2015 Bucket List Update

I was a busy little bee last year managing to tick off quite a few items from my Bucket List and so before we get stuck into 2016 here is an update of what I managed to achieve this year!

Go to a Rugby World Cup Match

As you may have been aware England were the IRB Rugby World Cup Hosts and I was incredibly lucky to get tickets to a game. As tickets were pricey when the ballot for tickets opened in 2014 I hedged my bets on one game. I left it until the last day of the ballot to apply as the website had a traffic light system of what the availability was like I looked at what was in the green and applied. I applied for Wales v Fiji for 1st October 2015 and about a month later I found out I was successful! As the group stage panned out the Wales v Fiji game became one of the hottest tickets in town as Wales had defeated England the week before this was a must win game for Wales. Match day in Cardiff is like no other for any normal competition but they seemed to go above and beyond for the World Cup there were people from all over the world there to celebrate the wonderful game of Rugby and the atmosphere was just amazing! The match itself was great a game of Rugby the atmosphere in the stadium was electric, Wales won which just made this experience even more special for me and an experience that will stay with me forever.

Meet a Giraffe

In the summer I went to Orlando in Florida for a holiday with my cousin and her family, I had the best 2 weeks away and it was so good to spend so much time with my cousin. As part of our Discovery Cove tickets we were able to go to the animal theme park Busch Gardens. It was here that I was able to get up close and personal with a Giraffe and it completely made my trip. We had to pay extra for the mini Safari and at the end we were able to feed the Giraffes it was such an amazing experience as Giraffes are my favourite animals. I think the next time will deffo have to be to meet one in the wild but i'm so happy I had this opourtunity.

Meet an A-List Celebrity

On a trip to Discovery Cove in Florida we were checking in for our day at the resort and after myself and my cousin Rhyanon had gone through security and while waiting for the rest of our party to clear I looked around and saw NE-YO sitting with his family in the reception area waiting to check in himself for a day at Discovery Cove. I said to Rhyanon theres NE-YO not thinking he could hear and I had not planned on bothering him as it was clear he was with his family. As it happened he did hear me and said hello and started a conversation with us, he was the nicest guy and even agreed to a picture which was so sweet. We saw him at different points throughout the day and he would wave and say hi when he recognised us again being such a lovely guy. I loved NE-YO before I met him I was always a fan of him and his music but after meeting him I can say he is as genuine as he seems and meeting him really made our day.

Go to Harry Potter World in Florida

So anyone who knows me knows how much I love all things Harry Potter so it was a no brainer that this would be on my Bucket List. So as soon as my holiday to Florida was booked I started to freak out over getting to go to Harry Potter World at Universal Studios. Having now been words cant describe how amazing the whole place is. The first location we went to was Diagon Alley which was just so well produced they have done such a good job in re-creating this space I and I really felt like I was there all the shops and even the Leaky Couldron were just perfect. The main ride in this location is Escape from Gringotts which if I'm correct in saying is quite a new 4D ride it was so much fun and really well put together. We then got the Hogwarts Express over to Hogsmeade. The train journey was a little bit of a let down for me but nevertheless I can still say I've taken a ride on the Hogwarts Express. Hogsmeade like Diagon Alley was so well set out and again I felt like I was actually there even though I was boiling hot and this scene is set in a snowy Hogsmeade. The main ride in Hogmeade is Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey which you access from Hogwarts so freaking cool. This had to be my one of my fave rides from the whole trip. I'm going back to Florida in April I cant wait to go back here and ride these ride over and over!

Celebrate New Year in Paris

So I'm not sure if this would come under a 2014 Bucket List achievement or not but ill put it here any way because I saw in 2015 in Paris with my best friend and Cousin Rhyanon. We booked everything way in advance to make the trip as cheap as possible and we had the most amazing few days in the city. Seeing in the New Year was so amazing. We had planned on going to a Masquerade Ball on the Champs Elysses but by the time we were ready and actually made it out of our hotel the streets were so busy and we only made it as far as the Arc De Triomphe but even though our plans didn't pan out we still had the best time watching the fireworks from the Arc and we made friends with some Polish people who had brought loads of bottles of Champagne and were so happy to share them with us which was the sweetest thing. I would recommend to anyone that they plan a trip to Paris at New Year we had the most amazing time. I cant wait to go back to see more of the city as we had limited time to really explore.

Visit the Sistine Chapel

I've been to Rome before but as I had gone at Easter the Sistine Chapel was closed, so when we had booked to go to Rome to see Wales play Italy in the 6 Nations competition it was at the top of my list of things to see in the city. I didn't quite appreciate how long it would take to get to the actual chapel I felt like I walked for miles looking at gorgeous paintings and sculptures. The chapel itself is quite small but as soon as I looked up my breath was taken away by the magnificence of the painting on the celing. You are not allowed to take any pictures inside the chapel but I managed to sneak a few of the most iconic image in the chapel.

