
As a child my bucket list was easy: I just looked at the map and said, “I want to visit that pink country, the blue one over there, and those three green ones, here, here and here.” When I got older and learned to read, I added historical sites, bitterly disappointed that six of the seven wonders of the ancient world were gone.
As time went on I added other things: Things I had seen on TV or in movies, places my friends had visited, and of course more things from books. As I aged and began to really understand just what Bucket List meant, I often would do the things shortly after I added them.
With my work-life being such a large part of who I am, work related things had to make the list. With my varied career, I was able to go out of my way to have career experiences, which would have been out of the reach of the average person.
Below are things that at one time were on my Bucket List as well as I can remember it now. I have included the work related things as well. Most of the items are travel related. As a kid, when watching TV game shows at other people’s houses I couldn’t understand why anyone would chose a car over a vacation.
- Honeymoon in Greece – check
- Visit Santorini, Greece as a tourist- check
- Hike the Acropolis, in Athens – check
- Hike Samaria Gorge on Crete – Check
- See the mask of Agamemnon – check
- See the Antikythera Mechanism – Check
- See the palace of Knossos – check
- Visit Delos – check
- See the Terrace of the Lions on Delos – check
- Visit China as a tourist – check
- Hike the The Great Wall of China – check
- Walk through the Forbidden City – check
- Visit Xi’an’s Terracotta Warriors – check
- Take a boat on the Yangtze River before the Three Gorges Dam was constructed – check
- Eat Peking Duck in China – check
- See the buddhas of Longmen Caves – check
- Ride a high speed train to Shanghai – check
- Deliver a ship to a Chinese Shipyard – check
- Sail on the China run – check
- Sail on the Korea – Japan run – check
- Go to a sushi bar in Japan – check
- Sail Japan’s inland sea – check
- Eat steamed dumplings in Busan, Korea – check
- Travel to Singapore – check
- Take a ship in and out of a Singapore shipyard – check
- Visit a night market in Singapore – check
- Drink a Singapore Sling at Raffles – check
- Eat Durian – check
- Stand pirate watch on a ship through the Malacca Straits – check
- Serve on a ship in Diego Garcia, BIOT – check
- Visit Europe – check
- Sail on the Northern European run – check
- Deliver a ship to a Bremerhaven Shipyard – check
- Attend a Christmas Market in Germany – check
- Take a ship through the locks to Antwerp – check
- Visit Spain – check
- Visit Madrid – check
- Visit Escorial – check
- Visit La Granja – check
- Visit Segovia – check
- Visit Avila – check
- Visit Sevilla – check
- Visit Cordoba – check
- Visit Granada – check
- Visit the Alhambra in Granada – check
- Eat jamón – check
- Eat Manchego – check
- Eat churros and chocolate for breakfast – check
- Visit the Cathedral of Santa María de Toledo – check
- Walk the walls of Toledo – check
- Córdoba – Visit The Mezquita-Catedral – check
- Eat Yemas de Santa Teresa – check
- Visit the England as a student – check
- Visit Madame Tussauds – check
- Visit Stratford on Avon – check
- See a trial at the Old Bailey – check
- Take a Red bus tour of London – check
- See Agatha Christie’s A Mousetrap in London – check
- See the Rosetta Stone – check
- See the Magna Carta – check
- Visit Scotland as a tourist – check
- Visit Inverness – check
- Take a boat trip on Loch Ness – check
- See the Castle where Monty Python’s “Holy Grail” was filmed – check
- Take a tour of a scotch distillery – check
- Pet a harry coo – check
- See Edinburgh Castle – check
- See the Stone of Destiny – check
- Visit Holyroodhouse Palace – check
- Eat haggis, tatties, and nips – check
- Transit The Panama Canal – check
- Study abroad, anywhere – check
