Alligator in Rapallo... Not shoes in Italy... Real gators in Florida

Rapallo, Florida, just outside the city of Fort Myers, was the 8th pit stop in a race around the world. Teams gathered in the small village of Rapallo for the mandatory 36-hour rest period. While here, the teams faced a task to complete before receiving their next clue. The task: Shoes or Blues. In Shoes, teams must board a fanboat and venture into the Everglades where alligators roam free. They will need to capture three alligators with professional help and bring them back to the pit stop. In Blues, teams will need to board jet skiis and capture three photographs of dolphins in the Gulf of Mexico. The alligators sound more dangerous but teams will have professional help while in the jet skiis they will have no direction at all.

Our team chose Shoes and ventured into the Everglades to hunt alligators. Aboard a fanboat, they rode ten miles into the swamps and successfully captured three alligators and brought them back to Rapallo. They will be team number 1 and the first to depart after the rest period.

(Sun) Dancing in Park City, Utah

Park City, a ski resort in the moutains of Utah, was the 7th pit stop in a race around the world. During this four day mandatory rest period, teams attended an infamous event called the Sundance Film Festival, participating in the film industry rituals with movie moguls and celebrities.

Never CORKed

Our team traveled to Cork, Ireland via Dublin. Hayfield Manor, a resort in the city of Cork, was the 6th pit stop in a race around the world...

During the mandatory 96 hour stay at the pit stop, our team visited Kinsale, Blarney, and ventured around Cork. We embraced about 1,000 various relatives of the Dinneen and Murphy clans, half of them owning a pub or club in the city. We spent about 80% of our time in a pub, club, or restaurant drinking. The choices were champagne, Guinness, and gin for Granny. We traveled to an ancient pub in Kinsale called the Spaniard and drank Guinness by the fire. We drove to Blarney to see the castle and kiss the stone, however, the attraction was closed. So, we went to the Woolen Mills instead and I bought a fabulous hat. Afterward, we, of course, relaxed in the bar at the Mills.

I found the bottle is never corked in Cork!

Monte Carlo is a gamble...

Monte Carlo, Monaco is glamorous for the rich and a gamble for the poor...

We ate $40 raw hamburgers at the Cafe Paris, leered at very large yachts, illegally snapped photos in the lobby of the Hotel Paris, and almost got run over by a Bugati.

Nice is nice.

Nice,France on the Cote d'Azur....

Gelato is never dissapointing, and I drank a Rosini, which naturally consists of champagne and strawberries and is the best drink ever concocted. The carosel ride in the center of the city was teeming with teens and us of course. After that we met two flight attendants who took us to a casino. The night in Nice did not end until dawn.

Firenze, Italia

In Florence, we drove a tiny car through the crowded cobblestoned streets of the city. We got lost about ten times and parked in three different garages before finding the right one. We finally arrived at our hotel to find our 100 sq. ft. hotel room that comprised of a bed and barely any walking room. We decided to instead of relax in our luxuriously extravagant suite to immediately depart for the Ponte Vecchio, the David and the Duomo. Visiting the Duomo was only the second time Colin and I have ever been in a Church together. We then almost got kicked out of the Accademia museum which houses David himself when I attempted to take Colin's photo in front of the masterpiece. Colin was more discreet. We managed to successfully sight-see on the Ponte Vecchio. After that, there was nothing left to do but eat.

Portofino and Rapallo, Italy

The first photo shows me at a restaurant overlooking the inner-harbour of Portofino. The second picture is in front of the castel in Rapallo. The third was taken by me on a boat in the harbor of Portofino. The fourth photograph depicts me on a bridge in Rapallo.

Colin said our travels sounded like a Hemingway novel. "I can paint you a picture from memory," he said. "We were there with a bottle of wine, eating caprese on clifftops and swimming all day in the mediterranean. At night, we dined on lobster and tiramisu in the vibrant cafes tucked away along the winding lanes of this long-forgotten italian gem....it was magic!"

Como si dice "baller"?