dear god, it's me lola
LOLA’S TRAVEL BUCKET LIST
a few things about me. in the words of the immortal Shelia E., “She wants to lead the Glamorous Life!”
i like to travel. i like to have fun. i like to meet people. i like to laugh. i like to take on physical challenges (within reason, of course). i like to shop! see if you notice any other themes about me. if you do, please do comment. SEEKING FREE THERAPY!
although i’m the consumate list maker, i never thought i’d be putting together my own Travel Bucket List. i’ve read 100’s of other TBL’s and thought to myself, “yeah, that sounds great”, so i never have stopped to make my own. BUT i have learned a lot about myself lately and travel bucket lists as a recent blogger/twitterer in the travel space. my thoughts of what’s possible for lola have definitely expanded. isn’t that terrific? just by reading others’ impressions, thoughts & lists and having discussions about them makes you dream bigger for the places you could go.
having said that, while some of my list IS possible – Travel Bucket Lists are supposed to be about BIG dreams so i thought to myself why not REALLY go for it?! in my dreams, i have unlimited funds and somehow know lots of famous people. it’s outlandish, i know, but it’s MY TBL dream so i can do what i want!
AND AWAY WE GO:
hey there Jay Z & Beyonce
JANUARY: i would start off with new year’s eve in St. Barts with a fellow Texan, Beyonce, and Jay Z. no, i won’t be staying with them – i will be staying at the Relais & Chateaux property – Eden Rock in the Villa Rockstar. they just invite me to all the parties on their yacht as well as all their cronies’ yachts. it’s a great time and i invite them back to the villa where my butler refills our champagne glasses until dawn. fantastique!
FEBRUARY: i go see Lyle Lovett perform at Gruene Hall in Gruene, Texas. AGAIN! after which, i’m invited on a tour of “his Texas”. we embark on this trip in his tour bus drinking Lone Star beer the whole time. Lyle is very witty, charming & smart and i appreciate him humoring me. never was there a more true Texas gent!
PEACE out! Tom & G
nearing the Lenten Season, Tom & Gisele invite me to Brazil to experience Carnival in Rio. how did this come about you say? well last fall i was the oldest cheerleader to join the New England Patriots cheer squad. Gisele admired my good fashion sense and we became BFF’s. but back to Rio. after all the Carnival parties, we are exhausted so we must spend a week recovering at the beach in our tiny Brazilian swimwear. it is the BEST time ever so naturally i’m invited back. alas, i have so many other Travel Bucket List items to check off.
MARCH: i go to Johnny Depp’s private Caribbean island. it’s fabulous as you can imagine and filled with lots of BOOTY! (take that how you wish) Johnny and i decide to go off in search of the REAL “Fountain of Youth” visiting as many Caribbean islands as possible along the way. YES, we sample all the different rums on each of the islands. YES, we re-enact scenes from the Pirates of the Caribbean. it’s ARG-mazing!
Johnny's place - Little Halls Pond Cay, Bahamas
APRIL: Johnny and i are having so much fun together that we take off for a more action packed adventure next. surfing in Costa Rica, hiking in Patagonia, Chile & trekking the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, Peru. his adventuresome side and pirating skills come in quite handy. thank goodness we are such good friends and there’s still left over rum!
MAY/JUNE: as we say our sad goodbyes, i next head off to Iceland, Sweden & Norway. this trip i see Sigur Ros play all around the countryside of Iceland like in their music documentary. it is TO DIE FOR! i see A-ha (my pop star crush growing up) in Norway. they dedicate “take on me” to moi! in Sweden, i take the Dragon Tattoo tour with Daniel Craig in tow. because i like my martinis straight up & dirty, Daniel and i get along famously. i suggest we put together a James Bond movie location tour (which is so brilliant, he cannot argue) and we set out to knock Russia, France, Italy and Spain off the list among many others. i’m treated like a real Bond Girl the ENTIRE time with exception of the death part – phew!
007 ME will ya?!
JULY/AUGUST: the movie location tour works out so well that i decide to meet up with the cast of Mamma Mia and go sailing all around the Aegean Sea to see the Greek Isles. they perform various Abba tunes along the way. who doesn’t love Abba?! we get in everywhere despite it being high season. i am, after all, a part of the entourage of many cool famous people. we have such a great time we decide to extend our trip and sail over to Italy and see the islands and coast over in the Mediterranean. the cast creates musical renditions of “Il Positano & The Talented Mr. Ripley” – they become 2 more Broadway hits!
wassup hot stuff?!
SEPTEMBER: Johnny sends word that he misses me so we meet up in Cuba. even though it’s now possible to go to Cuba from the States, it still seems taboo and who better to be naughty with than Mr. Depp? after a month of sight seeing, drinking mojitos and dancing the Cuban nights away, he gives me a grand send off until next march. now i’m off to meet up with Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte & Miranda at the divine Delano – my absolute all time favorite hotel in Miami! i happen to run into Flo Rida there – poolside and we have a flirty chat about all my adventures. i confess i have a HUGE crush on him.
OCTOBER: i jet off with the Sex and The City gals for an African Safari, the Pyramids of Egypt and Abu Dhabi – SATC2 style. as you can imagine, this is my major shopping binge trip! it’s a good thing i have unlimited funds and my gold premier rewards AMEX card. this travelin’ maven doesn’t leave home without it! on safari i choose to buy great Lemlem scarves that benefit the weavers of Ethiopia. in Egypt, naturally i buy new Egyptian cotton sheets and LOTS of gold charms. gotta commemorate my travels – right?! in Abu Dhabi i buy whatever the SATC girls tell me to buy. shoes, t-shirts, burkas…you name it…because you never know when you may need it when you travel like me!
good feeling flo!
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER: Flo Rida and i reconnect while he’s on world tour. he admits he’s had a crush on me too ever since we met in Miami in september. we go to India where we visit the Taj Mahal, the beaches of Goa & ride an elephant in Jaipur in between his gigs. i have front row seats to every show! in China we walk and ride bikes for the entire Great Wall. every now and again, Flo asks me to be an extra back up dancer! his tour ends in Australia where we do a road trip through the outback and spend the rest of our time at the beach. my favorite, mi amor!
what a Travel Bucket List year! now RINSE and REPEAT. thank goodness Jay Z and Beyonce are also friends with Flo!
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