Jacqui’s (revised) bucket list

To help me prioritise all of the places around the world I wanted to travel to the most, and to push me to consider adventures and experiences outside my comfort zone, I drafted my first bucket list in December 2012. And, my goal was (and still is) to complete five items from my bucket list each year.

Now that I am approaching my 30th birthday (yay!), I am reflecting on all of the amazing adventures we have had and all of the awesome things we have seen over the last few years. We have already achieved plenty, but a lot can change in three years and I think that it might be time to revise and revamp the 67 items that were on my original bucket list.

And, because the best inspiration comes from experience and recommendations from other travellers, I’m asking you for your bucket list suggestions!

Let me know what I should include in my ever-evolving bucket list: leave a post on The Never Ending Honeymoon Facebook page, tweet me @jacquitravels, or tag @jacquitravels in your Instagram photos.

This is my (revised) bucket list so far:

Europe

1. Tour the Roman Forum and Colosseum (January 2010)
2. Visit Vatican City, Italy (January 2010)
3. Visit ancient Stonehenge (December 2009)
4. Celebrate St Patrick’s Day in Ireland
5. Take a black taxi tour of the Troubles in Belfast, Ireland
6. Hop on the ancient stones of the Giant’s Causeway in County Antrim, Ireland
7. Drink vodka on the Trans-Siberian Railway
8. Spend a day at the Tivoli in Copenhagen, Denmark
9. Climb the Eiffel Tower in Paris (January 2010)
10. Enjoy a traditional Bouchon and explore the traboules of Lyon, France (August 2012)
11. A canal tour of the canals in Amsterdam (May 2015)
12. Rent a bike and see the tulips in The Netherlands (May 2015)
13. Watch a cricket match at Lord’s, England
14. Dance at the Notting Hill Carnival in London (August 2012)
15. Dine at Rules, the oldest restaurant in London
16. Dance and chill at Glastonbury Music Festival (June 2013)
17. Drink Absinthe in Czech Republic
18. Shop at the Grand Bazaar and drink tea in Istanbul, Turkey (April 2014)
19. Go on a Hot Air Balloon ride at sunrise (Cappadocia, April 2014)
20. Attend a minute’s silence on ANZAC day on the Gallipoli Peninsula (April 2014)
21. Drink beer and dance on the tables in a Munich beer hall (May 2014)
22. Ski in the French Alps (January 2013)
23. Spend the night at the Opera in Vienna, Austria
24. Drink beer in Brussels, Belgium (June 2014)
25. Go to the  Bolshoi Ballet in Moscow, Russia
26. Taste Scotch whisky in the Scottish Highlands (November 2013)
27. View Reykjavik’s skyline from the top of Hallgrímskirkja church (May 2012)
28. Walk the Berlin Wall and visit the the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, also known as the Holocaust Memorial, in Berlin, Germany (January 2014)
29. Follow the In Bruges trail, in Bruges
30. Hiking in the Greater Caucasus mountains, Kazbegi, Georgia
31. Drink a Riga Black Balsam in Latvia (December 2015)
32. Get up close to a warship at Stockholm’s Vasa Museum (January 2015)
33. Experience the incredible Norwegian Sognefjord (Geirangerfjord), Fjords in Norway
34. Say hello to the Mona Lisa at the Louvre in Paris (January 2010)
35. Swim in the Adriatic Sea in Croatia (September 2015)
36. Climb the leaning Tower of Pisa, Italy (January 2010)
37. Take a cooking class in Tuscany, Italy
38. Ride a gondola in Venice, Italy
39. See the statue of David in Florence, Italy (January 2010)
40. Sail around the Greek Isles
41. Visit the centuries-old monasteries in Meteora, Greece
42. Explore the ancient ruins of the Acropolis in Athens, Greece
43. Drink sangria at San Fermin and attend running of the bulls in Pamplona, Spain (7th July 2013)
44. Watch a flamenco show in Andalusia, Spain
45. Soak in a thermal bath in Budapest, Hungary (May 2014)
46. Have afternoon tea at the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Tea Room at Fortnum & Mason (October 2013)
47. Visit the Auschwitz Concentration Camp around the town of Oswiecim of modern-day Poland

Africa & the Middle East

1. Explore the Great Pyramid and see the Sphinx in Egypt (March 2013)
2. Float in the Dead Sea, Israel
3. Visit Khiva, Uzbekistan, in the middle of the Kyzylkum desert
4. Go on an African safari at the Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya
5. Visit the Old City in Jerusalem
6. Visit Iran for the culture and possibly go skiing
7. Cage dive with Great White sharks in South Africa
8. Walk the Siq to Petra,  Jordan’s ancient archaeological city
9. Swim in Devil’s Pool above Victoria Falls, Zambia
10. A face-to-face encounter with a mountain gorilla in Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park

