Travel - Lili on the Loose

30 06, 2016

Hypaethral Hall of Trajan’s Kiosk

By Lili|June 30th, 2016|Categories: Attractions & Sights, Travel|Tags: 2015, Africa, Agilika Island, Aswan, Dream of Egypt, Egypt, G Adventures, Gadventures, GAP, Middle East, Philae, Philae Temple, Roman Emperor, Trajan, Trajan's Kiosk, Travel Thursday, UNESCO, UNESCO World Heritage Site|0 Comments

Trajan's Kiosk is a hypaethral temple (no roof) found at Philae in Egypt. Trajan was a Roman Emperor best known for having extended the Roman Empire to its largest area. Part of the newly acquired area was Egypt. Rome assimilated into the local culture and created hybrid architecture temples. This was one of them. It is airy and bright with beautiful different capitals on top of each column. And with a view right on the water. It was sometimes nicknamed "The Pharaoh's Bed".

29 06, 2016

Egypt Travelogue: Day 10, Part 2 – Nile Cruise Sets Sail

By Lili|June 29th, 2016|Categories: Travel, Travel Memories, Travelogue|Tags: 2015, Africa, Aswan, Cruise, Dream of Egypt, Egypt, Egypt Travelogue, G Adventures, Kom Ombo, Kom Ombo Temple, Middle East, Nile, Nile Cruise, Perfume|0 Comments

This is my travel diary of my trip to Egypt. It contains in detail my memories of what I did and saw. Saturday October 31, 2015 Egypt: Day 10, Part 2 – Nile Cruise Sets Sail After we made it past the sellers at the marina near Philae Temple we set off again. A few of us were dropped off at a Perfume store. We spent a while drinking tea and smelling all the various scents. I've never owned perfume so I don't know what I like (or am allergic too) and there are so many to smell that its hard to

28 06, 2016

Egypt Travelogue: Day 10, Part 1 – Philae Temple

By Lili|June 28th, 2016|Categories: Travel, Travel Memories, Travelogue|Tags: 2015, Africa, Agilika Island, Aswan, Dream of Egypt, Egypt, Egypt Travelogue, G Adventures, Hadrian, Middle East, Philae, Philae Temple, Roman Emperor, Trajan, Trajan's Kiosk, UNESCO, UNESCO World Heritage Site|0 Comments

This is my travel diary of my trip to Egypt. It contains in detail my memories of what I did and saw. Saturday October 31, 2015 Egypt: Day 10, Part 1 – Philae Temple It was another early day, and the food for breakfast wasn't that great. Now I'm not a breakfast person anyway, but even their potatoes were tasteless. Then it was time to board a bus to Philae Temple. When arrived we were once again accosted by numerous sellers. And this was before we even exited the bus! After Mikel got us tickets we had to run the gambit of numerous

27 06, 2016

Museum Monday: Alabaster Sphinx of Memphis

By Lili|June 27th, 2016|Categories: Museums, Travel|Tags: 2015, Africa, Alabaster Sphinx of Memphis, Amenhotep II, Amenhotep III, Calcite Sphinx, column, Dream of Egypt, Egypt, Egyptian Sidekick, Great Temple of Ptah, Hatshepsut, Memphis, Middle East, mit rahina museum, Pharaoh, Photo Essay, sphinx, statue|0 Comments

This lovely statue is found in the open air museum in Memphis, Egypt. It is called the "Alabaster Sphinx" or the "Calcite Sphinx" due to the yellow coloration of the stone. It is unknown which pharaoh is depicted here, but it is known it is from the 18th dynasty. Museum Monday is an every other week series about museum news, objects, and reviews.

25 06, 2016

Souvenir Saturday: Siena Palio Contrade Banner

By Lili|June 25th, 2016|Categories: Events, Souvenirs, Travel|Tags: 2005, 2006, All in the family 2005/2006, All in the family Italy 2005/2006, Banner, contrade, Europe, horse race, Italy, Palio, Piazza del Campo, Siena|0 Comments

The Palio is a 90 second horse race in Siena, Italy that takes place twice a year in the heart of the city at Piazza del Campo. It is a race for honor and prestige for the winer representing one of the 17 Contrade (districts) within the city. Of the 17 Contrade, only 10 are randomly chosen to participate in the race. They then go on to get randomly assigned a horse, and then must find a jockey to represent them. There are very few rules to the Palio, its sort of a "anything goes" and rivalry between the different

24 06, 2016

Pura Vida – Pink Sunset

By Lili|June 24th, 2016|Categories: Nature & Outdoors, Photography, Travel|Tags: 2012, beach, Central America, Costa Rica, Costa Rica & Orlando Adventure, Costa Rica Adventure 2012, G Adventures, Gadventures, GAP, Montezuma, ocean, Photo Friday, sunset|0 Comments

This was a peaceful beach near the hostel I was staying at in Montezuma, Costa Rica. I found a lot of sea glass on this beach while I watched the sun set. Every Friday Lili shares her favorite photography & the stories behind the photos.

