Reviewing My Bucket List

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.

1. Honeymoon in Greece – check
2. Visit Santorini, Greece as a tourist- check
3. Hike the Acropolis, in Athens – check
4. Hike Samaria Gorge on Crete – Check
5. See the mask of Agamemnon – check
6. See the Antikythera Mechanism – Check
7. See the palace of Knossos – check
8. Visit Delos – check
9. See the Terrace of the Lions on Delos – check
10. Visit China as a tourist – check
11. Hike the The Great Wall of China – check
12. Walk through the Forbidden City – check
13. Visit Xi’an’s Terracotta Warriors – check
14. Take a boat on the Yangtze River before the Three Gorges Dam was constructed – check
15. Eat Peking Duck in China – check
16. See the buddhas of Longmen Caves – check
17. Ride a high speed train to Shanghai – check
18. Deliver a ship to a Chinese Shipyard – check
19. Sail on the China run – check
20. Sail on the Korea – Japan run – check
21. Go to a sushi bar in Japan – check
22. Sail Japan’s inland sea – check
23. Eat steamed dumplings in Busan, Korea – check
24. Travel to Singapore – check
25. Take a ship in and out of a Singapore shipyard – check
26. Visit a night market in Singapore – check
27. Drink a Singapore Sling at Raffles – check
28. Eat Durian – check
29. Stand pirate watch on a ship through the Malacca Straits – check
30. Serve on a ship in Diego Garcia, BIOT – check
31. Visit Europe – check
32. Sail on the Northern European run – check
33. Deliver a ship to a Bremerhaven Shipyard – check
34. Attend a Christmas Market in Germany – check
35. Take a ship through the locks to Antwerp – check
36. Visit Spain – check
37. Visit Madrid – check
38. Visit Escorial – check
39. Visit La Granja – check
40. Visit Segovia – check
41. Visit Avila – check
42. Visit Sevilla – check
43. Visit Cordoba – check
44. Visit Granada – check
45. Visit the Alhambra in Granada – check
46. Eat jamón – check
47. Eat Manchego – check
48. Eat churros and chocolate for breakfast – check
49. Visit the Cathedral of Santa María de Toledo – check
50. Walk the walls of Toledo – check
51. Córdoba – Visit The Mezquita-Catedral – check
52. Eat Yemas de Santa Teresa – check
53. Visit the England as a student – check
54. Visit Madame Tussauds – check
55. Visit Stratford on Avon – check
56. See a trial at the Old Bailey – check
57. Take a Red bus tour of London – check
58. See Agatha Christie’s A Mousetrap in London – check
59. See the Rosetta Stone – check
60. See the Magna Carta – check
61. Visit Scotland as a tourist – check
62. Visit Inverness – check
63. Take a boat trip on Loch Ness – check
64. See the Castle where Monty Python’s “Holy Grail” was filmed – check
65. Take a tour of a scotch distillery – check
66. Pet a harry coo – check
67. See Edinburgh Castle – check
68. See the Stone of Destiny – check
69. Visit Holyroodhouse Palace – check
70. Eat haggis, tatties, and nips – check
71. Transit The Panama Canal – check
72. Study abroad, anywhere – check
73. Visit Italy – check
74. Visit the Vatican – check
75. Visit The Colosseum in Rome – check
76. See the bronze doors of the Florence Baptistery – check
77. See Michelangelo’s David – check
78. The Uffizi Gallery, Florence – check
79. Visit the Forum in Rome – check
80. See the Sistine Chapel – Check
81. Visit the home of Parma ham – check
82. Visit Milan – check
83. See The Last Supper – check
84. Buy something cheap, so I can say, “Oh, this little thing it? I picked it up in Milan.” – check
85. Visit Verona – check
86. Visit Venice and walk around thinking about “Don’t Look Now” By Daphne Du Maurier – check
87. Buy Murano glass – check
88. Visit Hong Kong as a tourist- check
89. Sail on the Hong Kong run – check
90. Visit Mexico as a tourist – check
91. Work on an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico – check
92. Sail on the M/V Manoa for Matson – check
93. Get my masters degree – check
94. Get my unlimited oceans masters license – check
95. Sail as chief mate – check
96. Avoid sailing as Master – check
97. Learn to speak spanish – checkish
98. Visit the Smithsonian – check
99. Take a road trip around the US camping in a tent along the way – check
100. Visit Niagara falls – check
101. Visit Toledo Ohio – Check
102. Visit Ottumwa, Iowa – check
103. Eat at Tony Packo’s – check
104. Visit Amish country – check
105. Eat lots of Amish food – check
106. Visit Dalhart, Texas – check
107. Eat chicken fried steak in Dalhart, Texas – check
108. See Devil’s tower – check
109. 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.