Amazing Things To Do Before You Die

Visit Belgrade

I had the opportunity to go to a wedding in Belgrade last weekend. Not somewhere I would have ever thought of visiting, but definitely a place I'd recommend.

The city has a very Eastern Block feel to it - cafe culture, friendly and relaxed, but with an edge of underlying chaos. It's not the most beautiful city, but the old centre, park and walks along the Danube were lovely, and people are exceptionally friendly.  Surreal and frightening to imagine NATO bombing the city only 6 years ago.

It's best to go where you can on foot as the traffic is a nightmare (ancient cars breaking down & I suspect the traffic lights haven't been sequenced!).  But its so compact and easy going, and there are scores of museums and galleries to see - if you can tear yourself away from the cafes and huge delicious cakes! Plus the barges on the river make for great clubs if you fancy it.

The wedding was lovely - so much more relaxed and fun than the usual British ones. Lots of dancing and chatting... possibly due to the large glass of Serbian rum we were handed on the way in! With lots of British there, it was great to have the two cultures mingling together, and it made me realise how important it was for everyone to have the opportunity to get to know each other, as the couple start their lives together.

Flights go from Heathrow (we did out on Friday, back on Sunday) - and it's cheap as chips out there (70p/pint) so great for a weekend city break.  This is a fab hotel right in the heart of Belgrade if you fancy it.

Razorlight gig

Went to see Razorlight in Sheffield last night - it was superb. Performance was amazing - music was fantastic - crowd just loving it & going nuts. Anyone who's seen them this tour I'm sure will be raving about it.  Sang my heart out (girl in front looked less than delighted & then left early!).

Reminded me how much I love seeing things live.... gigs, theatre, exhibitions... an I really should get my act together & do more of it.  On my list of things to see/do over the next few months are:

• Go see the Chinese exhibition in Battersea Power Station, London (meant to be great, but to be honest I'd really like to see inside the Power Station)
• Outdoor ice skating at Somerset House on The Strand and/or the Ice Cube at Millenium Square in Leeds
• Also I should check out the Sheffield Steelers - never seen ice-hockey & heard its fab

..anyone got any ideas to add? (other than singing lessons!)

Ride an elephant in Thailand

This was up in the mountains near Burma.  A welcome ride after 4 days of trekking through the jungle. Great to give the blisters a break - although the elly kept sneezing, which with a nose that big was pretty disgusting!  Great fun. Fantastic animal - I like to think we bonded!

Starting my blog

Well, starting a  blog - a definate thing to do - but not all that amazing. 

Sorry - bear with me - I'm just learning how to blog at a CIPR workshop in Leeds run by expert blogger Stuart Bruce. So just learning how to do a permalink & how to ping!

Why did I start this blog?

Somehow I'm in my 30's. Darn. Not quite sure how that happened. One minute it's all first kisses and exams, then a few jobs, Christmasses and many glasses of cheap vino later, and it dawns on me that time has slipped by at an astonishing rate and I'm running behind frantically trying to keep up.

Funny how the memories that stand out most aren't the things I spend most of my day to day life striving for and worrying about.  Its the times with special people in my life - or the occassions I did or saw something that was so fantasic it made me stop in my tracks and remember there are thousands of amazing things to do in life - if only I'd make the time!

So this blog is about sharing the weird and the wonderful experiences aroud the globe that make life exceptional and that we would recommend to others that they try before the die - if they fancy a piece of the action.