- Visit Italy – check
- Visit the Vatican – check
- Visit The Colosseum in Rome – check
- See the bronze doors of the Florence Baptistery – check
- See Michelangelo’s David – check
- The Uffizi Gallery, Florence – check
- Visit the Forum in Rome – check
- See the Sistine Chapel – Check
- Visit the home of Parma ham – check
- Visit Milan – check
- See The Last Supper – check
- Buy something cheap, so I can say, “Oh, this little thing it? I picked it up in Milan.” – check
- Visit Verona – check
- Visit Venice and walk around thinking about “Don’t Look Now” By Daphne Du Maurier – check
- Buy Murano glass – check
- Visit Hong Kong as a tourist- check
- Sail on the Hong Kong run – check
- Visit Mexico as a tourist – check
- Work on an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico – check
- Sail on the M/V Manoa for Matson – check
- Get my masters degree – check
- Get my unlimited oceans masters license – check
- Sail as chief mate – check
- Avoid sailing as Master – check
- Learn to speak spanish – checkish
- Visit the Smithsonian – check
- Take a road trip around the US camping in a tent along the way – check
- Visit Niagara falls – check
- Visit Toledo Ohio – Check
- Visit Ottumwa, Iowa – check
- Eat at Tony Packo’s – check
- Visit Amish country – check
- Eat lots of Amish food – check
- Visit Dalhart, Texas – check
- Eat chicken fried steak in Dalhart, Texas – check
- See Devil’s tower – check
- See Mount Rushmore – check
Things I got to do, which only made my bucket list retrospectively: had I known about them before i was in situ, they would have been on the Bucket LIst.
- Eat a Gyro in Greece – check
- See the changing of the guard at The Tomb of the Unknown soldier, in Athens – check
- Take ferries around the Mediterranean Sea – check
- Photograph the Iron Gates in the Samaria Gorge – check
- Use a Greek police officer as an unofficial guide – check
- Visit Mao Tse-tung’s preserved body in China – check
- Buy and English copy of the Little Red Book from a vendor in Tiananmen Square – check
- Buy a Mickey Mao watch from a Vendor in Tiananmen Square – check
- Pose for a photo in front Mao painting in Tiananmen Square – check
- Stand in the spot historically the Chinese thought was the center of the universe – check
- Eat at a McDonalds in China – check
- Shop in a state run store in China – check
- Have a cup of coffee at the Starbucks in the Forbidden City – check
- Have a dumpling banquet in China – check
- Attend a Rat and Snake banquet in China – check
- Eat steamed pork buns from street vendors in China – check
- Pick up a ship from a Nantong Shipyard – check
- Eat steamed dumplings in Busan, Korea – check
- Buy a leather trench coat from a Russian shop on Texas street in Busan – check
- Have a formal tea with a shop owner while deciding what souvenirs to buy – check
- Fight an engine room fire at anchor in Ulsan, Korea – check
- Visit a high rise shopping mall in Tokyo, Japan – check
- Get chased down by a restaurant owner to return the tip I left in Naha, Japan – check
- Participate in a helicopter medevac with the Japanese Coast Guard – check
- Rent a snake for photos in Singapore – check
- Like Durian – check
- Get yelled at by tour leader for eating Durian – check
- Take back to back tours of Singapore, all night long, being led by an ex-police Singaporean officer – check
- Walk the empty beaches of Diego Garcia, while feeling like I was the only person on earth, though the commissary and Ben and Jerry’s is a short walk away – check
- Live for months on a ship at anchor in a lagoon of a stunning Indian Ocean island closed to tourism – check
- Mountain bike through the jungle on Diego Garcia – check
- Snorkeling with sea turtles in Diego Garcia – check
- Snorkeling in the effervescent waters of Diego Garcia – check
- Eat Lobster Tail crab – are you kidding, that is illegal in Diego Garcia!