23 06, 2016

Coptic Crosses at Philae Temple

By Lili|June 23rd, 2016|Categories: Attractions & Sights, Photography, Travel|Tags: 2015, Africa, Agilika Island, Alter, Aswan, Coptic, Coptic Church, Coptic Cross, Cross, Crosses, Dream of Egypt, Egypt, G Adventures, Hieroglyphics, Middle East, Philae, Philae Temple, Travel Thursday, UNESCO, UNESCO World Heritage Site|0 Comments

These crosses are a jarring contrast against the detailed hieroglyphics you see throughout Philae Temple, so its not hard to spot them. On columns and entryways they are found. They stand out more than the ancient graffiti. And even stand out more than the defaced images of Egyptian Gods, Goddesses, Pharaohs and everyday people. When I first saw these, as a fan of Ancient Egypt I was peeved. Philae Temple is so impressive, and the carvings that remain intriguing. But upon reflection these crosses shows how ancient temples found new uses in later times. They were refuges for early oppressed Christians as

21 06, 2016

Egypt Travelogue: Day 9, Part 3 – Aswan at Night

By Lili|June 21st, 2016|Categories: Museums, Travel, Travel Memories, Travelogue|Tags: 2015, Africa, Archangel Michael Coptic Orthodox Cathedral, Aswan, bargaining, Cathedral, Christian, church, Coptic, Coptic Church, Cross, Dream of Egypt, Egypt, G Adventures, Gadventures, GAP, Lion, Middle East, Mummies, Mummy, Nubian Museum, Photo Essay, Ramses II, Shawabti, shopping, Temple, Temple of Gerf Hussein, UNESCO, Ushabti|0 Comments

This is my travel diary of my trip to Egypt. It contains in detail my memories of what I did and saw. Friday October 30, 2015 Egypt: Day 9, Part 3 – Aswan at Night It wasn't that long of a walk to the Nubian Museum. When we went the museum actually opened in the morning, then closed around lunchtime, and then opened up again at 4PM and into the night. This is actually rare nowadays in Egypt, as most other sites and museums close around 4-5. Which is actually a bummer as I was still ready to site see around that

20 06, 2016

Travel Missteps: Where’s Dad?

By Lili|June 20th, 2016|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: Fort Hays, Kansas, KFC, North America, road trip, trapped, USA|1 Comment

A lot of my family lives in Kansas. It is around an 8 hour drive from Colorado to Kansas, and so I've become a conquerer of the rest/truck stops and restaurants along our route from years of making that road trip. However, one place my father refuses to go back to is the KFC in Fort Hays, KS. To say he had a bad experience is a bit of an understatement. It started out like a normal stop. We were hungry, and there aren't a whole lot of healthy options that are quick, because we've learned who really wants to

18 06, 2016

Egypt Travelogue: Day 9, Part 2 – Agatha Christie’s Aswan

By Lili|June 18th, 2016|Categories: Travel, Travel Memories, Travelogue|Tags: 2015, Abu Simbel, Africa, Agatha Christie, Aswan, Cruise, cruise ship, Dream of Egypt, Egypt, Egypt Travelogue, Felucca, G Adventures, Middle East, Nile, Nile Cruise, Old Cataract Hotel, Tea, touts|0 Comments

This is my travel diary of my trip to Egypt. It contains in detail my memories of what I did and saw. Friday October 30, 2015 Egypt: Day 9, Part 2 – Agatha Christie's Aswan We headed back to our hotel at the far end of town to pickup our bags. Then we drove towards the center of town and boarded the cruise ship. To board you crossed a gangplank and then would go through multiple cruise ship's lobbies. The first one we went through was obviously a more upscale one, and I admired the well done faux Egyptian carvings in their