Bucket list. When did you first hear that term and what does it refer to? Apparently, the term refers to a number of things one hopes to accomplish before they “kick the bucket.” My first memory of hearing it must have been about ten years ago.
I’ve never compiled an official bucket list, but I did/do have a number of things on my “to do wish list,” so to speak. Here’s my list thus far, with the things I’ve already accomplished at the beginning and the things I still dream about following those.
- Ride in a gondola in Venice (accomplished)
- Have a bellini at Harry’s Bar in Venice (accomplished)
- Drink hot chocolate at Cafe Florian in Venice (accomplished)
- See the bonfires lit along the levees of the Mississippi River to guide Pape Noel to the bayou on Christmas Eve (accomplished)
- Dance zydeco at the Rock N Bowl in New Orleans (accomplished)
- Attend the Bal du Pompiers on Bastille Day, or the night before, in Paris (accomplished)
- See the Hundred Fountains at the Villa d’Este in Tivoli (accomplished)
- Put my hand inside La Bocca della Verita in Rome (accomplished)
- Ride an elephant (accomplished)
- See a Muay Thai match in Thailand (accomplished)
- Go to Mont St. Michel (accomplished)
- Be kissed on a beautiful summer night on the tip of the Ile Saint Louis in the area that’s so green with trees and flowers (still hoping)
- Go to New Orleans for Mardi Gras (maybe soon)
- Go to Venice for Carnevale (yet to be done)
- See the swim of the Chincoteague ponies (yet to be seen)
- Walk the Great Wall of China (yet to be done)
- See tango on the streets of Buenos Aires (yet to be seen)
- Float on a barge down the Nile River in Egypt (yet to be done)
- Toss a coin into Trevi Fountain (yet to be done, believe it or not)
- See Machu Picchu (yet to be seen)
- Go to the Wailing Wall (yet to be done)
- Samba with a handsome man in Rio de Janeiro (yet to be done)
- Watch the sunrise from the Taj Mahal in Agra (yet to be done)
Looking at the numbers, they’re not so bad. I’ve accomplished less than half, but have 12 yet to work on. Of course, I’ll be adding to the list, too, as my knowledge about certain places increases.
The first 3, in Venice, were all accomplished on the same day! I’ve been to Venice maybe 5 times in all; those things were always on my list. On my final day of my most recent trip there, I set out to do ALL of them! I went to Cafe Florian for the hot chocolate first. Although it cost about 15E, the salon was elegant, the service was impeccable and the hot chocolate was probably the best I’ve ever had. The gondola ride cost approximately 80E for up to 4 people in a single gondola. Since I was in Venice alone, I rode in the gondola alone. I didn’t want to ride with a tourist group or a family, so I had a romantic time floating in the back canals of Venice all by my lonesome! My gondolier didn’t speak a word of English, but was giving me some of the history of Casanova and other famous Venetians. He didn’t exactly serenade me, but he DID whistle! I regretted not going to Harry’s Bar earlier in my trip. It was, by far, the liveliest bar in Venice, aside from (possibly) the Hard Rock Cafe. The bellini cost 12E or 15E or thereabouts and was average, in my opinion. However, the bartender was exceedingly nice. When I was leaving, he helped me put my coat on, walked outside with me, complimented my boots and chatted me up a bit.
The Hundred Fountains and La Bocca della Verita came from watching old black and white movies with my grandma. La Bocca della Verita was from “Roman Holiday,” of course! Who can forget that moment between Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck when he puts his hand in La Bocca della Verita and pretends that it’s been bitten off, much to her horror? I can’t remember which movie I saw The Hundred Fountains in; it was a scene at the start of one of those old movies. What’s funny is that I never knew what it was called and didn’t know where in Italy it was until probably 15 years ago. I was in a book store leafing through a book on Italy when I saw a photo of the Hundred Fountains. I was thoroughly excited and immediately looked to see where it was located. On one of my trips to Rome, I’d mentioned to my friend there, Gian Maria, that I’d always wanted to see the Hundred Fountains since I was a child. He informed me that Tivoli wasn’t far from Rome and that he’d be happy to take me there one afternoon. We drove there and saw both Villa d’Este and Hadrian’s Villa on a very warm September (?) day. Villa d’Este was beautiful; everything I’d always hoped it would be and more. Hadrian’s Villa was interesting, too, but it didn’t thrill me the way that Villa d’Este did.
Mont St. Michel is much like the Hundred Fountains. I saw a photo of it somewhere and vowed to go there, no matter where it was! On my very first trip to France, back in 1991, a friend and I drove from Paris to Normandy and stayed a few nights. We were equally impressed with Mont St. Michel, an 11th century abbey on an island community that’s linked to the mainland by a narrow causeway. There are warnings (sirens, was it?) at high tide to remind people to move their cars if they’re not parked ON the island, as the ocean surrounds the island then. For some reason, Normandy is famous for omelettes, too, which we thoroughly enjoyed. Maybe it’s because of the butter and camembert that comes from that region!
Riding elephants happened twice. The first time was in Bali with my then-boyfriend. We’d planned to go to the Elephant Safari Park, but HE was the one who was more excited about riding the elephant! Ours got a little testy and ran off to the side of the road to grab some leaves or something when she got hungry. It was exciting in that I nearly took a nose dive off of her when she unexpectedly dashed off the road! In Thailand, near Phuket, I rode an elephant again. On the way down the trail, the mahout rode with me. Yet on the way back, he got off the elephant and said that it was fine for me to ride alone for the return. He instructed me to scoot off of the seat and onto the elephant’s neck, which was rather difficult to do in a slim fitting dress! I loved it, though, and felt like Mowgli in Jungle Book!
Most people don’t know this, but I get all amped up about boxing, Muay Thai, MMA and any other type of martial arts. When I was in Phuket, I “booked” a Muay Thai match. When the van came to pick me up, the driver was surprised to see me sitting in the lobby waiting for him. When I got in the van, all of the passengers were men. They said “You’re not going to see Muay Thai by yourself, are you?” “Yes.” Then they asked “But you’re not sitting in the front row, are you?” “Of course!” I was in the front row with all of them, mostly Australians and Germans. I was screaming, yelling, taking pictures and making videos – in short, having the time of my life. We were close enough to feel the sweat and the blood of the fighters when they got hit. I even had a picture taken with one of the fighters afterwards. Then two of the Aussie guys and I headed out for drinks. It was a great night.
The things I managed to accomplish only make me more excited to see what’s ahead and how soon I can make those come to fruition!
Wearing the Gondolier’s Hat
In One of the Salons of Cafe Florian
The Hot Chocolate Itself
Riding an Elephant in Thailand
With the Muay Thai Fighter
Fountains at Villa d’Este
Bonfires of Gramercy, St. James Parrish on Christmas Eve