Jet ski - AtoZChallenge

Straight forward and simple - 'J' is for Jet ski.

Wind in your hair, speeding across the water. Trying like mad not to fall off or overturn the darn thing. I'm a legitimate clutz, folks.

Italy - AtoZChallenge

Italy.

That is a dream destination that goes back to the beginning.

I'm not talking about Rome (which is good, because I've already listed other places that pre-date the Roman Empire and... er... it really shouldn't be a surprise at this point that my list has so many history-related places should it?). I'm talking about my beginning.

I identified as Italian long before I understood genetics and DNA pie charts. Long before I began charting my family tree and putting in the research time to pinpoint exactly where (at least some) of my people come from. My last name was Italian. Oh so intensely Italian. Mispronounce-ably Italian to all but, well, Italians. Of course I new we were other things (My father's mother insisted there was Native American somewhere, but as with most of what she said, this was full of shit, too.) but I had a daily reminder. Plus I thought being Italian was cool.

When I finally factor in the Roman Empire, the historic sites, the food... how could I not want to go?

Hot Air Balloon Ride - AtoZChallenge

Since the theme for my challenge is bucket list, I figure some of these things are going to be higher than others on the 'it would take a lot to make this happen' scale than others. Some deceptively so.

'H''s post is pretty accessible - plenty of local options to the point that at least once a year they fly over my front yard.

Well, like not that many, but you get the idea.

Hot Air Balloon ride. I've always wanted to try it. A little thing with a fear of heights in coordination with a fear of falling (Some people will tell you that's the real fear, not heights. Those people are jackasses.)

However, the curiosity remains. And I may have figured out a stepping stone.

The magical rodent's lair offers tethered helium balloon rides.

I think this may be the year I check this one off my bucket list.

Greece - AtoZChallenge

As with 'E', this is a complete no-brainer for me. My interest in seeing Greece probably started somewhere in early elementary school, a quick lesson in Social Studies, a fleeting history assignment with nifty illustrations in a decades old textbook.

My goal in visiting Greece evolved as I got a bit older. While historic sites are still at the top of my list, I have since discovered another compelling reason to go.

Gorgeous. 

There's a lot of stairs though. A lot of stairs.

Faroe Islands - AtoZChallenge

One of the cool things about thinking about a bucket list is when I look back on all the places and experiences I've already been able to cross off, most of them long before I'd ever heard the term bucket list.

There are plenty of 'F'-based ideas. Fluency (of other languages... or even maybe just my own). Fifty years of marriage (celebrate, and then beyond). Fjords.

I'll take advantage of the fjords idea and go a little bit more specific with the Faroe Islands. I can't begin to do this justice, so take a look for yourself.

Egypt - AtoZChallenge

This entry for my A to Z Challenge, Bucket List Edition, was by far one of the first that popped into my head at the beginning of the month.

I have been fascinated by Egypt's history and its historical sites and artifacts nearly as long as I can remember. And unlike my ability to lay a fair amount of my Anglophile-origins at the door of PBS (in conjunction with the BBC) and the Walt Disney Company, I have no idea what sparked my curiosity and captivation with Egypt's extensive history.

I have been fortunate enough to visit a touring exhibit of King Tut's tomb. I have seen, shall we say, pillaged artifacts in museums from the US of A to France, thanks to archaeological juggernaut that began in earnest in the late 1800s. I have been nearly brought to my knees at coming face to face with thousands of years old items I've previously read about in books or watched documentaries on.

So yeah, Egypt on my bucket list is a no-brainer.

Dublin - AtoZChallenge

I struggled a little bit with this one. For the life of me, perhaps due to the current hectic nature of my life, all I could think of was dogs & donuts. And now I need a cuddle and I'm hungry.

And then I thought about Disney. But I just 'C'ruised around the world in my previous blog post, so Disney parks around the world seemed a little...lazy.

So I went with Dublin. 

I have long been in love with the idea of visiting Ireland. Pretty much any place I can land upon is fine by me and Dublin fits the bill as the ideal entry point.

I cannot confess to any particular site or museum that draws my interest, it is in fact more the point that it evokes a kind of tip of the iceberg of a grand and beautiful adventure in a place I've not yet been but long to experience.