Americas

1. Road trip Route 66 in the USA
2. Walk along Hollywood Boulevard (May 2012)
3. Get married (again) in Las Vegas (May 2012)
4. Stroll through Green Gables of L.M Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables on Prince Edward Island in Canada (May 2011)
5. Hot tub in Whistler, Canada, in the winter
6. Explore the memorials and Smithsonian museums in Washington D.C. (see the Wright Brother’s plane at the Air and Space Museum) (May 2012)
7. Pitch up at an American baseball game (May 2012)
8. Watch the sunset from the top of the Empire State Building in New York City (May 2012)
9. Get soaked at Niagara Falls
10. Look into the Grand Canyon, Arizona
11. Applaud a Broadway musical in New York (May 2012)
12. Jazz it up in New Orleans, Louisiana
13. Disneyland, California – with kids maybe?
14. Drive a red convertible Mustang across the US desert, LA to Las Vegas (2012)
15. Climb the jungle pyramids, Palenque, Mexico
16. See the iconic Christ the Redeemer statue and party at the Rio Carnival in Rio de Janeiro
17. Trek the Inca trail in Peru and visit Machu Picchu
18. Visit Lake Atitlan and Tikal, Guatemala
19. Go caving and tubing deep in the jungle in Semuc Champey, Guatemala
20. Bathe in the serene Caribbean tropics of Winnifred Beach, Jamaica
21. See the splendid Iguazú, (Iguaçu or Iguassu) Falls in Argentina
22. Climb a volcano in Pacaya in Guatemala, Central America
23. Learn the tango or salsa in South America
24. Smoke a freshly rolled cigar in Cuba
25. Surf in Hawaii
26. See the Yosemite peaks in California, United States

Asia

1. Motorbike in Vietnam
2. Trekking the Bolaven Plateau. start in Pakse, Laos and then complete the Ho Chi Minh trail.  
3. Ride on an elephant in Thailand (February 2011)
4. See the sun bears at the Borneo Sun Bear Conservation Centre in Sepilok
5. See the Taj Mahal in India
6. Visit the pickpocketing monkeys in Bali’s Monkey Forest (February 2008)
7. Jog on the Great Wall of China
8. Have sushi at the Tsukiji Fish Market, Japan
9. See the cherry blossoms in flower in Japan
10. Learn the technique of a traditional tea ceremony in Japan
11. See the bathing monkeys at the Jigokudani Monkey Park, Japan
12. Visit the Hiroshima Genbaku Peace memorial Museum, Japan
13. Experience the Symphony of Lights in Hong Kong
14. Have an authentic Korean BBQ, in South Korea
15. Watch the sunrise at Borobudur, Java, Indonesia
16. Visit the El Nido islands in the Philippines
17. Put a toe in the Ganges River during the holy Purna Kumbh Mela

Australia & the Pacific

1. See the Milky Way from  the Mackenzie Basin, New Zealand
2. Snorkle in the Great Barrier Reef
3. Kayak or white water rafting in New Zealand
4. Drive the Great Ocean Road, Australia
5. Be a postman for a day in Coober Pedy, South Australia (620km route)
6. See in the New Year on Sydney Harbour
7. Watch the sun set at Uluru and complete the base walk
8. Stay in an Overwater Bungalow in Bora Bora, Tahiti
9. Photograph the giant, monolithic figures, dubbed ‘Moai‘, on Easter Island

Everything else

1. Visit 30 countries before I turn 30 on 3 April 2016 (completed August 2015)
2. Volunteer in a foreign country (at an orphanage, school, conservation project, hospital, dig a well)
3. Hike a glacier
4. Sleep in an igloo
5. Swim with dolphins
6. Go on a cruise
7. Ride a jetski
8. See the Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis) (December 2013)
9. Attend a football (soccer) match at a FIFA World Cup
10. Eat in a Michelin Star restaurant
11. See someone incredibly famous (Stephen Hawking at Cambridge University, January 2016)
12. Climb a mountain (The Andes, Mount Everest, Mount Kilimanjaro, Mount Elbrus, Mount Kosciuszko etc.)
13. Go on a Segway tour
14. Learn a foreign language enough to have a conversation with a local in a country where it is spoken
15. Couchsurf (With Quinten in Brussels, June 2014)
16. Set foot on all 7 continents (Asia in 2008 & 2011, Europe in 2010, 2012 & 2013, North America in 2011 & 2012, Africa in 2013…)
17. Be in a movie or TV show
18. Write a book
19. Build my dream house – one day!