Travel Missteps - Lili on the Loose

23 10, 2017

Travel Missteps: Kayak Misadventure

By Lili|October 23rd, 2017|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2003, 2012, 2017, all inclusive, Arenal, Beach Hopping 2017, Bocas del Toro, Bocas Town, Central America, Costa Rica, Costa Rica Adventure 2012, fear, G Adventures, Holiday in Rivera Maya, kayak, La Fortuna, lake, Mexico, ocean, Panama, Rivera Maya, sea kayaking|0 Comments

I have a love/hate relationship with kayaking. My previous experience being swept out to sea in Mexico (hate) and then a clam lake kayaking in Costa Rica (love). So when the opportunity to kayak in Bocas del Toro, Panama I was excited to love it again (spoiler...no I did not love it.) I had had a lazy morning, mostly because I could tell I was starting to feel sick. So when I bumped into some of the group heading back out to kayak I joined them. Kristy and Arianna had already kayaked that morning and they were excited to do it

9 10, 2017

Travel Missteps: Winter Fashion Failure

By Lili|October 9th, 2017|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2005, 2011, All in the family Italy 2005/2006, Bavaria, Christmas in Germany 2011, cold, Europe, fashion, Germany, hat, Italy, jacket, lagoon, New Years Eve, night watchman, rain, Rothenburg, rothenburg ob der tauber, scarf, snow, snowing, Trafalger, UNESCO, UNESCO World Heritage Site, Venice, Venice Lagoon, walking tour, weather|0 Comments

Today is the first snow in Colorado. I prefer to be warm over fashionable in winter. That means lots of layers and completely bundled up. The above photo was my look for Germany in 2011. But the further back I go I see more examples. For example, I sported this stunning blue look in Venice 2005. To be fair it was running and snowing on NYE, and so it was especially cold. However, my mother is always fabulously dressed, so I wonder where I get this... Oh yeah from Dad! He looked even more intimidating at night with his hood on. Also

25 09, 2017

Travel Missteps: Vegas in One Dress

By Lili|September 25th, 2017|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2011, 2016, dress, fashion, Girl’s Weekend, Golden Nugget, Las Vegas, Le Rêve, Nevada, North America, The Venetian, The Wynn, USA, Vegas Checklist|0 Comments

To be honest, I don't remember why I bought the dress. I hate dresses. I hate showing my legs and I hate the fancy shoes that go with it. But I probably bought it because when I need a dress, I never have one. But I do remember haphazardly throwing it in my luggage as the last item in. I was heading to Las Vegas for my best friend Heather's mini bachelorette party. And while I knew we wouldn't be clubbing, I worried that my jeans+T-shirt fashion wouldn't be appropriate. But I wasn't sure. Heather and I often had similar styles.

11 09, 2017

Travel Missteps: Luxor Locked In

By Lili|September 11th, 2017|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2015, Africa, bargaining, Dream of Egypt, Egypt, Egypt Explorer, G Adventures, Gadventures, GAP, Locked, Locked in, Luxor, Middle East, Nile Cruise, Souk|0 Comments

Photo by Elizabeth I'm not good at bargaining, as I'm just too nice and not good with that type of confrontation. Which is why Elizabeth, my friend from Middle School, ended up being my "Anger Translator" as she later joked on our trip of Egypt together. She stopped me from paying too much for things and got touts to stop hassling us. But it was definitely my fault that got us locked into a store in Luxor. I was thinking about getting a copper plate or bowl. I had seen one I really liked in Aswan, but decided

28 08, 2017

Travel Missteps: Dollywood

By Lili|August 28th, 2017|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2000, Dolly Parton, Dollywood, North America, Odyssey of the Mind, Odyssey of the Mind World Finals, OM, Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, Theme Park, Theme Parks, USA|0 Comments

Have you ever been to a theme park and witnessed a malfunction or accident? Have you ever seen 3 in one day? I have. I don't really know how we ended up at Dollywood. We had traveled cross country for my sister's Odyssey of the Mind competition in Tennessee and on the way back decided to take it slow. I was allowed to pick the hotel we stopped at, and I picked one with a mini water park near Pigeon Forge. This is also near where Dollywood, Dolly Parton's theme park is, and so my parents suggested we go for

