I’ve been thinking a lot about my ‘bucket list’ lately. The list of things and places I’ve come up with over the years that I really want to do and feel I must do.
Some things, like sky-diving in Zurich, Switzerland, seemed like the best idea in the world at the time and now 10-15 years later seem less exciting. But, then there are still things that I still want to do just as much as I did at the time I put them on my list.
Yet, I don’t like the term ‘bucket-list’ (originating from the original phrase ‘kick the bucket’ which means to die). A bucket list is technically a list of things one wants to do before one dies. If I only made lists of things to do before I die, I honestly wouldn’t get much done.
Because death seems like a long way a way when you’re healthy and living.
And I don’t know about anyone else but there’s a lot of stuff I really want to do and it’s too important to me to do those things, to wait until I feel my time is short.
So I’ll just call it a list of stuff I really wanna do. International/travel stuff.
What did my 17 -25 year old self want to do, that my 35 year old self still wants to do?
1) Visit Macchu Picchu. This is still on the top of my list!
2) Croatia: I put Croatia on my bucket list when I was 17 and only recently checked it off my list…. it was worth it!
3) To visit the island of Madeira in Portugal. I decided I wanted to visit Madeira 14 years ago when I was new to the wine industry and I tried my first aged Madeira. After looking up where it came from and doing a little research on the island, I was enthralled. It went on my mental Must Visit list and has yet to be checked off.
4) To visit Stratford-Upon-Avon, Windsor Castle, and Oxford in England; I have always been a sucker for British castles and history
5) Learn to Salsa Dance in a Latin American country. I Still want to do this but I’m open to how many years it takes. I just know I want to do it before I turn 40!
6) Learn Spanish in Spain. I did a little of this, but due to spending most of my time teaching in English programs and being short on funds I haven’t quite checked this one off my list completely yet. This Spring I will!
7) To stay in a Villa in Italy or a Chateau in France. Done! I stayed in a beautiful Chateau in Normandy on this trip, with a lovely guy I met in England who followed me to France to join me on my adventure.
8) Visit Prague- Done! As I’ve written about on this blog, the trip I’m currently on included a month’s stay in Prague. I’m in the middle of that month. So far, it’s as stunning a city as I’d ever imagined.
9) Visit Wineries in Piemonte, Marche, and Alto Adige in Italy; Burgundy, Champagne, Loire, Cote Rotie, and Alsace in France; Mosel and Rhein in Germany; Basque Country and Galicia in Spain; Istria. I’ve done 75% of these and will be doing more in the next few months (Basque Country and Galicia). I’m saving Istria for a female travel writer’s or wine industry trip.
10) To spend the night in a castle: I am hoping to do this in Ireland but would settle for anywhere in the UK or France!
11) To attend a writer’s retreat somewhere beautiful, remote, and green (top choices: Scotland, Wales, or Ireland). There’s something about the green, wet, solemn landscapes in these areas that tug at my creativity and inner author.
12) To marry a European so I don’t need any other excuse to be tied physically to Europe: Why not?! Of course this is sort-of a joke, but I wouldn’t count the option out. I’m as likely to marry a European as a person of any other citizenship. Which is, very unlikely. But gosh it would make life easier. š
13) To spend a month in Vietnam/Thailand doing a combination of mountain villages, beach areas, and cities: I’ve done so much of Europe, I’m looking forward to finally pursue my first Asian adventure. Plus I love love love the cuisines of these countries!
There’s something about having a list of ‘goals’, of which the pursuit is for no other reason than the pure enjoyment and fulfillment of intellectual and fantastical dreams.
I don’t want to think about what I need to do before I die, I want to think about what I’m going to do with the life that I have.
As much as possible, with every moment I’m given….
Nice list, I lived 8 years in Prague, so I know exactly what to visit in or around this country. You can even take a train to Kosice (Slovakia) and spend a day or two there. It is very nice city with great natural surroundings. I live here now, so let me know once you wanna go :)The city is 700km from Prague, but the train ticket costs 9,-EUR š which is nothing and the train is the most luxurious one in these two countries. š And you can even see the countryside during your journey.
Hi Julius- 8 years?! What did you do there? I have left Prague already, sadly but I do love the trains in Europe. Certainly cheaper in Prague than in Great Britain where I am now though! I’m on to Poland (quick 2 week trip I’ll be working 5 days a week as a volunteer English tutor in exchange for hotel and meals :))) and then Spain (6 weeks) next.