- Learn that parking in Spain is an adventure – check
- Navigate through Spain only speaking nouns in Spanish – check
- See brass plates set in the floors of the Monasterio in El Escorial, which catch light from a hole in the wall, at local apparent noon, to set the clocks – check
- See the Pantheon in El Escorial – check
- Visit the palace at Rio Frio – check
- Buy tablecloth in Lagartera – check
- Visit Guadeloupe – check
- Visit Trujillo – check
- Visit Merida, Spain – check
- Eat partridge soup – check
- Drink wine under the aqueduct in Segovia with my husband- check
- Eat roast suckling pig – check
- See Columbus’s crypt in Sevilla – check
- Order Menu del Dia – check
- Spend far too much time in Tapas bars – check
- Picnic on jamon, manchego, and bread alongside a sparking lake in the middle of nowhere with my husband – check
- See The Bulls of Guisando – check
- Feed ants while picnicking in front of the Toros de Guisando – check
- See El Greco’s burial of the Count of Orgaz -check
- Buy cookies through a turntable at a cloistered convent – check
- See the roman ruins of Merida – check
- Work in Bilbao – check
- Visit the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao – check
- Take a boat ride in Bilbao – check
- Get to feed Athens, Greece, street cats – check
- See the Greek bronze shipwreck statues – check
- Visit Mykonos – check
- Walk the Agora in Athens – check
- See the Temple of Zeus – check
- Hike the Samaria Gorge – check
- Buy a set of dishes in Paros – check
- Jump on a trampoline in a park in Parma, Italy – check
- Meet a lifelong friend in Heathrow Airport – check
- Visit Ostia Antica – check
- Dance on the stage at the theater of Ostia Antica – check
- Get to walk past the Swiss Guards into the Vatican’s administration offices – check
- Meet Pope John Paul II’s press secretary – check
- Come “that” close meeting with Pope John Paul II – check
- See the Pope’s private garden – check
- Get to see the bones in the Capuchin Crypt in Rome – check
- Watch an Italian baseball team practice – check
- Sit on a pension windowsill drinking red wine and watching the world cup fans flowing out of the statue carrying torches – check
- Visit La Scala – check
- See Verdi’s death mask – check
- Train Trip through the Alps – check
- Met a German POW who loves his american captors – check
- Sit on a Roman privy – check
- Get to see where Girolamo Savonarola died – check
- Get to meet the famous Roberto the Americano – check
- Eat lots of Gelato – check
- Live at the University of Parma for most of the summer – check
- Celebrate 4th of July at an italian watermelon street cafe – check
- Tour the Prosciutto di Parma factory – check
- Take a day trip to Lugano Switzerland – check
- Visit Sabbioneta – check
- See Aida performed in the Verona amphitheater – check
- Perform a “wave” holding lighters at an opera – check
- Get photo into an Italian newspaper without being arrested – check
- See the Venice Biennale – check
- Run through the streets of Venice to escape someone – check
- See the Zoo in London, England – check
- Go on a pub crawl in London – check
- Have photo taken with wax statue of Pavarotti at Madame Tussauds – check
- Eat at Taco Bell London, while everyone else goes to Hard Rock Cafe – check
- Get a Taco Bell London tees shirt while others wait in line for hours to get into the Hard Rock Cafe to get a Hard Rock Cafe tee shirt – check
- See Shakespearean play in Stratford on Avon – check
- See a cricket match – check
- Hold up in an BnB in Dumfries eating chocolate and drinking red wine, watching Miss Marple on BBC, with a new friend, while it rains cats and dogs – check
- Visit London brewers – check
- See Richard Harris on stage in Henry IV – check
- Reenact “Weekend with Bernie” on London Red bus – check
- Have a real afternoon tea in a small english town – check
- Christmas shop in small port town in England – check
- Learn to like Scottish Rock and Roll on a tour bus in Scotland – check
- Travel through Mexico speaking verbs as well as nouns in Spanish – check
- In Guanajuato Chat to a Belgian woman about Ypres, Belgium, while sitting on the curb eating street food – check
