My Big, Bad Bucketlist

Last year, with Chris's inspiration, I started a bucketlist. It has probably been one of the easiest, best things I've ever done for myself. You can put anything from visit every country in the world (#134 and #136) to try an exotic fruit (#131) on it, anything that pops into your head that you would like to do and try at some point in your life. My biggest reason for loving having done this is that if there is a day I have nothing planned I can scan this thing (that is now laminated and hanging on my wall), pick something that's relatively easy to do and I get to grow as a person every single time. I got my idea's from Chris's bucketlist, from this place which lists 600 items on it categorically, and from seeing random things pop up on Pinterest, magazine's, and other people. 

So with no further ado, I give you my Big, Bad Bucketlist:

1) Ride a gondola in Venice
2.) Attend Loy Krathong in Thailand
3) Travel on camel (in the Sahara desert)
4) See the Parthenon and Acropolis in Greece
5) See the statues on Easter Island in Chile
6) See the pyramids of Giza in Egypt
7) See Stonehenge in UK.
8) See the Sydney Opera house.
9) Visit Tibet.
10) Gamble at Monte Carlo in Monaco
11) Attend carnival in Venice
12) See the carnival in Rio, Brazil. (or Salvador)
13) Watch a Sumo wrestling match in Japan.
14) Visit the Imperial Palace Gardens in Tokyo
15) Kiss the Blarney stone in Ireland.
16) Stay in the Ice Hotel in Sweden.
17) Visit the Fjords of Norway.
18) See the Taj Mahal in India.
19) See the Eiffel Tower in Paris
20) See the leaning tower of Pisa.
21) Visit Mecca.
22) Go to Bora Bora.
23) See Big Ben 

24) Ride/see the London Eye.
25) Go para-sailing
26) Visit Dubrovnik, Crotia.
27) Scuba dive in the Great barrier Reef.
28) Spend time in a Buddhist monastery
29) Spend a weekend at a silent retreat.
30) Meet the Dalai Lama.
31) Practice Yoga at least once a week.
32) Get my chakras read.
33) Attend the Olympics.
34)  See the Houses of Parliament

35) Attend a Mystery Dinner
36) Sleep under the stars
37) Fill a passport completely.
38) Run a 5km race.
39) Run a 10km race.
40) Run a half marathon
41) Hike the Appalachian trail.
42) Go water skiing.
43) Learn to play Golf.
44) Stay overnight in a sail boat.
45) Learn the complete rules of Rugby. Here and here.
46) Go Deep sea fishing.
47) Go Horse back riding on a beach.
48) Learn to Ski.
49) Perfect carving on a snowboard.
50) Drive a Snowmobile
51) Experience fencing.
52) Learn Archery
53) Learn to fire a gun 
54) Learn conversational French and Spanish.
55) Study Latin.
56) Learn the Arabic alphabet.
57) Teach English in a foreign country.
58) Learn to play the Piano.
59) Go to the NY Philharmonic.
60) Learn to Snorkel 
61) Learn to Dive
62) Dive in a shipwreck.
63) Swim with Sharks.
64) Go on a cruise.
65) Learn to surf.
66) Swim with a dolphin.
67) Dive in a submarine.
68) Ride in a hot air balloon.
69) Go Paragliding
70) Ride in a Helicopter.
71) Go Skydiving.
72) Go ziplining.
73) Travel by Seaplane.
74) Fly an open cockpit plane.
75) Go Bungee jumping.
76) Go hiking in a rainforest.
77) Go fire walking.
78) Ride in a race car
79) Walk through a natural labyrinth.
80) Do a cross country motorcycle tour.
81) Ride on the Orient express.
82) Go dirt biking.
83) Ride a dune buggy in the desert.
84) Watch a rocket launch live.
85) Go Whale watching.
86) Go on a Safari.
87) Adopt a dog from a shelter.
88) Ride an elephant 
89) Mush a dog sled.
90) Watch a Bullfight in Spain.
91) See the Victoria Falls.
92) See the Aurora Borealis.
93) Travel to the Amazon rainforest.
93) Watch a Meteor Shower.
94) Walk the great wall of China
95) See the Christ de Redeemer.
96) Visit Chichen Itza in Mexico.
97) Visit El Prado Museum- Spain
98) Visit Smithsonian Museum - D.C.
99) Visit the Louvre-France.
100) Live in a foreign country for 6 months
101) Visit all 11 Carribean Islands.
102) Participate in La Tomatina.
103) See the Cherry Bloom festival in D.C./Japan
104) Be part of Oktoberfest- Munich, Germany.
105) Learn to play Chess
106) Learn Astrology.
107) Paint a painting I would like hanging on my wall.
108) Become a wine Connoisseur.
109) Learn to juggle.
110) Grow Roses.
111) Solve a Rubix cube.
112) Become a better listener.
113) Meet a prince/princess or Shiek.
114) Fly 1st Class.
115) Drive a Lamborghini/Bugatti/Ferrari 
116) Sleep in a Castle.
117) Meet and marry the love of my life.
118) Have and raise a healthy and happy child.
119) Own a beach, country and city house/apartment.
120) Have the following in my home:
- Fireplace or outdoor firepit.
- Meditation/Yoga room.
- Library.
- Porch.
- outdoor flower/herb Garden.
- French doors leading outside.
- Pond.
121) Read the Bible in full.
122) Write my own book.
123) Get a book of poems published.
124) Have a portrait of myself painted.
125) Travel Solo
126) Go wine tasting

