Lili - Lili on the Loose

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

28 01, 2014

Sleeping in Airports

By Lili|January 28th, 2014|Categories: Travel, Travel Tips|Tags: aiports, Atlanta, Charlotte, Denver, Kansas City, nap, noise, North America, sleep, sleeping, travel, Travel Thursday|0 Comments

Airports would definitely not be on my recommended list of a “good place to sleep” but sometimes necessity requires it. And I certainly have slept in my share of airports (or at least tried to catch a few winks). Thankfully none of these were caused by delays, but usually due to awkward layovers between flights. It just doesn’t make sense to leave the airport during a short 6 hour layover to try to find a hotel for just a few short hours of rest. So here are some of my experiences while sleeping in airports: Denver, CO: I’ve arrived too

25 01, 2014

Souvenir Saturday: A Buying Guide for Snow Globes

By Lili|January 25th, 2014|Categories: Buying Guide, Souvenirs, Travel|Tags: buying, buying guide, collectable, collection, glass, glitter, guide, memento, memories, plastic, snow, snow dome, snow globe, snow globes, souvenir, travel|0 Comments

Last time we talked about the history of snow globes. Today I wanted to share some things to keep in mind when purchasing a snow globe as a souvenir: Glass or Plastic: This is really a personal preference but I find most of the plastic snow globes to appear very tacky, so I prefer glass snow globes. However, glass does pose the challenge of transporting a fragile object during the trip, as well as the flight home. It is a good idea is to ask if the merchant has the original packaging or has a way to wrap up the

20 01, 2014

Travel Missteps: In the Dark of the Night

By Lili|January 20th, 2014|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2013, airport, Belize, Caye Caulker, Central America, dark, driving, finish line, G Adventures, Gadventures, GAP, golf cart, group, island, lost, Mayan Encounter 2013, ocean, race, racing, runway, tour, tour group|0 Comments

"Now stay here, turn off your engines, and be quite! I'm going to see if the coast is clear." "Can we get arrested for this?" "No, not likely. This isn't the states. Possibly a bribe, that's all." We waited quietly in the dark while we watched one of the golf carts slowly make its way onto the unlit runway. Its little front lights getting dimmer as it blended into the darkness. Minutes went by but it seemed like an eternity to my excited and frightened mind. Then the golf cart came back. Our guide motioned for us to come over

14 01, 2014

What is this SSSS on my boarding pass?

By Lili|January 14th, 2014|Categories: Travel, Travel Tips|Tags: airport, boarding pass, check in, chemical swab, full body scan, Homeland Security, pat down, redress number, Secondary Security Screening Selectee, Secondary Security Screening Selection, security, SSSS, travel, Travel Thursday, TSA|3 Comments

The dreaded SSSS, something no traveler ever wants to see on their boarding pass. Don’t know what it is? Consider yourself lucky. But for the curious it would appear in the corner of your boarding pass and it means “Secondary Security Screening Selectee” or “Secondary Security Screening Selection.” It means either you are “randomly” selected or are on the permanent Automatic Selectee list and will be subjected to extra security. This can include thorough bag searches, full body scans, pat downs, and chemical analysis tests, which can then lead to additional “back room” screening if the TSA agent feels it

11 01, 2014

Souvenir Saturday: A Brief History on Snow Globes

By Lili|January 11th, 2014|Categories: History, Souvenirs, Travel|Tags: America, Austria, Britain, collectible, Europe, France, history, invention, lightbulb, memories, momento, snow, snow dome, snow globe, snow globes, souvenir, travel, Vienna, water globe|0 Comments

The origins of the snow globe is unknown, however there are records of these items dating back to the mid to late 1800’s in France. It is assumed that snow globes were initially created to replace the glass paperweight. Early snow globes showed miniature Christmas or religious scenes. One of the first “travel” souvenir scenes was that of the Eiffel Tower to commemorate the International Exposition in Paris and the 100 year anniversary of the French Revolution in 1889. Snow Globes became a popular collectable during the Victorian era in England. Erwin Perzy I While a few companies

6 01, 2014

Travel Missteps: Una blosa con hielo, por favor?

By Lili|January 6th, 2014|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2013, ankle, Antigua, Central America, cobblestones, Costa Rica, Costa Rica Adventure 2012, duck tape, G Adventures, Gadventures, GAP, group, Guatemala, ice, injured, injury, Mayan Encounter 2013, soda, spanish, sprain, tour, tour group, UNESCO, UNESCO World Heritage Site|0 Comments

Getting injured can be one of the worst things that can happen to you on a trip. For me, it is becoming a standard fact of travel. After spraining my ankle and then nearly fracturing my nose in Costa Rica, I decided to be extra prepared on my next trip. So I brought a thorough first aid kit and 2 ankle braces (so I could swap them out and not wear one every day). I thought I was prepared, little did I know I was wrong. On my second day of exploring Antigua, Guatemala I sprained my right ankle just

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

14 10, 2013

Travel Missteps: Disney Dash

By Lili|October 14th, 2013|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2010, All Work and Some Play, Anaheim, business trip, California, castle, Disney, Disneyland, Ewok, Haunted Mansion, Indiana Jones, lightsaber, North America, parade, Pirates of the Caribbean, PMA, roller coaster, Star Wars, USA, work|0 Comments

In February 2010 I had already had a busy travel month by getting delayed twice in St. John, and once I arrived home I only had a few days to pack and get ready for a work trip to Anaheim, CA. On my first day in Anaheim it turned out I had a free afternoon. It was suggested I could "swim at the hotel" or go to the "welcome drink reception." But nagging me from my window was Disneyland. I worried if I headed to Disneyland that I'd get a call from my co-workers asking where I was, or some other emergency would

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