14 08, 2017

Travel Missteps: Ojo Rosa (Pink Eye)

By Lili|August 14th, 2017|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2017, Beach Hopping 2017, Bocas del Toro, Bocas Town, Boquete, Caldera, canyon, Chiriquí, contacts, eyes, G Adventures, horse, horseback riding, Los Cangilones de Gualaca, ojo rosa, Panama, pink eye, sick|0 Comments

I was already pretty miserable at this point in my Costa Rica/Panama trip. A few days before I had popped my eardrums badly, and was having hard with balance and hearing. The day after that I caught a nasty cold from keeping my room's AC down too low. So between the popping of my ears, the runny nose, and the drainage in my throat causing me to cough a lot, I didn't notice that my eyes are giving up on me too. To be fair, I wasn't using them all that much that day. The 5+ hour travel day from

31 07, 2017

Travel Missteps: Creepy Taxi Ride

By Lili|July 31st, 2017|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2015, Africa, airport, Cairo, creepy, Dream of Egypt, Egypt, Egypt Explorer, Giza, Middle East, taxi|0 Comments

I was glad when one of my other group members said they had scheduled a taxi to the airport for 150 EGP, because I too only had 150 EGP left! And I didn't want to have to pull out more EGP on my last afternoon. But to my dismay no one at the hotel would schedule me a taxi for that price. They wanted around 350-400 EGP. I tried to plead my case, that my "friend" just got a taxi for 150 EGP! They just pointed outside and said, "Try your luck outside then if you don't have the money!"

17 07, 2017

Travel Missteps: The Determined Thief of Edinburgh

By Lili|July 17th, 2017|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2002, Backpacking it in England and Scotland, bus, Edinburgh, Europe, hop on and off bus, police, Scotland, thief, UK, United Kingdom|0 Comments

Source I've written before before how my family used the "Hop on / Hop Off" busses in England to get around the cities a lot. But one of our last times on those sightseeing busses turned out to be the most eventful. As per usual, we got to the designated starting point early and claimed seats at the top. We had a wide choice of seats, the only other person on the top deck was two older women sitting together. I decided to sit halfway back, mainly because at this point in a 2 week trip I

3 07, 2017

Travel Missteps: Getting out of (Timeshare) Jail

By Lili|July 3rd, 2017|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 1997, 2011, Colorado, Girl’s Weekend, Hawaii, jail, Las Vegas, Nevada, North America, Ski Resort, Sunburnt 1997, timeshare, USA|0 Comments

I remember when growing up, my parents would frequently go to timeshare presentations. Not to actually buy anything, but to use whatever free stuff they were giving away. In Colorado, that usually was a free or discounted hotel room (and free childcare during the presentation) at a ski resort in the summer. I remember multiple times going up for a quick weekend in the mountains while my parents disappeared for a few hours before coming back. But, I was young and didn't have any idea what was actually happening until I experienced it first hand. I don't know how this

19 06, 2017

Travel Missteps: Searching for Bobby Flay’s Paella in San Francisco

By Lili|June 19th, 2017|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2008, 2016, Bobby Flay, Bobby Flay's Throwdown, California, Gerard Nebesky, Gerard's Paella, Good Food in San Francisco, North America, Paella, San Francisco, The Cannery, Throwdown with Bobby Flay|0 Comments

The night before our first trip to San Francisco I was watching TV with my Dad. As he flipped through the channels the Golden Gate Bridge came into view, so we decided to watch whatever it was. It turned out to be Throwdown with Bobby Flay, highlighting a Paella chef in San Francisco (season 5, episode 4). We had fun learning about Paella, seeing the sights of the town especially of the shows Fisherman's Warf local. Afterward watching it, we decided to seek out the "Paella Man" and try the delicious food we saw on TV. So the flight into San Francisco,