Lili on the Loose - Lili on the Loose: On Life and Getting Lost

4 04, 2016

Museum Monday: Evening at the Nubian Museum

By Lili|April 4th, 2016|Categories: Museums, Photography, Travel|Tags: 2015, Africa, Aswan, Christian, Cross, Dream of Egypt, Egypt, G Adventures, Gadventures, GAP, Lion, Middle East, Mummies, Mummy, Nubian Museum, Photo Essay, Ramses II, Shawabti, Temple, Temple of Gerf Hussein, UNESCO, Ushabti|0 Comments

Ramses II statue from the Temple of Gerf Hussein surveys the main exhibition hall. Traveling in Egypt, you become accustom to expect everything to be rather old and dusty. From the markets to the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, things are not well labeled and lighting is almost non existent. So when visiting the Nubian Museum it was a pleasant surprise to find a modern museum! Finished in 1997 with UNESCO's help, it covers the history of Nubia, the area from Aswan and into Sudan, from pre-history all the way up to its more recent Islamic past to the

2 04, 2016

Souvenir Saturday: German Steiff Triceratops

By Lili|April 2nd, 2016|Categories: Dinosaurs, Souvenirs, Travel|Tags: 2011, Christmas Eve, Christmas in Germany 2011, Europe, Germany, Munich, plush, Steiff, stuffed animal, Teddy Bear, toy, triceratops|0 Comments

One souvenir on my checklist from Germany was a real Teddy Bear made by Steiff, one of the first makers of the modern Teddy Bear. I have a few old and antique Teddy Bears, and figured one directly from Germany would be a great addition to the collection. But while in Munich I stopped into a toy store...on Christmas Eve of all days! It was absolute chaos. I dodged and dived between rambunctious children. Just as I was about to give up and turn around I saw the Steiff section and decided to have a look. But I had walked

1 04, 2016

The Best Custom Photo Blanket of All Time

By Lili|April 1st, 2016|Categories: Photography|Tags: customer service, error message, LifePics, photo blanket, Photo Friday, work|0 Comments

I worked for years for a company that provided websites and technical supports for photo labs and their customers so you could place orders online. Working that job I saw a lot of bizarre things and was yelled at a lot. Nothing really phased me towards the end. So when a customer asked to be bumped to a supervisor, I took the chat. This particular product took nearly 2 weeks to make, as it was pretty much hand woven (or so they claimed) and then you had to add whatever (cheap) shipping the customer chose. So understandably as it was

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

25 03, 2016

In the Footsteps of Saint Pishoy

By Lili|March 25th, 2016|Categories: Attractions & Sights, Photography, Travel|Tags: 2015, Africa, Coptic, Coptic Orthodox, Coptic Orthodox monastery, Dream of Egypt, Egypt, G Adventures, Gadventures, GAP, Middle East, Monastery of Saint Pishoy, Natrun, Photo Friday, Saint Pishoy, saints, Wadi El Natrun|0 Comments

The kindly priests at the Monastery of Saint Pishoy in Wadi El Natrun, Egypt gave us a tour and told us the stories of their local saints. Every Friday Lili shares her favorite photography & the stories behind the photos.

24 03, 2016

Alfombras during Semana Santa in Antigua, Guatemala

By Lili|March 24th, 2016|Categories: Events, Travel|Tags: 2013, Alfombras, Ancient, Antigua, Antigua Guatemala Cathedral, Catedral de San José, Central America, church, earthquakes, Easter, Guatemala, Holy Week, Mayan, Mayan Encounter 2013, Roman Catholic, ruins, Santiago Cathedral, Semana Santa, Travel Thursday, UNESCO, UNESCO World Heritage Site|0 Comments

Visiting Antigua, Guatemala right before Semana Santa (Easter Holy Week) was great. I got to see the floats being made, as well as the unique tradition of Alfombras, colored sawdust carpets! These are made on the streets and pathways that will be taken when the models of Jesus and the stations of the cross are performed.This one was in the main Antigua Guatemala Cathedral and featured a beautiful fuchsia sawdust Alfombras in front of a statue of Jesus. In addition offerings of mangos, cantaloupe, corn, oranges, and pineapple helped to complete the display. And then fresh flowers lined the walkway. Some will be made

21 03, 2016

Museum Monday: Antinous as Dionysus

By Lili|March 21st, 2016|Categories: Museums, Travel|Tags: 2005, Alexandria, All in the family 2005/2006, All in the family Italy 2005/2006, Antinous, Dionysus, Europe, Hadrian, Italy, Roman Emperor, Rome, The Vatican, UNESCO, UNESCO World Heritage Site, Vatican City, Vatican Museum|0 Comments

Antinous was a lover of the Roman Emperor Hadrian who drowned in Alexandria in October 130 AD. After his death Hadrian commemorated him with many different statues and elevated Antinous to an almost god-like hero/deity. This version shows Antinous as Dionysus an Roman god of wine and ritual madness. It is on display at the Vatican Museum. Museum Monday is an every other week series about museum news, objects, and reviews.

19 03, 2016

History of the Steiff Teddy Bear

By Lili|March 19th, 2016|Categories: History, Souvenirs, Travel|Tags: Europe, Germany, plush, Steiff, stuffed animal, Teddy Bear, toy|0 Comments

The first Teddy Bear started in Germany with an Elephant. Actually it was an Elephant pin cushion. By 1879 Margarete Steiff had a successful clothing business and had made an Elephant pin cushion but found that children liked to play with it. In just 6 years 5000 little Elephants had been sold, and Margarete started to make different animals. As the variety grew, the phrase "For children, only the best is good enough!" became the hallmark of the Steiff brand. In 1902 Margarete’s nephew created the design for the first stuffed bear with movable arms and legs. But it wasn't until 1906

18 03, 2016

Pacific Arch at the National WWII Memorial

By Lili|March 18th, 2016|Categories: Attractions & Sights, Photography, Travel|Tags: 2013, Arch, Memorial, Museum Madness, National Mall, National World War II Memorial, North America, Photo Friday, USA, Washington DC, World War II|0 Comments

I only had a quick stop at this memorial. It was so pretty I wish I had more time. Every Friday Lili shares her favorite photography & the stories behind the photos.

17 03, 2016

Ireland: Land of Sheep, Pubs, & Churches

By Lili|March 17th, 2016|Categories: Photography, Travel|Tags: 2009, at the heart of it Ireland 2009, Celtic Cross, Clonmacnoise, County Offaly, Dublin, Europe, graveyard, High Cross, Ireland, pubs, sheep, Temple Bar, Travel Thursday|0 Comments

When I went to Ireland a few years ago on a bus tour, I liked to joke that the only things we saw were Sheep, Pubs, and Churches...in that order. So in honor of St. Patty's Day, here they are: Ireland is truly as green (and wet) as they say it is. Which brings views like this one where fields contain slow moving sheep grazing and lazying. In Dublin, tourists flock to Temple Bar which is lined with numerous pubs. The most famous is this one, Temple Bar, which also gives this area its nickname. And then there are the