127)  Go to an ice bar

128)  Go on the world's biggest swing

129) Attend a Cirque du soleil 

130) Make my own perfume

131) Eat a moonmelon

132) Stay at the Pesiedon Hotel ($15,000 pp/pw)

133) Stay at the Attra'reves Hotel (bubble) - France

134) Do a cruise around the world

135) Jet boating 

136) Visit every country in the world (count: 12)
137) Go to a Jazz club in New Orleans.
138) White House
139) Las Vegas
140) Mt Rushmore
141) Hearst castle in California
142) Golden gate bridge in San Fran
143) Washington D.C.
144) Cape cod
145) Chicago
146) Los Angeles
147) Learn to dance following well:
- Salsa
- Rumba
- Meringue
- Cha- cha- cha
- Tango
- Waltz
- Fox trot
- Flamenco
- Samba

148) Visit the following Cathedrals:
- Hagia Sofia- Turkey
- Kiyomizu Temple- Japan.
- Notre Dame- Paris.
- St. Basilas- Russia.
- Basilion de la Sagrada familia- Barcelona.
- Cologne- Germany.
- Seville Cathedral- Spain
- Basilica oli Santa Maria del Fiore- Italy
149) Have lunch with Richard Branson and Tim Ferriss
150) Donate blood
151) Take a photo with the Hollywood Sign
152) Visit Angkor Wat
153) See Buckingham Palace
154) Attend a tea ceremony in Japan
155) Tokyo Tower
156) Own an island
157) Ride a double bicycle
158) Go on a shoot in England
159) Go to Yacht Week
160) Get certified as a personal trainer
161) Get a motorcycle license
162) Start my own business
163) Have multiple streams of passive income
164) Own at least 2 investment properties
165) Brew my own beer
166) Attend a personal development seminar
167) Read at least 1 new book every month
168) Have my own statue
169) Go to the airport and get the first flight out
170) Act in a commercial/movie
171) Model in a fitness magazine
172) Crash a wedding
173) Find a fossil
174) Float in the Dead Sea
175) Own a gym
176) Own a red Jeep Wrangler
177) Beach bonfire
178) Attend a masquerade ball
179) Learn to knit
180) Knit and donate 100 scarfs to the homeless
181) Flyboard
182) Volunteer at a soup kitchen
183) Create a family crest
184) Get a title
185) Visit Boston
186) Learn sign language
187) Learn to pick locks
188) Sell a business I created
189) Keep a scrapbook of the early years for all my children
190) Be a great godmother
191) Throw a huge party 
192) Take pole dancing lessons
193) Get a tattoo
194) Go sea kayaking
195) Send a message in a bottle 
196) Build the home of my dreams
197) Help my sister in all matters, always
198) Eat lobster in Maine
199) Explore a Lighthouse (Nantucket?)

Please, please, please do yourself a favor and make one too! And then tell me about it in the comments.
Everything that looks like this I've done, and I will be updating it again shorty as I have a few sneaky activities planned for the next month :)


The other thing I recommend doing is taking Timothy Ferriss's 4 Hour Work Week dream line advice and actually doing it. Those are the sheets you see hanging on the far left in the first photo. You can find the free pdf version of the book online, but I refer to it quite often when I'm working on something so I highly recommend having a hard copy. 

This is what I use to make my goals (I got it from above linked blog, but his is an Excel and I just turned it into a picture). I do this yearly, but it can be reworked to serve your goals for everything from 1 week to 6 months to 5 years. 

Have fun making your own goals come true! The very first step is writing them down!  

Bears, Boats and Bars, Oh My

My first experience going to an Ice Bar was sooo cool (haha, get it, cool, anyways...). I wore quite a summery outfit, skirt and all, luckily once you get to the bar they provide you with a warm jacket, gloves, even warm boots if you like. The girls get a white jacket and the boys a dark one, both quite stylish.

