Travel - Lili on the Loose

14 11, 2016

Museum Monday: Crocodile Museum at Kom Ombo

By Lili|November 14th, 2016|Categories: Museums, Travel|Tags: 2015, Africa, crocodile, Crocodile Museum, Dream of Egypt, Egypt, falcon, G Adventures, Gadventures, GAP, Horus, Kom Ombo, Kom Ombo Temple, Middle East, Mummy, Nile, Sobek|0 Comments

Kom Ombo is an amazing temple. Its unique due to the fact its dedicated to not one but two different gods: The falcon-headed Horus & Sobek the Crocodile-headed God. Included with your admission to the temple is a small but well curated museum dedicated to Sobek. When you first walk in, you'll be greeted by a dozen smiling preserved crocodiles resting on a bed of sand. As you walk around you'll see various statues and stele depicting Sobek. Sobek was associated with fertility (likely due to crocodiles living in the Nile) as well as military prowess. You'll also see numerous crocodile

12 11, 2016

Souvenir Saturday: Genuine Sea Glass

By Lili|November 12th, 2016|Categories: Souvenirs, Travel|Tags: 2010, 2011, 2012, beach, Caribbean, Central America, Costa Rica, Costa Rica Adventure 2012, Montezuma, ocean, Sea Glass, St. John, St. John 2010, St. John 2011, USVI|0 Comments

I often look for unique sea shells when I'm on vacation, but natural or genuine Sea Glass is like winning a treasure hunt! Sea Glass comes from broken glassware that are tumbled and grounded against the sandy sea floor and can take anywhere from 20-50 years before it reaches it characteristic weathering of frosted coloration and rounded edges. There are rumors that people use to refer to them as "Mermaid Tears", morning drowned sailors. Sea Glass has become so widely used as "gems of the sea" that they actually have a rating, as well as some colors are rarer than

11 11, 2016

Ancient Egyptian Lion Gargoyle

By Lili|November 11th, 2016|Categories: Attractions & Sights, Photography, Travel|Tags: 2015, Africa, Dendera, Dendera Temple, Dream of Egypt, Egypt, G Adventures, Gadventures, GAP, Gargoyle, Hieroglyphics, Lion, Middle East, Photo Friday, Temple of Hathor|1 Comment

At the Temple of Hathor in Dendera, Egypt you can still see the lion-headed gargoyles that funneled the captured rain off the roof, and into scared wells. Every Friday Lili shares her favorite photography & the stories behind the photos.

7 11, 2016

Travel Missteps: Static Cling Terror

By Lili|November 7th, 2016|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2005, 2006, All in the family 2005/2006, All in the family Italy 2005/2006, bus, Bus Tour, Europe, Florence, group, Italy, micro beads, neck pillow, static cling, styrofoam, tour group, Trafalgar, Tuscany|0 Comments

Source Do you know what that is? No? Consider yourself lucky. What those are, are little styrofoam balls called Micro-Beads and they are found in a lot of those travel neck pillows that people have. I discovered what was inside mine the hard way on a tour of Italy. I think it was halfway through the trip, somewhere around Florence or Tuscany when it happened. I remember my black neck pillow had fallen to the floor and gotten stuck. I was late getting off the bus, so I tugged as hard as I could, and it still wasn't

4 11, 2016

The Apotheosis of Washington

By Lili|November 4th, 2016|Categories: Attractions & Sights, Photography, Travel|Tags: 2013, Brumidi, Constantino Brumidi, DC, Dome, George Washington, Museum Madness, North America, Photo Friday, rotunda, The Capitol, United States Capitol Building, USA, Washington DC|0 Comments

I love taking photos of domes. This one is in the US Capitol Building's rotunda, and is called the Apotheosis of Washington, showing George Washington as if he was a god. Every Friday Lili shares her favorite photography & the stories behind the photos.

