92. Throw A Euro In The Trevi Fountain In Rome

First of all there are a couple 'rules' with the famous Trevi Fountain, this is how the two hundred and fifty year old fountain works:

     1.  The first euro promises you to return to Rome.
     2.  The second euro gives you a wish.
     3.  A third euro ensures a happy marriage.
     4.  Throw coins over your shoulder with your back to the fountain.

I went on a bus tour around Rome at night, which was an amazing opportunity.  Well on the tour we stopped in a couple locations, one being the Trevi Fountain.  When I reached in my pocket I found that I only had one euro.  I probably could have asked a friend for another one, but I didn't really need a wish, and marriage is decades away so I didn't put in the effort to find a couple more euros.  As I prepared to turn around and throw my single coin, I thought about how though I did enjoy Rome, it wasn't the highlight of my trip.  I concluded that I would prefer to explore a new location opposed to returning to Rome.  I turned back around, and saw a couple bird sitting on one of the carved statues. With little thought I pulled my arm back, and put all my strength into throwing my coin at the birds.  I did not see where my euro landed, sadly it didn't hit the birds, but I am unsure whether it fell into the fountain.  If I ever find myself back in Rome I'll know the true fait of my coin.

26. Go To The Grand Canyon

Technically this post should be go to the Grand Canyon again, but since the first time I went to the Grand Canyon I was five and have no memory of it, I thought it would be ok to put it on my bucket list.  The view was amazing, a one of a kind destination.  I went in the middle of the summer, which made it extremely hot.  Without large amounts of sunscreen and water the hikes I went on would have been unbearable.  I believe if I ever went again it would be better to go there in the late spring or early fall.

While in Utah I also went to two other national parks, Zion National Park and Arches National Park. Zion was cool, I found it smaller then the Grand Canyon, but the overall look was the same.  Opposed to being on the rim of the canyon looking down, I got to take a tour on a bus around the base.  It was not as great as the Grand Canyon, though it was nice to see a second perspective.  Arches is different the other two, as it sounds it features arches formed in rocks that have been created by the wind erosion.  At this natural park I was able to drive through and see some of the arches from the road, and then park and hike to the famous arches that I wanted to see.  My favorite arch was the Landscape Arch, which holds the world record for the longest natural arch at 290 ft.  The Grand Canyon it the most famous of the three natural parks, but I believe each park is a unique must see.

84. Go Camping

When I say camping I don't mean going off in a motorhome to an RV park where there is power, electricity and flushable toilets.  To me true camping means going out west with a tent to a place where there's no cellphone service, no showers and no bathrooms.  With my own family every summer I go down to a lake in Montana to go wake boarding, but that's nothing like the camping trip I went on in my Wildlife class.  The photo bellow shows the girls tent, which we set up with some help from my teacher.

My class of nineteen students and three teacher chaperones headed out to the Bighorn Camp Ground in Yaha Tinda, Alberta.  It was late spring, and we spent the weekend out west.  It was a fun time consisting campfires and hiking.  There were a few firsts on are trip opposed to other years; two young grizzly bears came right into the camp ground.  My teacher had to use the bear banger gun to scare them off.  Another first was one of the students cut himself and had to be taken to the hospital, we were all whittling scrap pieces of wood and his knife slipped and he cut his wrist.  Late that night he returned from the hospital and stayed for the rest of the trip.  It rained for a large portion of the first night and the second day.  In the girls tent we set up the plastic floor tarp incorrectly, so we woke up swimming in water.  Our tent was cold and wet, while the three guys tents were warm and dry.  Below is a photo of the Bighorn Falls which is a beautiful set of falls a five five minute hike from the campground.  My class hiked up past the falls and continued out to the mountains, we saw many bear tracks along the way.  

The last day was hiked out to a small isolated lake where some of us went swimming.  It was spring and the water was extremely cold.   I had a fun, eventful weekend that I wouldn't normally get to experience.

7. Try Gelato

So gelato is kind of like ice cream, but like one hundred times better. It is an Italian frozen dessert that I new I would have to try when I went to Italy.  It is impossible to describe what makes gelato special, but be informed as soon as you try it, ice cream is never the same.  I had gelato a couple times during my trip, the coconut flavored was my favorite.  I have tried mutiple gelato imitators in North America, don't be fooled they are nowhere near as good as true Italian Gelato.

The first picture is of Assisi, a town I visited in Italy for a day last spring.  This is where I had gelato for the second time.  One of the cool things about Assisi opposed to larger cities such as Florence, is that Assisi was far less busy and less touristy.  The relaxed atmosphere made it one of the highlights of my trip.  The second picture is of the second place I had gelato which was in Rome, just like in Assisi the gelato was amazing.  If I ever go back to Italy I will stuff my face full of gelato, this frozen desserts is part of what makes Italy special.

52. Compete In A Pie Eating Contest

It surprises me that I would ever decide to compete in any type of food eating contest, but after watching a pie eating contest last year I decided to put it on my bucket list.  A year later I signed up with a friend of mine in team pie eating.  In the contest one person stand behind the other, putting their arms under the others arm pits and feeds the pie to them.  Sadly I was the pie eater not the feeder!

