Travel Missteps - Lili on the Loose

28 03, 2016

Travel Missteps: The Best Bar That I Never Went To

By Lili|March 28th, 2016|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2013, Angie Angie Cafe arte, ankle, Antigua, bar, bookstore, cafe, Café No Sé, Central America, directions, G Adventures, Gadventures, GAP, Guatemala, injury, joke, language, lost, Mayan Encounter 2013, ruins, Santa Clara, spanish, translations|0 Comments

After my strange “tour” of the Santa Clara ruins, I met a member of my G Adventures group, Tony. I relayed to him what had happened, and he offered to come with me as we went to find something to do that night. I really wanted to check out a bar that someone had recommended called Café No Sé. It is supposed to be a great ex-pat bar where all the travelers go. It was described as a bit bohemian with live music, and so sounded like a lot of fun. So we set off. I pride myself on my

14 03, 2016

Travel Missteps: Swept Out To Sea

By Lili|March 14th, 2016|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2003, 2012, all inclusive, Arenal, Central America, Costa Rica, Costa Rica Adventure 2012, fear, Holiday in Rivera Maya, kayak, La Fortuna, lake, Mexico, ocean, Rivera Maya, sea kayaking, white water rafting|0 Comments

My first trip to Mexico I stayed in an all-inclusive hotel with my family. My mother certainly had an interesting birthday! But she also saved me on this trip. My sister and I had taken a sea kayak out on the beach of our Rivera Mayan hotel. It wasn't much fun as the waves kept hitting us. So my sister turned around. I kept going further out, trying to see the island of Cozumel better. But as I turned around and attempted to come in, I realized frighteningly that I was stuck in a current...that was taking me further out

29 02, 2016

Travel Missteps: “It’s a Gift” Scam at Pompeii

By Lili|February 29th, 2016|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2006, All in the family Italy 2005/2006, Europe, Italy, Pompeii, scam, UNESCO, UNESCO World Heritage Site|0 Comments

The view of Vesuvius. Pompeii is an incredible site. Covered over by Vesuvius' explosion in 79 AD, it wasn't rediscovered until 1748 and has had ongoing digs since then. I had spent a semester studying ancient Roman architecture and this frozen city is a perfect place to relive the past. But like most amazing tourist sights, the entry/exit is swarmed with souvenir and chotskies sellers. After heading out of the bathroom an old local woman slipped a shell bracelet onto my wrist. She said it was a gift. Immediately I knew this was not the case, and tried to hand it back

15 02, 2016

Travel Missteps: Pineapple Maze Hawaii

By Lili|February 15th, 2016|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 1997, Dole, Dole Pineapple, Dole Plantation, Hawaii, Maze, Pineapple, Pineapple Maze, Sunburnt 1997|1 Comment

Source My little sister and I have always been different from each other, and attack problems in our own ways. Which is probably why we don't travel well together, we are just have different travel styles. This meant family vacations usually had a lot of little strifes and our first trip to Hawaii was full of them. I was just about to start middle school, while my little sister was in grade school. She had just had a huge growth spurt, and so was now taller than me. My parents were determined that we should get along better, so

1 02, 2016

Travel Missteps: The Early Morning Dilemma

By Lili|February 1st, 2016|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2015, Canada, North America, Ontario, Tim Hortons, time difference, Toronto, work, Yea! Sports|0 Comments

Time Changes can be killer. Especially if you do not have any time to get use to it. I was in Toronto for a weekend to assist a client activation. On the day of the event, the call time to the studio was 5:50 AM. To ensure I had enough time to get up, get ready, wake up, have breakfast and walk the 30 minutes to the studio I set my alarm for 4:30 AM. But this seemed so cruel. Because I was now 2 time zones ahead, 4:30AM seemed like 2:30 AM to me. So it was going to

