Well, here it is… the full list of things I want to do before I turn 40. Wish me luck!
- Go to the festival of lights in Lyon
Beat Jan at mini golf – he always wins, but just once I would like to beat him(completed: 19 August 2018)- Make flour soup (a staple of Basel Fasnacht)
- Watch 10 films in German – I hate watching dubbed English films, so this will probably also mean finding 10 German films!
- Read the rest of the books from the BBC Big Read Top 200 – I have 63 left to go. (Read: 8/63)
- Learn basic Ukrainian – get to at least level 3 on Duolingo
- Visit Ukraine – this was originally on my 35 before 35 list, but I changed it due to safety concerns. I’m hoping in the next 5 years things will calm down a bit…
- Go out for afternoon tea
- Build a snowman
- Visit Auschwitz
- Look for dwarfs in Wroclaw
- See the leaning tower of Pisa – it’s probably not even that impressive, but I just want to see it
- Read 25 non-fiction books (Read: 1/25)
- Read a book published in each year of my life, so one book each from the years 1983 until 2023 (Read: 27/41)
- Give at least 100 pounds or euros each to three separate charities
- Try 10 foods or dishes that I haven’t had before (3/10)
- Take the funicular up to Rochers-de-Naye (thought to have been the inspiration for Rochers Neiges in Agatha Christie’s “The Labours of Hercules”) – thanks to Chomeuse for this one!
- Cook 10 recipes from cookbooks I own
- Try an Escape Room
- Eat 5 or more portions of different fruits/vegetables every single day for a week (Monday-Sunday)
- Take the Glacier Express
- Visit a new place in Switzerland for each letter of my first name – thanks to Kezzie for this fabulous suggestion! (4/8)
- Visit Pompei
- Eat pizza in Naples
- See the Rocky Horror Show in the year of its 50th anniversary (since that will be the year I turn 40, if the actual show turns out to be after my birthday I will count this item as completed if I at least have the tickets!)
- Get a dog
- See the Northern Lights
- See a play on the Seebühne (floating stage) at the Bregenzer Festspiele.
- Make chicken Kiev
- Get the tattoo I’ve been planning for a while – first I have to find a decent tattooist and someone who can draw it for me!
- Bake and decorate a cake
- Read The Canterbury Tales
- Get a new dining table
- Remove all my books from my dad’s house, either by having my dad take them to charity shops or bringing them to Switzerland.
- Bring my doll’s house over from England.
- Go whale watching
- Take a trip to the Farne Islands.
- Get to my goal weight… but I’m not telling you what that is 😉
- Take an in-person course or join a group – it doesn’t matter what as long as it’s something that makes me get out there and interact with actual people. (Scary!)
- … I am leaving the final one open for now. If anyone has any suggestions please tell me in the comments (not bungee jumping). Otherwise I will definitely think of something to put here at some point.