There are loads of sculptures and carvings to look at including a bear decorated with vodka bottles, a jet boat, an ice photo booth, an ice hockey table (which is a bit hard to play on because the puck kept slipping off), and a fireplace(!).

Here's a little secret: if you book through BookMe you also get a a discounted entry, and a free drink. Bargain. $3 entry instead of $20. $10 for entry and a cocktail instead of $32.

Also make sure to turn your flash off, because the pictures don't come out nearly as magical. This is a nice picture.

But this is great. The lights change to show the carvings and sculptures so not having the flash on really makes your pictures pop.

Located: Searle Lane, Queenstown | Phone: 03 409 0040

Botswana Butchery Queenstown

For my birthday Chris took me to Botswana Butchery, one of the best restaurants in Queenstown.

photo courtesy of the website

photo courtesy of the website
 
I started off with a cocktail called Brazil with Berries, sweet and perfect for beginning the start of a birthday dinner. (I loved it so much I forgot to actually take a picture of it.) Chris actually booked a room for just us. It had a little table, two big chairs, a fireplace and a sliding door that made it completely private from the rest of the restaurant. Perfect for a romantic evening together.

 
We started off with Salmon Gravlax; fresh salmon, dill dressing, and fresh baked warm rye bread. The combination of flavors is divine.

We both ended up having the lamb rack (which I'm not sure is on the menu anymore) with a side of thyme and pinot noir jus. I ended up having a glass of port along with the lamb and Chris had some whiskey, delicious pairing.

It was one of the best dinner's I've ever had. I believe the only thing you need to do to get one of these rooms is make sure you book ahead. It really is so much more special to have a private little room all to yourself no matter what the occasion is.

For Reservations: 17 Marine Parade | +64 3 442 6994 | queenstown@botswanabutchery.co.nz

Hiking, Glenorchy and Middle Earth

The hikes around this area are incredible. Glenorchy is one of those places that you see in movies all the time but don't know what you're looking at; Lord of the Rings was one of the most popular movies that was filmed here. It's peaceful, beautiful, full of amazing walks and hikes, and almost no people live here. We were lucky enough to go on a hike here in our first week in the South Island. This hike is from a little random trail half an hour away from the city.

And these are from Glenorchy.

(The water in this pool is actually clean enough to drink!)

Middle Earth fans,
Q: Can you guess which scenes from LOTR these were in?

A: Lothlorien, Amon Hen, Orthanc and Isengard

Super Rugby

I was surprised yesterday by Chris with tickets to a Super 15 Rugby match! The Auckland Blues vs. the South Island Highlanders, a preseason match between two rugby union club teams. The official season started last night as well.

We grabbed amazing seats only a foot away from the pitch. Being able to see the players so close really helps you feel the intensity of each match. (I was actually rooting for the Blues but there was only Highlander flags around.) It started off with a little boy being dropping off in a helicopter(!) to drop off the official game ball. 

Then the guys were off, tackling, kicking, throwing and scoring.

 

For those of you who have never seen a rugby match this is a scrum.

This is a line out.

And this is a bunch of rugby guys stretching ;)

The Blues won 29 to 28. It was a really exciting match!

Fergburger Queenstown

Fergburger is probably Queenstown's most popular restaurant. When town is deserted, rest assured there's a line around the corner at Ferg's. This "restaurant" serves a behemoth of a burger, usually with chips (fries to the American) and aioli (a garlic-like mayonnaise for dipping the fries into). This is their menu. 

In my opinion, it is not the best burger in Queenstown, but going there once for the experience is worth it. The fun thing about these burger's is that the toppings are so varied, but the size of the bun for me overwhelms the whole thing and the actual meat you get isn't the biggest. I usually end up taking off the top half of the bun and using a piece of lettuce as the top half instead.

I've tried Sweet Bambi, Chief Wiggum, Cockadoodle Oink*, Cock Cajun, Bun Laden*, and Mr Big Stuff.

(*) represents favorites

Ferg Loves You.

New Zealand by Airplane

When flying across New Zealand make sure to book a window seat. It's cheaper than booking a private helicopter tour, and you're flying to some destination anyways so you might as well take in the views. I've never seen such striking scenery looking out a plain airplane window.

And finally we arrive in Queenstown, our home!

P.S. Air New Zealand is my absolute favorite airline when flying to or around New Zealand. Going through the website directly also usually comes out to be cheaper than going through a ticket search engine. The planes are comfortable, the air hosts helpful and friendly, the meals tasty (I had a quart of Ben&Jerry's ice cream all to myself as dessert with one of the meals on a flight!), and the movie/TV show/game/music entertainment choice's would exceed some people's personal collections.