food - Lili on the Loose

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

25 05, 2015

Travel Missteps: Not So Yummy Assumption

By Lili|May 25th, 2015|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2015, Canada, Donuts, food, HIMYM, How I Met Your Mother, North America, Ontario, Tim Hortons, Timbits, Toronto, TV Show, Yea! Sports|0 Comments

When I had a quick, last minute trip to Toronto for work I didn't have much time to plan. Especially when I was going during a massive conference week and nearly all hotel rooms were booked. So I looked up a few touristy activities and timing but nothing else. That likely wasn't the smartest idea. I didn't know that my chosen hotel was in the Financial district of downtown, and that nearly all cheap restaurants and stores closed down over the weekend. I also didn't know my chosen hotel was more like a dorm, and it wasn't recommended to drink

14 04, 2014

Travel Missteps: The art of Dim Sum

By Lili|April 14th, 2014|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2008, California, Dim Sum, food, Good Food, Good Food in San Francisco, North America, San Francisco, USA|0 Comments

San Francisco is known for its food culture and one type of dining is truly unique: Dim Sum. Dim Sum is a type of Chinese food style, where bite sized portions of foods come to you already cooked and you choose what you want to order. It is fun and a different type of experience to eating. And if you aren’t sure what is going on, you are certainly up for some surprises. We had Dim Sum twice. The first time was in a fancy restaurant that my sister and I happened upon. We at were the only people there

1 02, 2014

January Travel Blog Roundup

By Lili|February 1st, 2014|Categories: Blog Recaps and Roundups|Tags: around the internet, diving, food, geometric, mistake, momento, TSA|0 Comments

In my years of researching travel I’ve stumbled upon some great blogs to read. Here are some of my favorite posts from January! Travel Missteps Stories Nomadic Matt: How to Cope with Travel Mistakes (Because I Can’t Stop Making Them) I enjoy hearing about the mistakes that other travelers make, as they can be good learning experiences for others. Nomadic Matt is one of my favorite bloggers with lots of advice, and it is good to know that the “Pro” travel bloggers out there still run into the same issues that the rest of us have. Twenty-Something Travel: The Horrors

1 01, 2014

2013 Year Highlights and 2014 Upcoming Travel Plans

By Lili|January 1st, 2014|Categories: Travel, Upcoming Travel, Year in Review|Tags: 2013, 2014, Actun Tunichil Muknal, Antigua, Belize, blog posts, Caye Caulker, Central America, CES, chocolate, climb, food, G Adventures, Gadventures, GAP, golf cart, grandpa, group, Guatemala, highlights, hike, Las Vegas, Mayan, Mayan Encounter 2013, meetup, museum, mythbusters, Panama, Pyramid, racing, rum, savings, shark, Smithsonian, snorkeling, St. John, swim, Tikal, tour group, travel plans, triceratops, upcoming, upcoming travel, upcoming travel plans, USA, USVI, Washington DC, work, year in review|0 Comments

Goodbye 2013! You were a good year. Here are some of the travel highlights: I went to Las Vegas twice for work, and had the opportunity to experience the craziness that is CES first hand. My favorite food experience was learning the history and how to make chocolate in Antigua, Guatemala. There is a 3 way tie for the “I never thought I’d…” Climb to the top of a Mayan Pyramid at Tikal, Guatemala Hike over a mile into the earth and free climb rock formations to see Mayan sacrifices at Actun Tunichil Muknal in Belize. Swim with sharks near

23 12, 2013

Travel Missteps: Lost for Christmas

By Lili|December 23rd, 2013|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2011, Bavaria, Christmas, Christmas in Germany 2011, Christmas Market, Cristkindlmarket, dragon, Europe, food, Germany, lost, Marienplatz, Munich, Secret Santa, subway, U-Bahn, ubahn, Weinahtsmarkt|0 Comments

On December 23rd, 2011 I was with my family, enjoying the last evening of the Christmas Markets of Munich. This year we had decided not to buy each family member a present, but instead this year we'd do a "Secret Santa" where we would pull a person's name out of a hat, and only buy them a gift. However, that person couldn't know who was their "Santa". This secretiveness, combined with just the amazing sights of a real German Christmas Market, meant I was especially distracted and awestruck. Throughout the night I did fall behind, or dart around to another