3 11, 2016

Egyptian Sidekick Review

By Lili|November 3rd, 2016|Categories: Travel, Travel Review|Tags: 2015, Africa, Cairo, Dahshur, day trip, Dream of Egypt, Egypt, Egyptian Sidekick, Egyptologist, Giza, Memphis, Middle East, Mohsen, recommendation, Review, Saqqara, Sidekick, tour, tour company, Travel Thursday|0 Comments

On my second day in Egypt, I wanted to splurge and have a private tour, so I could see the sights of Dahshur, Memphis, and Saqqara at my own pace. Trying to find a reputable Egyptologist guide online was a bit daunting, so I decided to go in a different direction. This is my review of Egyptian Sidekick. This review is my own and was not solicited by the tour company and I paid full price for the tour. What is it? Egyptian Sidekick is a private tour organizer that provides tailored sightseeing experiences for you or your group. They

31 10, 2016

Museum Monday: Poisons in Literature

By Lili|October 31st, 2016|Categories: Museums, Travel|Tags: Colorado, Denver, Denver Museum of Nature & Science, DMNS, exhibit, Fantasy, museum, North America, Photo Essay, Poison, The Power of Poison, USA|0 Comments

Last year the Denver Museum of Nature and Science had an exhibit on Poison. Part of that exhibit was around the use of poison as a plot device in literature. First up is the well known Sherlock Holmes series. Beyond showing old books, they exhibit featured common items, and some hints of what poisons were used. But while Sherlock is good, Agatha Christie is the queen of mysteries. I was sad though as I leaned in to see better, that they listed which poison was used in which book. SPOILER ALERT! Jeeze! But its not just mysteries. A lot of children's

29 10, 2016

Souvenir Saturday: Haunting Tales

By Lili|October 29th, 2016|Categories: Souvenirs, Travel|Tags: 1997, 2000, Appalachian Foothills, Book, books, Georgia, ghost stories, Ghosts & Haunts from the Appalachian Foothills, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Hawaii, Hawaii's Best Spooky Tales, legends, North America, Oahu, Odyssey of the Mind, Odyssey of the Mind World Finals, OM, Pacific, stories, Sunburnt, Tennessee, USA|0 Comments

As a child I wanted to grow up and be a Librarian (well and a paleontologist or Indiana Jones!) As I just loved books! I would go to a few book stores on each trip, mainly to purchase more to read as I would have gone through all of the books I brought (thank god for the Kindle...no more separate bag just for books!) On two trips when I was in middle school I picked up my two favorite Ghost Stories books! In 1997, I stopped by this little bookstore and picked up a few of Rick Carroll's Hawaii's Best

28 10, 2016

Egyptian Galabeya Party on Nile Cruise

By Lili|October 28th, 2016|Categories: Photography, Travel, Travel Memories|Tags: 2015, Africa, Cruise, cruise ship, Dream of Egypt, Egypt, Galabeya, galabeya party, jilbab, Kom Ombo, Middle East, Nile, Nile Cruise, Photo Friday|0 Comments

Last year I spent Halloween in Egypt. On the night of the 31st the cruise ship had a Galabeya Party. It is a standard dress that is slowing with sleeves. Some of us ended up buying one from the market to wear at the party. I considered it my "Halloween Costume" last year. Every Friday Lili shares her favorite photography & the stories behind the photos.

24 10, 2016

Travel Missteps: The Dueling Grounds of Bath, England

By Lili|October 24th, 2016|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2002, Backpacking it in England and Scotland, Bath, druid, druid tree, duel, dueling grounds, duelist, England, Europe, Garrick's Head pub, ghost, Ghost Tour, holly, holly bush, holly tree, ley lines, poltergeist, roman, roman bath, royal crescent, Royal Victoria Park, skeptics, The Gravel Walk, UK, UNESCO, UNESCO World Heritage Site, United Kingdom|1 Comment

Source I always was a strange kid. I loved reading about magic and ghosts, so when my family was in England I begged to do a ghost tour. My parents figured the poltergeist tours of London and Edinburg might be a little too intense for my sister and I, so instead my mother found a walking ghost tour of Bath. It was a fairly tame tour, starting out right before dusk and telling us the history of the town, from Roman times up to Victorian times. He told us about druids and ley lines, and how the