Mexico - Lili on the Loose

14 03, 2016

Travel Missteps: Swept Out To Sea

By Lili|March 14th, 2016|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2003, 2012, all inclusive, Arenal, Central America, Costa Rica, Costa Rica Adventure 2012, fear, Holiday in Rivera Maya, kayak, La Fortuna, lake, Mexico, ocean, Rivera Maya, sea kayaking, white water rafting|0 Comments

My first trip to Mexico I stayed in an all-inclusive hotel with my family. My mother certainly had an interesting birthday! But she also saved me on this trip. My sister and I had taken a sea kayak out on the beach of our Rivera Mayan hotel. It wasn't much fun as the waves kept hitting us. So my sister turned around. I kept going further out, trying to see the island of Cozumel better. But as I turned around and attempted to come in, I realized frighteningly that I was stuck in a current...that was taking me further out

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

17 10, 2015

Souvenir Saturday: Dia De Los Muertos Skull

By Lili|October 17th, 2015|Categories: Souvenirs, Travel|Tags: 2013, Central America, Dia De Los Muertos, Latin America, magnet, Mayan Encounter 2013, Mexico, Playa Del Carmen, purple, Skull|0 Comments

I use to have a list of items I collected from each vacation, postcards, shot glasses, art, music, snow globes, and finally magnets. I've since paired down my collections, but one of my favorite items I got in Mexico is a Dia De Los Muertos style Skull magnet. Its purple (my favorite color) and made of clay or ceramic and is pretty hefty for a magnet. On one side a Male rests. On the other a woman dances. And the top has a scene of birds, cactuses, and the sun. Souvenir Saturday is an

8 03, 2015

The Sounds that Travel with Us

By Lili|March 8th, 2015|Categories: Travel, Travel Memories|Tags: 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2015, All in the family Italy 2005/2006, Asia, at the heart of it Ireland 2009, Backpacking it in England and Scotland, Belize, BuzzFeed, California, Canada, Caribbean, Central America, Christmas in Germany, christmas music, Costa Rica, drinking song, England, Europe, Germany, Good Food in San Francisco, Guatemala, House of Cards, Ireland, Italy, Japan, ke$ha, kesha, Las Vegas, Linkin Park, Mattafix, Mayan Encounter 2013, memories, Mexico, Nevada, North America, paradise, Robert Post, Sailor Moon, San Diego, San Francisco, Scotland, Sister Cities Japan 2004, song, songs, sound, sounds, St. John, St. John 2010, Toronto, USA, USVI, wild rover, Yea! Sports|0 Comments

BuzzFeed recently had an article about the sounds from Italy that will fill you with Wanderlust. And it reminded me of all the sounds I associate with certain trips. Here are some of my top highlights that will instantly take me back in time: Toronto: Theme from House of Cards Google Play and Amazon had the first episode of House of Cars for free. I figured, sure why not, lets see what the hype is all about. I watched the first episode on my flights out...and got hooked. At night I'd watch House of Card before falling asleep. San Diego:

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,

12 02, 2013

Upcoming Travel Plans: Mayan Encounter 2013

By Lili|February 12th, 2013|Categories: Itinerary, Travel, Travel Planning, Upcoming Travel|Tags: 2013, Belize, Central America, G Adventures, Gadventures, GAP, Guatemala, itinerary, Latin America, Mayan, Mayan Encounter 2013, Mayan ruins, Mexico, plan, planning, ruins, snorkel, snorkeling, tour, upcoming travel|0 Comments

For my next adventure I will explore Mayan ruins and enjoy fabulous snorkeling in Central America. My basic itinerary will be: After a full day of travel I will arrive in Guatemala late at night. I will spend 2 days in Antigua, Guatemala to explore the city. I plan on visiting many ruined churches, see a Coffee Plantation, see how Jade is made, and make my own Chocolate! Then my tour with Gadventures will start and we'll move onto Flores, Guatemala to explore the quaint and small island city on foot and by boat. The next day we'll move onto