Visit the Notre Dame Cathedral

On my trip to Paris for New Year we didn't have great deal of time to see everything but this was certainly on my list. We ended up getting a hop on hop of bus tour to take us around the city and see all the main sites. As it was new year not many places were open so it was super busy at the Notre Dame the queue was huge so we decide not to go inside, something for another trip I feel. But we got some cute snaps outside.

So here is my round up of all the things I managed to tick of my Bucket List this year, I've had so many great experiences and I cant wait to have many more in 2016 and ticking of loads more items from my list.

Bucket List Update

A few months ago now I decided to write myself a Bucket List of things I’d like to do before I die and since I thought up what I wanted to achieve and experience I’ve been a busy little bee and ticked off a few things. I think I may have to add a few more if I think of any as I’m always thinking ooh id love to do that! Anyway here is an update on what I have ticked off my list so far.

Have a drink in an Ice Bar

Probably the most disappointing experience so far! Back in April I had a weekend in London planned to see my cousin so we decided to go to the London Ice Bar and see what all the fuss was about, from looking on the website it was made out to be an amazing experience and a lush ultra modern space with a fun atmosphere. That was not what I thought. We were given a poncho and gloves to wear on arrival and then we entered the Bar, a really cramped space that was packed full of people and was really difficult to move around, your entry ticket included a drink in a glass made of ice which I didn’t think to much of, pre mix cocktails from Tesco tasted better than the drink I had. We snapped a few pictures and after 20 minutes (Ticket allows you to stay for 45 minutes) we decided to leave as there wasn’t much going on the music was rubbish and just too many people bumping into you. I’m glad I can say I’ve ticked this experience off my list but I’m just disappointed that it wasn’t what I thought it would be, I’ve been told that the same version of this in Amsterdam and Florida are way better so I may give those ago if I ever get the chance to visit. I certainly won’t be in any hurry to go back to London’s Ice Bar.!

See the Show Wicked in the West End or Broadway

On the same trip to London myself and Rhyanon (my cousin) had decided to go see if we could get tickets to see Wicked and we booked our tickets mega cheap by going to the box office and seeing what they had on offer the same day. We saw the Matinee performance with front row seats for the bargain price of only £29. We were told by the gentleman who served us in the box office that people sat behind us would have paid £65 so we felt pretty smug! The show was everything I had expected it to be and more, the songs were catchy and helped tell the story and the costumes and set design were some of the best I’ve seen from a West End show! I had the best time and I would recommend this show to anyone even if you’re not a fan of the Wizard of Oz (this show is a sort of prequel to the film) like my cousin you will still enjoy yourself and have an amazing time. I would say to anyone if you want some cheap West End tickets pop into the box office of the show you would like to see in the morning and see what they can offer you, you might be pleasantly surprised like I was!

Stand under a Waterfall

I’m still going to keep this on my list as this wasn’t quite what I had in mind when I put it on my list but it still counts none the less! On my summer holiday this year I went to Canada and America. While in Canada we were staying in Toronto which is about 2 hours away from Niagara Falls, we went down for the day and as part of the experience that we booked we had the opportunity to go behind the falls. They dug a man made tunnel into the rock that makes up the falls and you walk down, they had two openings which allowed you to see behind the falls. It really gave you a sense of the power of the water that goes over the falls and although what I imagined was a tropical waterfall like you see in films etc. I still thought the whole experience was amazing!

Visit Hoover Dam

When we staying in Las Vegas we had gone out to Boulder City to experience a traditional small town 4thJuly Celebration, after the parade in Boulder City we decided to take a trip to the Hoover Dam. We went on a boat trip first and saw the Dam from underneath and then we drove over the state line to Arizona as they had better parking and walked over the dam. The structure is just massive and you could do a proper tour, but my mum was not feeling to great because of the heat but just walking over the top was amazing. I was disappointed that Bumblebee never showed up but oh well.

Have my picture taken by the Hollywood Sign and Welcome to Las Vegas Sign

I've only managed to get a snap of me by the Welcome to Las Vegas sign! I thought that I had my picture taken with me and the Hollywood sign but I cant find it anywhere which sucks but it also means that ill have to go back and do it again what a shame haha!

Like I said at the start I’ve ticked off quite a few things and I will add more as things occur to me. I’m still quite young I don’t want to have done everything then be sat at home bored so it’s an ongoing project that I will keep updating. I hope you enjoyed reading about what I have achieved so far from my Bucket List. Id love to know what is on your Bucket Lists too.

You can see what else is on my list by clicking HERE.