Africa - Lili on the Loose

17 02, 2016

30 at 30: Best Experiences So Far

By Lili|February 17th, 2016|Categories: Travel, Travel Memories|Tags: Abu Simbel, Africa, Anaheim, Antigua, Asia, Aswan, Bath, Belize, Belize Barrier Reef, Bent Pyramid, birthday, Bostan, California, camping, Canyon Ranch Spa, castle, Caye Caulker, Cenote, Central America, Champ de Elysee, Chino, chocolate, Christmas Market, CIE, Concert, concert photography, Costa Rica, Dahshur, Dashur, DC, Disneyland, Egypt, England, Epiphany Night, Europe, Ewok, fireworks, Florida, France, G Adventures, Gadventures, GAP, Germany, golf carts, Great Britan, Guatemala, Harry Potter, haunted, Ik Kil, Ik Kill cenote, Ireland, Island of Adventure, Italy, Japan, Karnak, Lake Placid, Las Vegas, Latin America, lightsaber, Luxor, Massachusetts, memories, Mexico, Middle East, Munich, museum, Nagano Prefecture, Nevada, New York, North America, Orlando, Paris, photography, Playa Del Carmen, Pyramids, racing, Red Pyramid, reef, Rome, San Francisco, sharks, sheep, Sister Cities, snorkeling, Spa, St. John, Star Wars, Suwa, swimming, temples, The Vatican, Tokyo, tombs, tour, Trafalgar, Trajan's Column, travel experiences, trolly, Tucson, UK, UNESCO, UNESCO World Heritage Site, Universal Studios, USA, USVI, Vatican, Vatican City, Washington DC, white water rafting, Wizarding World of Harry Potter, yukata|1 Comment

Today is my birthday, and I've hit the "Big 3-0". I wanted to look back at 30 of my favorite travel memories in my life, in no particular order: Fulfilling my dream of going to Egypt, seeing so many amazing tombs and temples Sitting alone in the temples of Abu Simbel and Karnak Climbing into and on top of a pyramid Wandering the Christmas Markets of Munich Seeing the castles of Germany Taking a haunted trolly/walking tour of Boston graveyards. Seeing as many museums as I could in Washington, DC Swimming with sharks in Belize Racing golf-carts on Caye Caulker Making

16 02, 2016

Egypt Travelogue: Day 4, Part 3 – Memphis Open Air Museum

By Lili|February 16th, 2016|Categories: Travel, Travel Memories, Travelogue|Tags: 2015, Africa, caretaker, Colossus of Ramses II, column, Dream of Egypt, Egypt, Egypt Travelogue, Egyptian Sidekick, Egyptologist, Great Temple of Ptah, Hieroglyphics, Memphis, Middle East, mit rahina museum, Mohsen, Rameses II, Sidekick, sphinx|2 Comments

This is my travel diary of my trip to Egypt. It contains in detail my memories of what I did and saw. Sunday October 25, 2015 Egypt: Day 4, Part 3 - Memphis Open Air Museum As we drove to Memphis I marveled again at the small villages and towns we were driving through. I swear I saw every type of livestock and animal that could be ridden or eaten (well except for Rabbits or Llamas). I saw Yaks, Water Buffalos, Camels, Horses, Donkeys, Cows, lambs, Ducks, Chickens, as well as plenty of dogs and cats. I chatted a bit with Mohsen

13 02, 2016

Egypt Travelogue: Day 4, Part 2 – Bent Pyramid

By Lili|February 13th, 2016|Categories: Travel, Travel Memories, Travelogue|Tags: 2015, Africa, Bent Pyramid, Black Pyramid, Dahshur, Dashur, Dream of Egypt, Egypt, Egypt Travelogue, Egyptian Sidekick, Giza, Hetepheres I, Middle East, Mohsen, Pharaoh, Photo Essay, Pyramid, Queen Hetepheres I, Red Pyramid, Sidekick, Sneferu|2 Comments

This is my travel diary of my trip to Egypt. It contains in detail my memories of what I did and saw. Sunday October 25, 2015 Egypt: Day 4, Part 2 - the Bent Pyramid It was only a few minutes drive from the Red Pyramid to the Bent Pyramid. Mohsen and I bumped into another Egyptian Sidekick and his charges (Hugo and Cristina) and we were joined by a bored guard on his cell phone. The 5 of us (and the guard) were the only people in sight. In the distance you can see the ruins of the Black

11 02, 2016

Night Train to Aswan

By Lili|February 11th, 2016|Categories: Travel, Travel Memories, Travel Tips|Tags: 2015, Africa, Aswan, Asyut, Cairo, Dream of Egypt, Edfu, Egypt, Esna, Giza, Kom Ombo, Luxor, Middle East, night train, Qena, train, train travel, Travel Thursday|0 Comments

Farmland out the window. On my trip to Egypt, I spent one night on the sleeper train from Cairo to Aswan. The train from Cairo to Aswan for tourists only runs at night, so you must take the night train. It took about 13 hours. Here are my thoughts on the experience. The Station I boarded at the Giza Station. I was a bit sad as I was hoping to see the famed Ramses Station and its beautiful architecture, but we were on the Giza side of Cairo and it didn't sense to fight traffic back into town. The station is