It was a coconut cream pie covered in whipped cream, one of my favorites. The first person to finish two teams to finish their pies won.  I here someone yell, "Go" and my friend started to shrove pie into my mouth. Soon I had to chew and she continued to shove pie all over my face.  Long story short, we were no where close to winning.  I didn't even finish the pie, but left feeling extremely full.  I will never again participate in an sort of food eating contest, this is definitely something I only had to experience once.  I'm not sure if I will ever want to eat a pie again.

13. Master Heal And Toe Edge On My Snowboard

For anyone who has tried snowboarding they have to agree that the first time is extremely painful.  I wiped out hundreds of times and the many face plants resulted in bruises and sore muscles.  I stated snow skiing at age four, though it was fun I decided to try snowboarding a few years ago.  Last year I was more determined and finally was getting the hang of switching from my heal to toe edge, which for beginner snowboarders is extremely awkward.  I just returned from a two day ski trip to the Canadian Rockies, I am now completely confident with carving from one edge to another.  I had feared, after having the summer off any skill I had would be lost, I'm happy to say I'm snowboarding better then ever.

Anyone with hard work and determination can learn to snowboard.  The most important thing is to remember after the first time snowboarding, it only gets easier and less painful.  After you get past the beginner stages, snowboarding is extremely fun!

66. Find A Prom Dress I Love

Overall I'm not the kind of person who loves shopping.  I have always been shy, so I think part of it is the that I don't like all the attention to be on me.  I was happily surprised to find that I really enjoyed prom dress shopping with my Mum.  I started planing a couple months ago by looking up dresses on google so I would have an idea of what style I would like.  After that we went adventuring to the fancy over priced stores with the elegant dresses.  I was quick to learn that dark, royal blue is my color and that I'm not a fan of the large, poofy princess dresses.

The dress I purchased was one of the first dresses I ever tried on.  I found it at a store at the beginning of November and from that point on every other dress was compared to it.  The style is kind of like a mermaid... just not as extreme, it comes out partway down my thigh.  The original price was $319, which is a lot more then I wanted to pay.  I went back to the store on Boxing Day and was pleasantly surprised to find that everything in store was 40% off.  Now that I have my Grad Dress, all I need now is a date and a new pair of shoes!

36. Give Blood

A couple days ago I gave blood for the second time.  The first time I went was a couple days after my seventeenth birthday because that is the minimum age (at least where I live) to give blood.  Surprisingly I found it quiet the enjoyable experience.  I went with a couple friends and we were in and out in about forty five minutes.  After donating I had to wait at least fifty six days till I could donate again.

My second time started well, I had no problem when the nurse stuck the rather large needle into my arm. They alway tell me to look away, but I just have to watch.  I don't know why exactly but whenever I get needles or stitches I have to know when the needles going in, maybe it's to help brace myself for any pain.  Well after I gave my pint of blood (450 millilitres), I turned extremely pale and got very dizzy and if I had tried to stand would have resulted in fainting.  The hospital chair was put into shock position and my friends forced me to eat many cookies, hoping it would help return color to my face.  This time it took closer to two hours till we finally got out of there.  I enjoy giving blood, I believe it is a good way I can help other people.  If I'm ever in an accident and need blood, I hope there is someone who would donate blood for me.

If interested in giving blood or interested in more information on giving blood contact Canadian Blood Services (if you live in Canada) at:

-1-888-236-6283
-http://www.blood.ca

57. Travel On An Overnight Train

This is another bucket list item I completed on my trip to Europe this spring.  Our journey started in Paris where we toured for three days and then we boarded a train that traveled overnight to Florence, Italy.  It was a slightly stressful experience, the train arrived hours later then expected because someone committed suicide by jumping in front of it at a previous destination.  This cause confusion because the train changed platforms at the last minute.

Riding in a overnight train is a unique experience, six people to a small quarters, three tiered bunk beds and the disgusting bathrooms with toilets that empty onto the tracks.  I didn't sleep as much as I would have liked because I found the top bunk extremely could, while others I traveled with fund the bottom bunk unbearably warm.  Overall it was a fun way to travel that I hope to eventually try again.

3. Stand At The Top Of The Eiffel Tower

Sadly I don't get climb up all the stairs to get to the top, but because of a limited amount of time I had to take the elevator, not the stairs. I went in the evening so the extraordinary view was lit up the horizon with twinkling city lights.  I was surprised to learn the Eiffel tower is covered in lights, and every so often twinkling ones turn on for thirty seconds or so, creating a spectacular sight.

I took the above picture in the afternoon the same day.  Before going up the Eiffel I went on a tour down the canal on a boat.  This was the first day of my trip, and I was extremely jet legged.  After seeing the seventy-second old building, while floating down the canal, I leaned my head on the seat in front of me, when I woke up we were pulling into dock, it was dark, and there was a twinkling Eiffel Tower in front of me. Next time I will definitely take the stairs, and climb all the way to the top.