18 01, 2016

Travel Missteps: Don’t Look Under the Ledge

By Lili|January 18th, 2016|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2010, 2013, beach, Belize, boat, California, Caribbean, Caye Caulker, Central America, fear, fish, G Adventures, Gadventures, GAP, grouper, island, Little Maho Bay, Maho, Mayan Encounter 2013, Mermaid, Michigan, ocean, paradise, snorkel, snorkeling, St. John, St. John 2010, The Little Mermaid, underwater photography, UNESCO, UNESCO World Heritage Site, USVI, water|0 Comments

As a young child, my favorite movie was The Little Mermaid. I loved swimming and spent my childhood on the beaches of California and the Great Lakes of Michigan pretending to be a mermaid. On my first trip to St. John USVI, it was my first time snorkeling in years and I was excited to try out my new equipment and underwater camera. I swam out to a rocky outcropping near Little Maho Bay Beach and got a little snap happy as I hadn't expected the water to be so clear or to see so many fish so close to the

4 01, 2016

Travel Missteps: Like a Turtle

By Lili|January 4th, 2016|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2004, airport, Asia, baggage, bags, Chino, exchange program, fall, Japan, manga, Nagano, Sister Cities, Sister Cities Japan 2004, souvenir, Tokyo, turtle|0 Comments

Saying goodbyes to the friends you’ve made while traveling is one of the hardest things to do. In 2004 I was part of the Sister Cities exchange program and stayed in Chino, Nagano Prefecture, Japan. I made great friends and had a great time. But getting up early to say our goodbyes before heading out on a 37 hour travel day was hard. There were lots of hugs, tears, and photos. And then...there were a lot of times I just keeled over. Farewell to Kana, note the 3 bags on my person and the 4 bags on the ground.

21 12, 2015

Travel Missteps: It was Santa!

By Lili|December 21st, 2015|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2011, Christmas in Germany 2011, Denver, Europe, flight, flight attendant, Germany, santa, USA|0 Comments

Occasionally you witness someone else’s Travel Missteps and Mistakes. On a flight from Denver to Germany right before Christmas I saw this big drunk German guy in a cowboy hat walk onto the plane late for boarding. He had a bunch of loose items, mostly what looked like various Walmart/Target toys for children. Since he was late most of the overhead space was taken, so he would just jam a toy here and there as he found space while walking towards the back of the plane. Apparently he had also put some toys in the space for the fire extinguisher

7 12, 2015

Travel Missteps: Terror on the High Seas

By Lili|December 7th, 2015|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2015, Africa, Cairo, Camel, Camels, Dream of Egypt, Dream Trip to Egypt, Egypt, Egypt Explorer, fear, fear of heights, G Adventures, Gadventures, GAP, Giza, Middle East, UNESCO, UNESCO World Heritage Site|1 Comment

They call camels the "Ships of the Desert" as they are the most resilient and efficient form of travel. I actually hadn't planned on riding a camel. I had been warned, "They spit! They bite!" And other travel bloggers noted that the gate of a camel is awkward and will make you walk funny for days after. But I got caught up in the mystique of the pyramids, and so happily joined my friend on a camel trek in the desert around the Great Pyramids of Giza. Plus it cost so little! Just 120 EGP (plus 10 EGP tip at

23 11, 2015

Travel Missteps: Bag full of Mugs

By Lili|November 23rd, 2015|Categories: Buying Guide, Drinks, Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2011, Christmas, Christmas in Germany 2011, Christmas Market, Cristkindlmarket, deposit, ein Pfand, Europe, Feuerzangebowle, Frankfurt, Germany, Glühwein, Heise Schokolade, hot chocolate, Kinderpunsch, Mead, mit Schuss, mug, mugs, Munich, Pfand, rum, Warmer Met, Weinahtsmarkt, wine|0 Comments

People Making Merry at the Frankfurt Christmas Market Staying Warm at the Market with the Best Christmas Drinks Christmas Markets are the perfect place to meet and socialize. Many stalls will have places to sit, or standing tables to gather around. But the trick to stay warm for this winter pastime? Drinking hot beverages! Here are the traditional drinks you may find: Glühwein is the most popular of the holiday drinks. It is made with mulled wine, usually red wine, but you might see versions that are made with white, rosè, or fruit wines. It is mixed and heated