen Central Train Station is the world famous Tivoli Gardens, which recently celebrated it’s 180th birthday, making it one of the oldest amusement parks in the world.  You can buy entrance only tickets for $22 / person or add on a ride pass for another $25 / person.  It’s hard to describe it in words, but it is like a very small version of Disneyland, mixed with a county or state fair.  We had a great time walking around the park.

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The Sites, Smells & Tastes from 3 Days in Prague, Czech Republic

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Good evening everyone.  A few weeks ago, my wife and I decided to book a last minute trip to Europe this summer with stops in Prague (PRG), Copenhagen (CPH), and Amsterdam (AMS).  We both had a fantastic time in Prague and I highly recommend visiting for a few days the next time you are in Europe.  Here are some of the highlights from our 3 days in Prague.

To get started, we used 65,000 KLM / Air France Flying Blue Miles + $242 in taxes/fees per person to fly Air France Business Class from San Francisco (SFO) to Paris (CDG) to Prague (PRG).  We then took a $22 Uber from the airport to MGallery Century Old Town Prague Hotel (part of Accor).  I booked 3 nights through the Citi ThankYou Travel Portal and used the $100 Hotel Credit from my Citi Premier Credit Card.  The hotel was a short walk from the Old Town Square and had beautiful charm and an awesome breakfast spread.  The total cost with the $100 Hotel Credit was $476, or $159 / night.  Here are more photos from the hotel website.  During our stay, I realized that MGallery was a brand under the Accor family of hotels and they have 120+ boutique hotels around the world, with the majority spread out around Europe.

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My Mix of Emotions about the Devastating Fires on Maui and Lahaina Town

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Good afternoon everyone.  My heart goes out to everyone (residents, businesses, and visitors) affected by the terrible fires on Maui and the devastating images from Lahaina Town.  It is hard to find the right words to describe the terrible scenes from such a beautiful, tropical paradise.  I’ve been lucky enough to visit Maui a few times throughout my life and I have always made sure to spend a day or two walking around Lahaina.  Looking through my photos from Maui, here is the last one I took of Laura and I under the iconic Banyan Tree in the heart of Lahaina.

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Grant & Laura under the Banyan Tree in Lahaina (June 2022).

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