Travel Missteps - Lili on the Loose

5 06, 2017

Travel Missteps: Jorvik – “It’s just like Disneyland!”

By Lili|June 5th, 2017|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2002, Backpacking it in England and Scotland, Coppergate, Disney, England, Jorvik, Jorvik Viking Center, UK, United Kingdom, Vikings, York, York Minster|0 Comments

"It's just like Disneyland!" my Mother said. "There are rides! And a museum!" That is how my mother (or her guidebook she was reading from) described York's Jorvik Viking Center. We were trying to find an activity that would fill up one of our days in York, and a theme park seemed like something great for my middle-school-aged sister and with me since I was still in high school. Plus, I did like museums, so that seemed like a win-win. A little background: Jorvik is the name given to the 9th and 10th century York when it was ruled by

22 05, 2017

Travel Missteps: Shop Till You Drop

By Lili|May 22nd, 2017|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2016, Diagon Alley, Disney, Disney World, Disney's Hollywood Studios, Epcot, Florida, Harry Potter, Hogsmeade, Hollywood Studios, Islands of Adventure, Magic Kingdom, Magical Weekend, North America, Orlando, shopping, Universal, Universal Studios, USA, Walt Disney World, Wizarding World, Wizarding World of Harry Potter|0 Comments

Like most of my travel mistakes, this one is due to trying to do too much in too little time. Last year when I had a business trip in Disney World, I decided to try to do as much Disney and Universal in just 2 days. On Saturday, I did a whirlwind visit to Disney Hollywood Studios and Walt Disney World until I could bearly walk. I also did a lot of shopping, and had it sent the next day to my hotel's store for pickup. The problem was, you could only pick it up when the hotel's store was

8 05, 2017

Travel Missteps: Warning! Danger Noodle

By Lili|May 8th, 2017|Categories: Nature & Outdoors, Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2013, Bacalar Chico, Bacalar Chico National Park, Bacalar Chico National Park and Marine Reserve, beach, Belize, Caribbean, Caye Caulker, Central America, Coral, eel, island, Latin America, Mayan Encounter 2013, ocean, Sting Ray, UNESCO, UNESCO World Heritage Site|0 Comments

I don't know why but I fear eels. The first time I saw one was in St. John USVI. I actually thought it was a poisonous water snake and so freaked out. But as I learned more about eels I started to become weary of them. I love diving down, getting close to rocks and taking photos of the fish. You know what also lives in the rocks. EELS! Now beyond that first experience of seeing a spotted eel swimming near the top of the water, I hadn't seen another one. Of course my guide in Belize decided to change

24 04, 2017

Travel Missteps: What a View!

By Lili|April 24th, 2017|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2014, Boston, Haunted in Boston, Massachusetts, North America, USA, View, work|0 Comments

I've never worked in a real skyscraper. Which is why I was so fascinated when I was in Boston working with clients on an event. Working for a few days with amazing views of downtown Boston, Charles River, and the bay was a unique experience. But wasn't without peril. As one of my clients was showing me around the office, I spied a beautiful view of the bay, and in my excitement ran boob first into a transparent glass conference room wall, bouncing back stunned and confused. I had moved so fast, that it made a large bump noise and my breasts

10 04, 2017

Travel Missteps: The Best Laid Plans

By Lili|April 10th, 2017|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2015, Africa, bombing, Cairo, Dream of Egypt, Egypt, falcon, Frankfurt, Giza, Lufthansa, Middle East, Munich, plane crash, plans, Sharm el Sheikh, snorkeling, strike|0 Comments

I'm not known for spontaneity. As an introvert if I don't have set plans its too easy to forgo them. So when I travel I tend to overplan. I'm not insane. I don't have exact step by step down to the minute plans. Instead I have knowledge and options. I'll know of things to see and do, when they open, and what is nearby. Sort of like an al-la-carte menu. So what would you do with one free day? One full of promise, but no set plans? This is what I pondered for my last day in Egypt. I would be

27 03, 2017

Travel Missteps: The Runaway Snowboard

By Lili|March 27th, 2017|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: Colorado, Loveland, North America, Ski, Snowboard, USA|0 Comments

Source What I'm going to say is going to shock you. I don't like to ski or snowboard. I know, I live in Colorado know for its amazing ski resorts in the winter, and great hiking/camping in the summer. But I'm not really an outdoorsy type person. I'll push myself when traveling, but at home...I'd rather do art or curl up with a book. Now part of the reason I don't do outdoorsy stuff is because I have really bad ankles, of which I have collective sprained hundreds of times. I'm just too injury prone. Take for example

13 03, 2017

Travel Missteps: On the Wrong Foot

By Lili|March 13th, 2017|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2009, Abbey Tavern, at the heart of it Ireland 2009, dancing, Dublin, Europe, Ireland, jig, music|0 Comments

On our last night in Ireland we went to a tavern for "traditional" Irish music and dance. It was a long banquet hall, with tables facing the stage area. While we ate we listened to ballads and music. Then it came time to watch the dancing. They whirled and jigged about. After a few songs they then went out into the crowd and grabbed volunteers. Of course my family pushed me up. Me: klutzy and injury prone and not graceful. Everyone laughed as I struggled to keep up with the dancers. Although I felt like a fool, I played along.

27 02, 2017

Travel Missteps: Personal Time with TSA

By Lili|February 27th, 2017|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2016, airport, boarding pass, check in, chemical swab, Chemical Swab Test, Colorado, Denver, Disney, Disney World, EDS, ETD, Explosive Detection System, Explosive Trace Detection, false positive, Florida, full body scan, Global Entry, glycerin, Glycerine, Homeland Security, Magical Weekend, Nitrates, North America, Orlando, pat down, redress number, Secondary Security Screening Selectee, Secondary Security Screening Selection, security, SSSS, Trusted Traveler, TSA, TSA Pre-Check, Walt Disney World|0 Comments

I've talked about triggering the ETD system before, as well as getting the SSSS on almost every trip I fly. But there is light at the end of the tunnel. In May 2016, after reading all those articles of massive lines at TSA checkpoints (which disappeared later on in the year) paid $100 to apply for Global Entry and TSA Pre-Check. I didn't quite know what to expect. After being on the SSSS list, I decided against going through the lengthy "Redress" process. So I worried that I might be auto-denied for Global Entry. I waited a few weeks and

13 02, 2017

Travel Missteps: Walking The Unfinished Obelisk

By Lili|February 13th, 2017|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2015, Africa, Aswan, Dream of Egypt, Egypt, Egypt Explorer, G Adventures, Gadventures, GAP, Middle East, obelisk, unfinished obelisk|0 Comments

It has been a dream of mine to see the Unfinished Obelisk in Aswan. And so I was overjoyed to be one of 6 people there that day in 2015. You can see how few people were there! But I was a bit dismayed to see that the path to walk on the obelisk was roped off. I knew you could walk on it, and could still see the stone that allowed you to gain entrance to it. So I did what I would never normally do, I went off the path! A close up of the crack that

16 01, 2017

Travel Missteps: She Loves Chicken

By Lili|January 16th, 2017|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2004, Asia, chicken, Chino, Japan, Sister Cities, Sister Cities Japan 2004|0 Comments

Source One worry I had when traveling to Japan is that I wouldn't like the food. You see, I hate fish. And I'm allergic to seaweed. Which makes most sushi and common food items a no go for me. And then there was an issue of a mad cow scare making beef not an option either. My unique "diet" got a little lost in translation with my host family. So when I was introduced to people by them, it was "Kore wa Lili desu. Toriniku daisuki desu." Meaning "This is Lili, she loves chicken." I remember my host mother