- Be flown to an oil rig on a chopper – check
- Participate in celebrating the King’s Birthday on a Dutch work barge off the coast of Mexico – check
- Save the S/S Butter Cup – check
- Go bowling in Toledo, Ohio – check
- Camp near Niagara Falls – check
- Camp at near Devils Tower with a bunch of bikers – check
- See Mount Rushmore with same bunch of bikers – check
- Camp in a tent in Dalhart Texas during a hail storm – check
- Be invited (but refuse) to spend the night in a Rodeo family’s RV during the storm – check
- Sell most everything I own and become a nomad – check
- Learn to like Scottish Rock and Roll on a tour bus – check
- Eat a Gyro in Greece – check
- See the changing of the guard at The Tomb of the Unknown soldier, in Athens – check
- Take ferries around the Mediterranean Sea – check
- Photograph the Iron Gates in the Samaria Gorge – check
- Use a Greek police officer as an unofficial guide – check
- Visit Mao Tse-tung’s preserved body in China – check
- Buy and English copy of the Little Red Book from a vendor in Tiananmen Square – check
- Buy a Mickey Mao watch from a Vendor in Tiananmen Square – check
- Pose for a photo in front Mao painting in Tiananmen Square – check
- Stand in the spot historically the Chinese thought was the center of the universe – check
- Eat at a McDonalds in China – check
- Shop in a state run store in China – check
- Have a cup of coffee at the Starbucks in the Forbidden City – check
- Have a dumpling banquet in China – check
- Attend a Rat and Snake banquet in China – check
- Eat steamed pork buns from street vendors in China – check
- Pick up a ship from a Nantong Shipyard – check
- Eat steamed dumplings in Busan, Korea – check
- Buy a leather trench coat from a Russian shop on Texas street in Busan – check
- Have a formal tea with a shop owner while deciding what souvenirs to buy – check
- Fight an engine room fire at anchor in Ulsan, Korea – check
- Visit a high rise shopping mall in Tokyo, Japan – check
- Get chased down by a restaurant owner to return the tip I left in Naha, Japan – check
- Participate in a helicopter medevac with the Japanese Coast Guard – check
- Rent a snake for photos in Singapore – check
- Like Durian – check
- Get yelled at by tour leader for eating Durian – check
- Take back to back tours of Singapore, all night long, being led by an ex-police Singaporean officer – check
- Walk the empty beaches of Diego Garcia, while feeling like I was the only person on earth, though the commissary and Ben and Jerry’s is a short walk away – check
- Live for months on a ship at anchor in a lagoon of a stunning Indian Ocean island closed to tourism – check
- Mountain bike through the jungle on Diego Garcia – check
- Snorkeling with sea turtles in Diego Garcia – check
- Snorkeling in the effervescent waters of Diego Garcia – check
- Eat Lobster Tail crab – are you kidding, that is illegal in Diego Garcia!
- Learn that parking in Spain is an adventure – check
- Navigate through Spain only speaking nouns in Spanish – check
- See brass plates set in the floors of the Monasterio in El Escorial, which catch light from a hole in the wall, at local apparent noon, to set the clocks – check
- See the Pantheon in El Escorial – check
- Visit the palace at Rio Frio – check
- Buy tablecloth in Lagartera – check
- Visit Guadeloupe – check
- Visit Trujillo – check
- Visit Merida, Spain – check
- Eat partridge soup – check
- Drink wine under the aqueduct in Segovia with my husband- check
- Eat roast suckling pig – check
- See Columbus’s crypt in Sevilla – check
- Order Menu del Dia – check
- Spend far too much time in Tapas bars – check
- Picnic on jamon, manchego, and bread alongside a sparking lake in the middle of nowhere with my husband – check
- See The Bulls of Guisando – check
- Feed ants while picnicking in front of the Toros de Guisando – check
- See El Greco’s burial of the Count of Orgaz -check
- Buy cookies through a turntable at a cloistered convent – check
- See the roman ruins of Merida – check
- Work in Bilbao – check
- Visit the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao – check
- Take a boat ride in Bilbao – check
- Get to feed Athens, Greece, street cats – check