10 02, 2016

Egypt Travelogue: Day 4, Part 1 – Road to Dahshur

By Lili|February 10th, 2016|Categories: Travel, Travel Memories, Travelogue|Tags: 2015, Africa, Bent Pyramid, Dahshur, Dashur, Dream of Egypt, Egypt, Egypt Travelogue, Egyptian Sidekick, Giza, Indiana Jones, Middle East, Mohsen, Pharaoh, Pyramid, Red Pyramid, Sidekick, Sneferu, Tomb|0 Comments

This is my travel diary of my trip to Egypt. It contains in detail my memories of what I did and saw. Sunday October 25, 2015 Egypt: Day 4, Part 1 - Road to Dahshur I woke up early and took a shower to help wake up. Although the day before the hotel told me I could stay in the room...I figured there would be problems. Which is why I packed up before going off in search of breakfast. To my non-surprise the only option was the buffet (the same one from the night before). I didn't have high hopes. As

9 02, 2016

Egypt Travelogue: Day 3 – Jet Lag in Giza

By Lili|February 9th, 2016|Categories: Travel, Travel Memories, Travelogue|Tags: 2015, Africa, airport, bomb, buffet, Cairo, customs, Dream of Egypt, Egypt Travelogue, Egyptian Sidekick, Emeralds, G Adventures, Gadventures, GAP, Giza, Grand Egyptian Museum, Great Pyramids, hibiscus, Hibiscus Tea, Holland, immigration, Jade, jewelry, Middle East, necklace, Poland, Pyramids, Saqqara, Scarab, Windmills|1 Comment

This is my travel diary of my trip to Egypt. It contains in detail my memories of what I did and saw. Saturday October 24, 2015 Egypt: Day 3 - Jet Lag in Giza It was hard to sleep on the plane, especially knowing that it would arrive to Cairo at nearly 2AM. The girl and I spoke some more. She was from Holland, but I was so tired I kept asking her about "Poland". She told me how its so flat and there are windmills everywhere. It actually sounded pretty idilic. As we entered the terminal, my G Adventures airport transfer

6 02, 2016

Shopping via Boat in Esna, Egypt

By Lili|February 6th, 2016|Categories: Souvenirs, Travel|Tags: 2015, Africa, bargaining, boat, Dream of Egypt, Egypt, Egypt Explorer, Esna, G Adventures, Gadventures, GAP, Middle East, Nile Cruise, shopping, table cloth|0 Comments

As the first small boat made its way towards our cruise ship, bumping up against the bow, people gasped. "Oh no! They crashed into us! Are they okay!" People asked while craning over the railing to get a better look. And then a second boat crashed up against us, and a third, and a forth. They just kept coming. As more and more small boats tied up against us, it became clear what they were doing. They unfurled towels, scarves, large table clothes, shouting at us to look. And then, they rolled it up, and chucked it clear up to

1 01, 2016

Shining Light on Egyptian Hieroglyphics

By Lili|January 1st, 2016|Categories: Attractions & Sights, Photography, Travel|Tags: 2015, Africa, Dream of Egypt, Edfu, Edfu Temple, Egypt, G Adventures, Gadventures, GAP, Hieroglyphics, Horus, Middle East, Photo Friday, Temple of Edfu, Temple of Horus|0 Comments

A new year, a new weekly series: Photo Friday! Each week I'll bring you some of my favorite photos, some of travel, some of my general life. I hope you enjoy! This Photo Friday, I share my favorite photo from Egypt. I was wandering the sanctuary area within the Temple of Horus in Edfu, Egypt. This area in ancient times would have been quite dark and only available to the priests of the temple. I turned around and saw the light shining through on the hieroglyphics, and I'm pleased with how it turned out. Every Friday Lili shares her favorite photography

31 12, 2015

My Top Instagrams From 2015

By Lili|December 31st, 2015|Categories: Year in Review|Tags: 2015, Africa, Cider, Colorado, Colorado State Capitol, Denver Museum of Nature & Science, DMNS, dog, Dream of Egypt, Egypt, Ingress, instagram, Local, Middle East, museum, North America, park, puppy, snow, The Old Mine, USA|0 Comments

These are my most popular Instagram posts this year! Travel, Museums, Local Experiences, and of course Puppies! Sounds about right! See more here and be sure to follow me!

31 12, 2015

2015: The Year of Exploration

By Lili|December 31st, 2015|Categories: Year in Review|Tags: 2015, 2016, Africa, blogging, Canada, Egypt, Florida, Ingress, Miami, Middle East, North America, Toronto, travel blog, Travel Thursday, travel writing, USA, year in review|0 Comments

This has been an amazing year more focused on travel! I had two very opposite business trips. The first, in the dead of winter, was to Toronto, Canada. I had just a little time to explore and so visited an aquarium & museum before a nasty snowstorm hit. The second work trip was to sunny Miami, FL in the heat of summer. This trip I had tons of bad luck and ended up just having a short time at the beach. And throughout this year I was busy preparing for my dream vacation to Egypt! Thankfully everything went smoothly and