Travel - Lili on the Loose

1 06, 2017

Tips to Avoid the “Lost Bag” Worse Case Scenario

By Lili|June 1st, 2017|Categories: Travel, Travel Tips|Tags: carry on, checked bag, checking bags, lost bags, lost luggage, luggage, packing, Travel Thursday|0 Comments

Let me get this out of the way: I'm one of those "crazy" carry-on only travelers. I prefer to keep my things with me at all times. I hate the fear of losing a bag, having things stolen, or having a bag damaged. I also hate having to wait at baggage claim for my bag. I'd rather get out of the airport as quickly as possible. But sometimes carry-on only isn't an option, or your bag gets gate checked. So here are my best tips if you have to part from your bag. Source Main Carry-On One way

29 05, 2017

Museum Monday: Triceratops at ROM

By Lili|May 29th, 2017|Categories: Dinosaurs, Museums, Travel|Tags: 2015, Canada, fossil, North America, ROM, Royal Ontario Museum, Skull, Toronto, triceratops, Yea! Sports|0 Comments

I love Triceratops! This skull is on view at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, Canada. Museum Monday is an every other week series about museum news, objects, and reviews.

27 05, 2017

Souvenir Saturday: Olivanders Wands

By Lili|May 27th, 2017|Categories: Souvenirs, Travel|Tags: 2012, Birch, Diagon Alley, Florida, Ginny Weasley, Harry Potter, Hogsmeade, Islands of Adventure, North America, Ollivanders, Orlando, Orlando Adventure 2012, Universal, Universal Studios, USA, Wand, Wizarding World, Wizarding World of Harry Potter|0 Comments

Every Harry Potter fan dreams of getting their first Ollivanders wand. I picked the above Birch wand for its natural look and good grip. I also picked up the Ginny Weasley character wand. It's a nice sleek wand with a grip that is both simple and ornate at the same time. Souvenir Saturday is an every-other week series on the items that represent travel memories.

26 05, 2017

Golden Details of the Hanging Church

By Lili|May 26th, 2017|Categories: Attractions & Sights, Photography, Travel|Tags: 2015, Africa, Cairo, church, Coptic Cairo, Coptic Church, Dream of Egypt, Egypt, G Adventures, Hanging Church, Middle East, Photo Friday|0 Comments

These hints of gold throughout the Hanging Church of Coptic Cairo caught my eye. Every Friday Lili shares her favorite photography & the stories behind the photos.

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

19 05, 2017

Revealing the Mummy’s Secrets

By Lili|May 19th, 2017|Categories: Museums, Travel|Tags: ancient egypt, Colorado, Denver, Denver Museum of Nature & Science, DMNS, Egypt, exhibit, Mummies, Mummies New Secrets from the Tombs, museum, North America, Photo Friday, USA|0 Comments

A mummy in a CT scanner at Denver Museum of Nature and Science's New Secrets from the Toms exhibit from eariler this year. Every Friday Lili shares her favorite photography & the stories behind the photos.

18 05, 2017

Getting Over Eating Alone

By Lili|May 18th, 2017|Categories: Travel, Travel Tips|Tags: 2010, Lake Placid, Lake Saranac, New York, North America, NY, The Quiet Life, Travel Thursday, USA, work|0 Comments

I use to be incredibly shy and introverted. So I already knew my first solo business trip back in 2010 was going to push me to my limits (and it did right away with sitting in the cockpit of an airplane!) But, I figured it would be fine. I'd be at a resort with my clients and all their employees. I'd have my meals with them, I'd get to know them well. It would be good, it would be fine. It wasn't. It turns out that this three-day employee conference I flew out for...actually only had the "trade show floor" open

15 05, 2017

Museum Monday: Panthère de Cartier

By Lili|May 15th, 2017|Categories: Museums, Travel|Tags: bracelet, Brilliant: Cartier in the 20th Century, broach, cartier, Colorado, DAM, Denver, Denver Art Museum, diamonds, Duchess of Windsor, North America, panther, USA|0 Comments

The Denver Art Museum had an exhibit called Brilliant: Cartier in the 20th Century which I was lucky enough to see in its last few days. In 1914 Cartier starting using the panther in their advertising, and came out with their first panther inspired pieces. Then in 1917, Louis Cartier gave friend Jeanne Toussaint a panther cigarette case. This was the first piece to actually depict a full panther, not just parts as inspiration. In 1918, Toussaint joined the company as a designer and frequently came up with panther-inspired designs, earning the nickname “La Panthére" partly for her bold designs and strong personality. She eventually became

13 05, 2017

Souvenir Saturday: Camels vs Sand

By Lili|May 13th, 2017|Categories: Souvenirs, Travel|Tags: 2015, Africa, Camel, Camels, Dream of Egypt, Dream Trip to Egypt, Egypt, Egypt Explorer, G Adventures, Gadventures, GAP, Luxor, Middle East, sand, Souk, UNESCO, UNESCO World Heritage Site|0 Comments

I really wanted to get my friend's kids gifts from Egypt. I had spied some small stuffed camels in Cairo, and figured that would be good. But after traveling for almost 2 weeks, I still hadn't found the right ones yet. Some were too big, some were to scary (really, dancing and singing stuffed camels are weird), some were made...of real camel? I was hoping for something small, something that wouldn't be made of questionable materials, and something cheap. While in the Luxor souk I wandered into a shop that had these small camel keychains. The young seller made small

12 05, 2017

The Window at Philae

By Lili|May 12th, 2017|Categories: Attractions & Sights, Photography, Travel|Tags: 2015, Africa, Agilika Island, Aswan, Dream of Egypt, Egypt, G Adventures, Middle East, Philae, Philae Temple, Photo Friday, UNESCO, UNESCO World Heritage Site, window|0 Comments

I loved how the light fell on this window looking out onto the water at Philae Temple in Egypt. Every Friday Lili shares her favorite photography & the stories behind the photos.