- See the Greek bronze shipwreck statues – check
- Visit Mykonos – check
- Walk the Agora in Athens – check
- See the Temple of Zeus – check
- Hike the Samaria Gorge – check
- Buy a set of dishes in Paros – check
- Jump on a trampoline in a park in Parma, Italy – check
- Meet a lifelong friend in Heathrow Airport – check
- Visit Ostia Antica – check
- Dance on the stage at the theater of Ostia Antica – check
- Get to walk past the Swiss Guards into the Vatican’s administration offices – check
- Meet Pope John Paul II’s press secretary – check
- Come “that” close meeting with Pope John Paul II – check
- See the Pope’s private garden – check
- Get to see the bones in the Capuchin Crypt in Rome – check
- Watch an Italian baseball team practice – check
- Sit on a pension windowsill drinking red wine and watching the world cup fans flowing out of the statue carrying torches – check
- Visit La Scala – check
- See Verdi’s death mask – check
- Train Trip through the Alps – check
- Met a German POW who loves his american captors – check
- Sit on a Roman privy – check
- Get to see where Girolamo Savonarola died – check
- Get to meet the famous Roberto the Americano – check
- Eat lots of Gelato – check
- Live at the University of Parma for most of the summer – check
- Celebrate 4th of July at an italian watermelon street cafe – check
- Tour the Prosciutto di Parma factory – check
- Take a day trip to Lugano Switzerland – check
- Visit Sabbioneta – check
- See Aida performed in the Verona amphitheater – check
- Perform a “wave” holding lighters at an opera – check
- Get photo into an Italian newspaper without being arrested – check
- See the Venice Biennale – check
- Run through the streets of Venice to escape someone – check
- See the Zoo in London, England – check
- Go on a pub crawl in London – check
- Have photo taken with wax statue of Pavarotti at Madame Tussauds – check
- Eat at Taco Bell London, while everyone else goes to Hard Rock Cafe – check
- Get a Taco Bell London tees shirt while others wait in line for hours to get into the Hard Rock Cafe to get a Hard Rock Cafe tee shirt – check
- See Shakespearean play in Stratford on Avon – check
- See a cricket match – check
- Hold up in an BnB in Dumfries eating chocolate and drinking red wine, watching Miss Marple on BBC, with a new friend, while it rains cats and dogs – check
- Visit London brewers – check
- See Richard Harris on stage in Henry IV – check
- Reenact “Weekend with Bernie” on London Red bus – check
- Have a real afternoon tea in a small english town – check
- Christmas shop in small port town in England – check
- Watch the Buskers in Covent Garden – check
- Visit Castle Cawdor – check
- Cruise the Caledonian Canal – check
- Visit Urquhart Castle – check
- See Stewart Castle from afar – check
- Visit Ullapool – check
- See Castle Moil – check
- Visit Eilean Donan Castle – check
- See the Well of the Seven Heads – check
- See the Cairn of the last Haggis killed in the wild – check
- Visit the Oban Folly – check
- Visit Dunollie Castle – checkVisit Dunstaffnage Castle – check
- Skip stones on Loch Locmond – check
- See the grave of the war-dog “Major” who served with an American unit – check
- Travel through Mexico speaking verbs as well as nouns in Spanish – check
- In Guanajuato Chat to a Belgian woman about Ypres, Belgium, while sitting on the curb eating street food – check
- Be flown to an oil rig on a chopper – check
- Participate in celebrating the King’s Birthday on a Dutch work barge off the coast of Mexico – check
- Save the S/S Butter Cup – check
- Go bowling in Toledo, Ohio – check
- Camp near Niagara Falls – check
- Camp at near Devils Tower with a bunch of bikers – check
- See Mount Rushmore with same bunch of bikers – check
- Camp in a tent in Dalhart Texas during a hail storm – check
- Be invited (but refuse) to spend the night in a Rodeo family’s RV during the storm – check
- Sell most everything I own and become a nomad – check
I guess I had better stop this post now. I might come back at a later date, to add more things I have remembered. Right now I have to put my mind all the things I have to do to leave Poland and head to Colombia.
