My travel bucket list is probably boring by some peoples’ standards, but I have never had the slightest urge to bungee jump or climb the tallest mountain — I’d rather be scuba diving or sampling fine wines and learning to cook from a world-renowned chef. That being said, who knows…maybe I will have a mid-life crisis and decide I want to bungee jump, but thinking not! For now, here’s my ever-growing travel bucket list:
- Spend several months sailing the Greek Isles
Swim with the whale sharks(done September 2014)Meet chef Joel Robuchon(done Dec 2011)- Sample one of the world’s most expensive first growth Bordeaux wines (almost complete, just need to open the bottle of the last one)
- Meet Ferran Adria
- Fly in a private plane
- Travel with a band on tour for several months and perhaps do their social media (love the constant travel aspect)
See the Great Pyramids of Giza (done Jan 2012)- Spend a month researching in the Galapagos
- Set foot on Antarctica
- Get my advanced scuba certification
Try zip-lining(done 2013)- Shadow a winemaker during harvest and crush season
- Stay in a European castle
- Master foreign languages (on the list include Mandarin, Japanese, Spanish, Dutch, French, and German)
Stay in the world’s tallest hotel(done at least as of April 2011, The Ritz-Carlton, Hong Kong)- Visit Club 33 in Tokyo Disneyland (even harder than Club 33 at Disneyland in CA)
- Stay in an over the water hut in French Polynesia
- Do a live aboard in the Maldives
Work at a winery (done – 2007-2009)- Take an African safari
- Master underwater photography (in progress)
- Take a round-the-world cruise
- Go gorilla trekking
Vacation on a yacht (done Bahamas 2004)- Visit Cuba before it’s legal
- Learn to cook from a Michelin-starred chef
Visit all the Disney Resorts in the same year(done – even managed to visit all 5 in the same month!)Visit two or more Disney Resorts in the world on the same day(done 2011 – started day in Tokyo and arrived in LA and went to Disneyland)- Visit all Guy Fieri’s Diner, Drive-in’s and Dives spots
- Have dinner with Guy Fieri (of course!)
- Swim with manatees (done, but want to do again)
Have an annual pass to all Disney Theme Parks worldwide(done Dec 2011)- Dive all the atolls in French Polynesia (only snorkeled a few due to sinus infection and flu – uugh!)
Ride a camel(done Jan 2012)- Dive the Barrier Reef in Australia
- Visit friends in Hawaii (hard to believe I’ve traveled to so many placed, but just skipped Hawaii all together)
Snorkel Jellyfish Lake in Palau(Done April 2013)Eat Fugu or Pufferfish(done 2010 and 2012)- Master making Shanghai style xiaolongbao
- Publish a book on culinary travel
- Eat a giant tuna eyeball
Visit the Sistine Chapel(done 2007)- Eat at every three Michelin-starred restaurant in the world (have a friend who actually did it in 2007!)
- Stay in a treetop hotel
- Visit Ankor Wat
Queen’s Day in Amsterdam(done April 2011)- Stay in a five star hotel’s most luxurious suite versus just tour it for press coverage
- Cruise Alaska followed by an overland tour (I spent a weekend in Juneau and need to see more of this amazing state)
- Take a dip in the Blue Lagoon
- Eat bugs ( I eat a ton of strange things in Asia, but haven’t graduated to bugs yet)
Meet Andrew Zimmern(done Jan 2012)- Easter Island
- Sunrise at Tikal, Guatemala
- Float on the Dead Sea
- Buy a condo in San Pedro, Belize
- Spend two weeks traveling North Korea (I was there for a portion of a day, which doesn’t really count)
- Visit every winery in Napa (in progress)
Eat pizza in Naples, Italy(done June 2007 but really mastered in 2014)- Visit every brewery/abbey on the Belgium beer trail
- Try every one of the 2,400 plus beers at Delirium Cafe in Brussels (only a couple so far!)
- Get into Noma
- Eat at French Laundry
Experience an international Carnival celebration(Done, Belize Feb 2012)- Show up at the airport and book the first international flight available
- Learn to like solo-travel
- Ride the Trans-Siberian Railway
Visit Japan during Cherry Blossom season (Done, April 2012)Get a tattoo in a foreign country(Done, July 2013)Fly in international First Class, which is better than Business Class (Done, United Airlines April 2008)- Fly in one of the private first class suites
- Obtain a bottle of Screaming Eagle wine from Napa
Live in Europe(Current — Expat in Holland since mid-2012)Visit Pompeii (done June 2007 and again May 2014)- Get my passport stamped in Djibouti (had a fascination with the country since I wrote an elementary school report on it)
Get over my fear of public speaking and present at a travel conference(Done – 3 times no less!)- Go dog-sledding
- Stay in an ice hotel
- Find Nessie (a childhood dream!) (Finally made an attempt at least — November 2014)
- See the Northern Lights
- Visit all the UNESCO World Heritage Sites
- Step inside Salvador Dali’s home
- See the view from the observatory decks at Burj Khalifa
- Shark cage diving
- Learn more about the world’s great wine regions and get certified in wine (Obtained my Certified Wine Specialist (CSW), but want to continue on for my WSET)