Travel - Lili on the Loose

19 01, 2015

Travel Missteps: Groped in Guatemala or am I just bad at Charades?

By Lili|January 19th, 2015|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2013, Antigua, camera, Central America, Charades, church, groped, Guatemala, Mayan Encounter 2013, ruins, Safety, UNESCO, UNESCO World Heritage Site|0 Comments

I had an eventful first day in Antigua, Guatemala. I made chocolate, I shopped a bit, sprained an ankle, and I also had the largest scare I’ve ever had while traveling. The ruins of Santa Clara Before dinner I decided to squeeze in one last site. I was excited to see the many ruined churches of Antigua and there was one I could see from my hotel, a ruin called Convento de Santa Clara. Camera ready, I paid the Q40 to the bored man at the dark entrance. As you enter to the left the ruined church juts

10 01, 2015

Souvenir Saturday: La Befana

By Lili|January 10th, 2015|Categories: Souvenirs, Travel|Tags: 2006, All in the family Italy 2005/2006, Christmas, Epiphany, Europe, Hag, Halloween, Italy, La Befana, Rome, Santa Claus, Venice, Witch|0 Comments

On Monday we discussed the story behind La Befana, the Italian gift giver around the Epiphany. I wanted to share with you the little La Befana that I got in a roadside shop on the way from Rome to Venice. The witch has wide eyes, warts, and a fur hood. She carries some straw on one side, a broom on the other, and a bag that held candies on her back. Souvenir Saturday is an every-other week series on the items that represent travel memories.

5 01, 2015

Travel Missteps: La Befana

By Lili|January 5th, 2015|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2006, All in the family Italy 2005/2006, Christ Child, Christmas, cookies, Epiphany, Europe, guide, Hag, Halloween, Italy, Jesus, La Befana, milk, Piazza Navona, Rome, Santa Claus, Three Kings, Three Wise Man, tour, tour group, Trafalger, travel, UNESCO, UNESCO World Heritage Site, wine, Witch|0 Comments

Walking through Piazza Navona in Rome, Italy I hear the unmistakable cackling laugh of a witch! I turned towards a nearby stall and spy hundreds of flying witches hanging from the roof. Big ones, small ones. Some like an old woman, while others looked like a creepy old hag warts and all! Some even were animatronic whose eyes glowed red (and made the cackling laughter that caught my ear.) But surely this must be a mistake? For its not Halloween time, but after so soon after Christmas! I was confused but had no one to ask about this strange sight,

31 12, 2014

2014 The Year of Changes – Part 3: Travel

By Lili|December 31st, 2014|Categories: Travel, Year in Review|Tags: 2014, 2015, 4th of July, Boston, Boulder, California, changes, Denver, fall, fall leaves, graveyard, Halloween, historical, Massachusetts, museum, San Diego, saving, St. John, USVI, Wayin, work, year in review|0 Comments

This is Part 3 of my 2014 Year in Review. Travel With most of my time and energy for the year being tied up in job hunting, job getting, job starting, putting things into storage, moving, house hunting, and moving again - I didn’t travel much this year and ended up not going on my trip to St. John, USVI. USVI got the axe mainly because I wanted to save money for my new home, and because the trip had originally been scheduled for my first week at Wayin. So instead I focused on experiencing more of downtown Denver. I

28 04, 2014

Travel Missteps: A Smashing Good Time

By Lili|April 28th, 2014|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2003, all inclusive, birthday, cake, Central America, Holiday in Rivera Maya, local culture, Mexico, Rivera Maya, Sister Cities|0 Comments

Some travelers are against “All-Inclusives” since the best part of going to a foreign country is to experience the local culture first hand and that’s nearly impossible to do behind the secluded walls of the resort. But even in this type of setting, sometimes you are surprised and can experience the local culture in unexpected ways. At least, that is how we now look at my mother’s birthday while staying in an All Inclusive resort in Rivera Maya, Mexico in 2003. A relaxing beach in Mexico. It was a relaxing trip. Full of hanging out at the beach,

