November, 2015 - Lili on the Loose

30 11, 2015

Museum Monday: The Hunt for Red October

By Lili|November 30th, 2015|Categories: Museums, Travel|Tags: 2012, hunt for red october, Movie, North America, North Pacific Coast 2012, Oregon, Portland, submarine, USA, USS Blueblack, work|0 Comments

I was in Oregon for a business trip. At the end of the conference the final dinner party was held at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. Which is home to the USS Blueblack, a submarine that was used for the outside shots in the move The Hunt for Red October as well as various tv shows. What is even more awesome is that you can actually go inside this submarine! USS Blueblack SS-581 One good thing about being on the sub with a lot of co-workers and clients is that each person was a camera

28 11, 2015

Souvenir Saturday: Ulbricht Night Watchman Nutcracker

By Lili|November 28th, 2015|Categories: Souvenirs, Travel|Tags: 2011, Christmas, Christmas in Germany 2011, Christmas Market, Christmas Museum, decoration, Europe, Germany, Käthe Wohlfahrt, night watchman, Nutcracker, Rothenburg, rothenburg ob der tauber, Ulbricht|0 Comments

As I've written before, I really enjoyed the "Night Watchman" tour in Rothenburg ob der Tauber. On my last day in Rothenburg I stopped by the large Christmas store Käthe Wohlfahrt to get some souvenirs. This location is their head office, and actually spans multiple buildings and has its own Christmas Museum on site. One item that caught my eye was a wooden and leather mini Night Watchman Nutcracker made by Ulbricht. It stands a little less than 5 inches tall, but is beautifully crafted. He carries with him a traditional symbols of his job: the halberd and a lantern. I'm glad

23 11, 2015

Travel Missteps: Bag full of Mugs

By Lili|November 23rd, 2015|Categories: Buying Guide, Drinks, Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2011, Christmas, Christmas in Germany 2011, Christmas Market, Cristkindlmarket, deposit, ein Pfand, Europe, Feuerzangebowle, Frankfurt, Germany, Glühwein, Heise Schokolade, hot chocolate, Kinderpunsch, Mead, mit Schuss, mug, mugs, Munich, Pfand, rum, Warmer Met, Weinahtsmarkt, wine|0 Comments

People Making Merry at the Frankfurt Christmas Market Staying Warm at the Market with the Best Christmas Drinks Christmas Markets are the perfect place to meet and socialize. Many stalls will have places to sit, or standing tables to gather around. But the trick to stay warm for this winter pastime? Drinking hot beverages! Here are the traditional drinks you may find: Glühwein is the most popular of the holiday drinks. It is made with mulled wine, usually red wine, but you might see versions that are made with white, rosè, or fruit wines. It is mixed and heated

19 11, 2015

Egypt Trip Cost & Budget Analysis

By Lili|November 19th, 2015|Categories: Travel, Travel Budget|Tags: 2015, Accommodation, activities, Africa, airfare, analysis, baksheesh, breakdown, budget, Cairo, cost, Denver, Dream of Egypt, Egypt, Egypt Explorer, Egyptian Sidekick, Europe, food, Frankfurt, G Adventures, Gadventures, GAP, Germany, hotel, Lufthansa, meals, Middle East, Munich, North America, optional activities, shopping, spending, Super Shuttle, taxi, tour, travel insurance, Travel Insured International, USA, Visa|0 Comments

This is my budget breakdown of my trip to Egypt (with a layover in Frankfurt, Germany). I knew going into this trip that it was going to be on the expensive side. I had budgeted $6262.41 in expenses for this trip. Here is how I actually spent that budget: Airfare: $972.26 I had watched airfare obsessively for about 2 months before I saw the airfare drop significantly through Lufthansa. I was able to get a 1 stop through Frankfurt on the way to Egypt, including a 12 hour layover in Frankfurt. And then on the way home I'd have 2 quick stops in

16 11, 2015

Museum Monday: Paleontology Lab at DMNS

By Lili|November 16th, 2015|Categories: Dinosaurs, Museums, Travel|Tags: Colorado, Denver, Denver Museum of Nature & Science, dinosaurs, DMNS, Jurassic Park, Movie, North America, Paleontology Lab, USA|0 Comments

