May, 2016 - Lili on the Loose

12 05, 2016

Las Vegas 2016 Cost Analysis

By Lili|May 12th, 2016|Categories: Travel, Travel Budget|Tags: 2016, Bellagio, breakdown, Canyon Ranch Spa, cost analysis, Ethel M chocolate, fossil, gambling, horeseback riding, Las Vegas, Le Rêve, Magic, Mandalay Bay, Neon Museum, Nevada, North America, Penn and Teller, shark reef, shopping, Spa, spending, taxi, The Dream, The Venetian, Travel Thursday, Treasure Island, trilobite, Uber, USA, Vegas Checklist, Zoltar|0 Comments

Wynn Carousel made of flowers. Opulence in Vegas is expected. The last time I was in Las Vegas for a vacation was in 2011. I tracked my budget back then and shared it in this post. I wanted to do the same with my most recent trip to Las Vegas as a comparison. This trip is a little different though. The bulk of my time was for a client event, and so I won't share those numbers here. So while I was in Vegas for 6 days I'll just focus on my free-time activities which accounts for a

9 05, 2016

Travel Missteps: Not the Hogwarts Express

By Lili|May 9th, 2016|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2002, 2012, Backpacking it in England and Scotland, Costa Rica & Orlando Adventure, Edinburgh, England, Family, Florida, Harry Potter, Hogsmeade, Hogwarts Express, Islands of Adventure, Kings Cross, Kings Cross Station, North America, Orlando, Orlando Adventure 2012, Platform 9 3/4, Scotland, Tain, UK, United Kingdom, Universal Studios, USA, Witches, Wizarding World, Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Wizards, York|0 Comments

England had some pretty disappointing train trips. I traveled there in the summer of 2002. I remember being a Senior in high school, and dashing through Kings Cross station late at night, to try to catch a glimpse of the barrier between platforms 9 and 10. Why? Because I wanted to act out and take a photo pretending to gain access to Platform 9 3/4! Imagine my surprise and disappointment to find that platform 9 and 10 are in separate areas! (Now they actually have a photo op elsewhere in the station, but it was dark times for early fans.) So,

7 05, 2016

Free Comic Book Day!

By Lili|May 7th, 2016|Categories: Activities, Geek, Local|Tags: Boulder, Colorado, Colorado Movie Cars, comics, Free, Free Comic Book Day, freebie, Time Warp Comics|0 Comments

Today is Free Comic Book Day! The first Saturday in May many local comic book shops throw a party for Free Comic Book Day where you can get a few popular comic books today! My local shop, Time Warp Comics in Boulder does it up big! They usually have many of the Colorado Movie Cars on site, tons of people in costumes, and many more freebies. But don't forget to check out Time Warp for any of your geeky or comic needs outside of Free Comic Book Day. Their staff have always been very helpful and fun to talk to!

6 05, 2016

Tales of Suspense #39 – First Appearance of Iron Man

By Lili|May 6th, 2016|Categories: Geek, Pop Culture|Tags: comic, comic book, comics, Free Comic Book Day, Iron Man, Photo Friday, Tales of Suspense #39|0 Comments

Tomorrow is Free Comic Book Day. So for today's Photo Friday I wanted to share a piece of comic history. This is Tales of Suspense #39. It is the first appearance of Iron Man. And its worth a good amount of money. So how did I come by it to take a photo? My parents were going through some of my dad's old comic books. They were going to donate or throw them out, but then remembered I was into comics so they asked me to come over and look at them. As I went through poorly maintained super man

5 05, 2016

Springtime at Bellagio’s Botanical Garden

By Lili|May 5th, 2016|Categories: Attractions & Sights, Photography, Travel|Tags: 2016, Bellagio, Bellagio Gardens, Free, Las Vegas, Nevada, North America, spring, Travel Thursday, USA, Vegas Checklist|0 Comments

The Bellagio Conservatory and Botanical Garden is transformed each season with a different theme. I happened to visit one midnight evening when the gardens were closed off from the public so that they could take photos. This actually was spectral as from the edges I was able to get my own perfect images! This is 2016's Spring design, with lots of pink flowers, birds, and an Japanese theme. Made with over 82 thousand flowers including cherry blossom trees it is on display until May 14 when this will be changed out for the Summer season. Be sure to check it out, it

3 05, 2016

April 2016 Recap

By Lili|May 3rd, 2016|Categories: Blog Recaps and Roundups|Tags: Colorado, Deadpool, Denver, Denver Art Museum, Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Game of Thrones, Jerash, Jordan, Middle East, museum, New Mexico, North America, Petra, Santa Fe, travel missteps, USA|0 Comments

The month of April was a lot more low-key than March. I didn't travel anywhere this month, although I came very close to booking a trip to Jordan, but I decided to hold off until I can sort out some finances before I commit to anything. Recommended Reading Lili on the Loose A lot of my favorite posts this month are heavy in photography. Gondola Ride in Venice, Italy - This was a fun New Years Day, where it was rainy and snowy so no one else was out on the water. Cold and Magical. Philae: the Temple on the

2 05, 2016

Museum Monday: Yousuf Karsh at the Bellagio

By Lili|May 2nd, 2016|Categories: Museums, Travel|Tags: 2016, Albert Einstein, Alfred Hitchcock, Bellagio, black and white photography, Gallery of Fine Art, Gallery of Fine Art at the Bellagio, Georgia O'Keeffe, Helen Keller, Jacqueline Kennedy, JFK, Las Vegas, Nelson Mandela, Nevada, North America, Pablo Picasso, photography, USA, Vegas Checklist, Yousuf Karsh|0 Comments

I remember a scene in Ocean's 11 here Danny and Tess talk about famous impressionist painters. This is what I was thinking about when I headed to the Gallery of Fine Art at the Bellagio. I had visions of Monet, Manet, and Picasso. After I paid my $16 entry fee and picked up the audio guide I stepped inside...to find out that once again Pop Culture had incorrectly shaped my knowledge of a place. Instead of grand paintings I was greeted with monochromatic portraits. That is when I learned the Bellagio Gallery frequently changes up its exhibitions and currently they