14 04, 2014

Travel Missteps: The art of Dim Sum

By Lili|April 14th, 2014|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2008, California, Dim Sum, food, Good Food, Good Food in San Francisco, North America, San Francisco, USA|0 Comments

San Francisco is known for its food culture and one type of dining is truly unique: Dim Sum. Dim Sum is a type of Chinese food style, where bite sized portions of foods come to you already cooked and you choose what you want to order. It is fun and a different type of experience to eating. And if you aren’t sure what is going on, you are certainly up for some surprises. We had Dim Sum twice. The first time was in a fancy restaurant that my sister and I happened upon. We at were the only people there

5 04, 2014

Souvenir Saturday: Shot Glasses

By Lili|April 5th, 2014|Categories: Buying Guide, History, Souvenirs, Travel|Tags: buying, ceramic, collectable, collection, glass, history, jigger, legends, measurement, memento, memories, New York Times, pour, shopping, shot, shot glass, shot glasses, souvenir, standard, travel, whisky glass|0 Comments

A Brief Un-History of the Shot Glass Shot Glasses have become a common souvenir staple the world round. It surprised me to learn that there really isn’t any idea on who first created the shot glass and what their initial purpose was for. There are actually so many stories and legends on why they were created and how they got their name, ranging from the plausible to outright legends. What can be said is that in 1940’s the first use of the term “Shot Glass” was printed in the New York Times in reference to a standard measurement of alcohol.

22 03, 2014

Souvenir Saturday: Daily Reminder

By Lili|March 22nd, 2014|Categories: Souvenirs, Travel|Tags: 2004, Asia, daily, exchange program, Japan, kimono, prank, shower, silk, Sister Cities, Sister Cities Japan 2004, souvenir|0 Comments

When purchasing a souvenir an important part of the buying process is what you are going to do with it once you get it back home. Is it just for your collection? A gift for someone else? Are you going to display it? Or is it something you plan on using day to day? In 2004 when I purchased an expensive silk kimono I planned on using it as a display piece, probably hang it on a wall. But I was a poor college student and couldn’t afford to frame it yet, so it sat in a box in my

17 03, 2014

Travel Missteps: Left Over Right

By Lili|March 17th, 2014|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2004, 7/11, Asia, exchange program, Japan, kimono, left, local culture, naked, prank, right, shopping, silk, Sister Cities, Sister Cities Japan 2004, souvenir, spirits, Tokyo, translation, yukata|0 Comments

In 2004, I was spending a few weeks in Japan as a cultural ambassador with my town's Sister Cities delegation of two chaperones and 9 other students. Beyond experiencing the sites of Tokyo for a few days, we all wanted to get some souvenir shopping done before we headed to the smaller, non-touristy town which was our sister city. I had read in a guide book that a store in Tokyo called "Oriental Bazaar" had a great selection of many typical Japanese souvenirs at cheaper prices. So I guided the group there. It was perfect, they had so many great

8 03, 2014

Souvenir Saturday: Its Smaller on the Outside

By Lili|March 8th, 2014|Categories: Souvenirs, Travel|Tags: 2009, at the heart of it Ireland 2009, castle, CIE, Coat of Arms, coins, collectable, collection, contrade, contrade of Siena, Doctor Who, Dublin, euro, Europe, exchange money, flag, group, Ireland, large, memento, memories, shopping, Siena, souvenir, tour, tour group, travel|0 Comments

I was on my last afternoon in Ireland, and had a lot of euro coins left over. Knowing that my bank won't exchange coins, was buying random souvenirs as gifts. One of the last items I bought was a small county flag of Dublin, Ireland. I had seen them around while traveling and they reminded me of the flags of the different contrade of Siena. But when I returned home and open the package, I found that this 7 euro flag, was not a small flag. But it was actually the size of a traditional flag (about the size of a