A fellow blogger, Wandering Earl, posted a wonderful blog recently about his top 50 memorable experiences. Now whilst I don’t pretend to have visited half of the places Earl lists, I thought it would be a nice retrospective to look at everywhere I’ve been so far – sort of a reverse bucket list. I initially thought I might be only able to think of 10, maybe 25 at a push. But I’ve kept on adding and adding to the list, and even now I’m sure there are some major ones that I’ve missed (there may be a Part 2 to this post at some point!). But for now, these are some of the memorable experiences – some bad, mostly good – which have inspired me to continue travelling and creating more experiences.
- A blind date to Disneyland Paris (pre-hubby. Never made it to a second date after I faked a migraine all the way home so I didn’t have to talk…)
- Watching the sunset/sunrise at the Grand Canyon
- Getting engaged on a tiny hotel balcony in Crete after I refused a late night walk on the beach
- Driving down Route 1 from San Francisco to Los Angeles
- Hiking the 4km between Monterosso and Vernazza in Cinque Terre because of a train strike
- Dancing to Faithless’ Insomnia at V Festival 2005 when the sun finally came out after rain of monsoon proportions
- Winning $40 on the slot machines in Las Vegas
- Refusing to believe my friend had broken her foot by falling off a flip flop in Magaluf. She had.
- Sharing a bed with a Masai warrior in Kenya
- Looking after my drunk parents after they imbibed too much sangria on a medieval night in Spain. I was 11. They were old enough to know better.
- Our freezing cold but lovely minimoon cottage in Mousehole, Cornwall
- Seeing “David” in Florence. That’s the sculpture. Not some bloke called David (hi to all the David’s out there…).
- Ziplining in Mexico. Swimming in cenotes in Mexico. Snorkelling with turtles in Mexico
- Having breakfast with all of my closest family the morning after our wedding
- Being pleasantly surprised by Milan
- Being pleasantly surprised by Brussels
- Watching the Bellagio fountains
- Being hunted down by a pack of baboons in Tsavo National Park, Kenya
- Watching people waltzing around the dancing fountains in Barcelona
- Surviving the 126 degree heat of Death Valley – even if my baseball cap and camera battery didn’t
- Drinking Prosecco and watching the duelling orchestras in St Mark’s Square, Venice
- The hot tub in our Maldives Beach Villa – even if it did take hours to fill
- Waking up to knee high snow in Prague
- Waking up to knee high snow in Edinburgh
- Losing my engagement ring in the sea in the Dominican Republic.
- Finding my engagement ring in the sea in the Dominican Republic.
- Being stopped by cops in Vermont for speeding
- Being stopped by cops for driving without a helmet on a quad bike in Crete
- Pancakes and bacon for my birthday breakfast in Williams, Arizona
- Walking along the Thames in the pouring rain under a big umbrella to celebrate our first wedding anniversary
- A night tour of Alcatraz
- Seeing my mom’s face in Salzburg, her dream vacation
- Snuggling up in a big furry throw, on a lawn chair, reading Game of Thrones outside our motel in Stowe, Vermont
- Visiting the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam
- Holding a baby crocodile in Dominican Republic
- Paying our respects at Auschwitz-Birkenau
- Walking the Brooklyn Bridge
- Buying Madonna’s “like a prayer” album at El Corte Ingles in Barcelona…and worrying it would all be in Spanish (I was 11)
- Riding a bike for the first time in years at the base of Mount Washington in New Hampshire
- Being invited to stay with a family member in Tenerife. Said family member flying home two days later for “personal reasons”
- Eating on the patio of Mon Ami Gabi in Las Vegas
- Outdoor shower in the Maldives. Shared with the lizards and giant ants
- Eating Ben and Jerry’s ice cream in Vermont – home of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream
- Sampling as many beers as possible in Belgium
- Watching Mr Bean playing on a big screen in Kenya whilst waiting for the ferry
- That first glimpse of the Manhattan skyline when coming from JFK in a cab
- Chatting into the wee small hours with Bernard, Elvince and our fellow guests at the Diani Sea Lodge in Kenya
- Sunset at Moonstone Beach, Cambria
- Being followed by a suspicious man on Moonstone Beach, Cambria
- Being stuck in a cafe toilet on a school trip to France, and my friend having to convey the problem to the (non-English speaking) owner. The rescue involved a handy screwdriver and removing a hinge or two.
Go on, have a go…create a list and share it with me!
I’m totally with you in watching the sun rise on the Grand Canyon… one of the best experiences ever!
To be fair I was more looking forward to my pancake breakfast afterwards 😀
Ha ha yes!
Love this idea. Might I be cheeky and use it one day in a future blog? Of course, I will mention I got the idea from you 🙂 Your experiences are inspirational!
Obviously, I missed that crucial sentence at the end about you asking bloggers to share with you. Time for some more fresh air!!!. Arghhh 🙂
Of course! I got the idea from another blogger…isn’t that how the best blog ideas come about ? 😀
Interesting as what is original thought?!! 😊
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