When I was little I wanted to be an archeologist or paleontologist. While that didn't happen I can live vicariously through the volunteers and employees at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. At the end of Prehistoric Journey is the Paleontology lab, where you can see the progress that is being made on specimens recently brought in from the field. He kind of looks like John Hammond from Jurassic Park. If you are a member of the museum, they also do many special nights where you can actually go into the lab and see a lot more

14 11, 2015

The History of the Christmas Nutcracker

By Lili|November 14th, 2015|Categories: Buying Guide, History, Souvenirs, Travel|Tags: 2011, Alexandre Dumas, Austria, buying guide, Christmas, Christmas in Germany 2011, Christmas Market, decoration, E.T.A Hoffman, Europe, Fuchtner, Germany, guide, history, Nutcracker, Salzburg, Steinbach, The Nutcracker, The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, Ulbricht|0 Comments

Nutcrackers at a German Christmas Market. Nutcrackers in some form have been around since ancient times. However, they were much different in design and from from what we consider the Christmas Nutcracker. Those didn’t appear until the mid 1700's when many Germany mines had shut down and the workers had to figure out other sources of income. They turned to the abundant forests and their woodworking skills to craft dolls, toys, Christmas Pyramids, angels, and nutcrackers. The first nutcrackers were made to look like authority figures such as kings or soldiers. These “nut cracking” officials symbolized the

9 11, 2015

Travel Missteps: Grand Theft Uber

By Lili|November 9th, 2015|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2015, Florida, Miami, Miami Heat, North America, Uber, work trip|0 Comments

I did what I've never done before. Not plan. And apparently not planning for me is doomed to failure. I had 2 days off in Miami after a work trip. I really wanted to go out on a boat, visit sandbars, and snorkel. Unfortunately the only boating companies that did that either were booked...or didn't allow single tourists. (The 2nd time Viator has let me down in that regard.) So with my dreams dashed, I ended up not planning anything. This ended up being slightly in my favor, as the weekend before this trip, I decided to go shopping for

6 11, 2015

Egypt Books, Movies, & Documentaries

By Lili|November 6th, 2015|Categories: Resources, Travel, Travel Planning|Tags: 2015, Africa, Agatha Christie, books, documentaries, Dream of Egypt, Egypt, Elizabeth Peters, lloyd alexander, Middle East, movies, travel guides, Travel Thursday|0 Comments

Yesterday I discussed the many online resources to help plan a trip to Egypt. Another important part of my planning process is reading books and watching shows on the place I'm traveling to. Here are some of the other resources I used in planning a trip to Egypt. Books Travel Guides: I actually had started planning a trip to Egypt back in 2009. So many of by guidebooks I have are older. I actually found the older guidebooks (pre 2011) to be more detailed and many more options. After 2011, when tourism dropped it seemed the guidebook publishers pulled funding and effort

5 11, 2015

Egypt Travel Blogs & Online Trip Resources

By Lili|November 5th, 2015|Categories: Blog Recaps and Roundups, Resources, Travel, Travel Planning|Tags: 2015, Africa, Blog, Dream of Egypt, Egypt, Egypt Bloggers, Egypt Blogs, Egypt Holiday Blogs, Egypt Travel Blogs, Egypt Trip Blogs, Egypt Vacation Blogs, Middle East, Reddit, Social, Social Communities, SubReddits, Travel Bloggers, Travel Blogs, Travel Communities, travel guides, Travel Thursday, trip resources|0 Comments

When traveling I love to research about the place I'll be going to. I usually will get a few travel guides, but I'll also read many blogs from other fellow travelers. I was sad to learn that Google's "Blog Search" functionality was discontinued, which made searching for the rare blog on Egypt so much harder to find. So to help future travelers here are some of the many blogs and other online resources I used in preparation for my trip to Egypt. Egypt Blogs Blogs with multiple posts about Egypt Lili On The Loose LandLopers Young Adventuress Oneika The Traveller

5 11, 2015

Remember, Remember the 5th of November…

By Lili|November 5th, 2015|Categories: Currently Traveling, Geek, Pop Culture, Travel|Tags: Back to the Future, BTTF, BTTF 1, Egypt, gif, gifs, Movie, Time Travel, V for Vendetta|0 Comments

Remember, Remember the 5th of November...as the day Doc Brown invited the Flux Capacitor....which is what...makes time travel possible! I always post this comment on social media every November 5th. But this time I'm traveling in Egypt! So I'm utilizing my blog's schedule feature to make sure I still do it this year...but this time with GIFS! Behold my power!