My Personal Amazing Race - Boboil Gardens, Florence, Italy

In Season 12, Leg 7 (original airdate: 12/23/2007) of the Amazing Race on CBS, teams end the leg at the Pit Stop in Boboli Gardens in Florence, Italy.  Boboli Gardens, a popular tourist attraction, was also a scene in Dan Brown's novel, Inferno, where Robert Langdon and Sienna Brooks attempt to escape their pursuers.
We visited Boboli Gardens during a week long trip to Italy in March 2004.

My Personal Amazing Race - Batu Caves, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Batu Caves

In Season 11, Leg 9 (original airdate: 4/8/2007) of the Amazing Race on CBS, teams travel by train or bus to Batu Caves, 8 miles (13 Km) outside Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
In this episode, teams travel to Batu Cave, ascend a portion of the steps, and obtain a clue from a clue box.
Amazing Race returns to Batu Caves in Season 24, Leg 4 (original airdate: 3/16/2014) for another Pit Stop.


In my previous post regarding Season 3, Leg 10, I discussed my visit to Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur.  During this same visit in November 2005, I took a cab from the heart of Kuala Lumpur to Batu Caves (public transportation via train was not completed at this time).


Batu Caves is a religious Hindu site with the main attraction climbing 272 steps to the top.  I'll admit I was a bit out of shape during my visit in 2005 and climbing the 272 steps was challenging for me.  I stopped several times during my climb to catch my breath, and I'm sure I was completely out of breath when I finally reached the top.  Batu Caves is one of the most popular and iconic tourist attractions of Malaysia and not to be missed during any visit to KL.  Since my visit in 2005, public transportation by train has been extended to take visitors to Batu Caves, making this Hindu religious site even more accessible.

Monkeys at Batu Caves

My Personal Amazing Race - Barcelona, Spain & Paris

Las Ramblas

In Season 10, Leg 11 & 12 (original airdate: 12/3 & 12/10/2006) of the Amazing Race on CBS, teams travel by plane to Barcelona, Spain.  In Leg 11's Detour, teams have a choice between Lug It or Lob It.  In the "Lug It" side of the Detour, teams carry large heavy characters along Las Ramblas.  Last Ramblas is the most popular pedestrian street in in Barcelona.

The first task in Leg 12 is to find a clue box outside of La Sagrada Familia, the most popular tourist attraction in Barcelona.

I visited Barcelona in December 2009 with my husband, Paul Dunn.  On day 1 of our trip, we visited La Sagrada Familia which is truly an amazing structure from the exterior.  We visited on a clear, bright day and enjoyed gorgeous views of the church.  I found it baffling that this church has been under construction since 1882 and has a completion date of 2026.  The designs are extremely intricate.

La Sagrada Familia

At the end of Leg 12, teams travel to Paris, France and ascend to level 3 of the Eiffel Tower.  I've visited Paris 3 times (1997, 2006, and 2007), and the Eiffel Tower twice (1997 and 2007).

Eiffel Tower 1997

La Sagrada Familia

Las Ramblas

My Personal Amazing Race - Rome, Italy

Trevi Fountain

In Season 9, Leg 6 (original airdate: 4/12/2006) of the Amazing Race on CBS, teams travel by train to Rome, Italy and visit Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps. Later in the same episode, teams travel to Athens and visit the Agora.

Amazing Race returns to the Spanish Steps in Rome in Season 24, Leg 7 where the teams must count the number of steps and solve an equation to get their next clue.  In the same episode, one team (Caroline & Jennifer) completes a Speed Bump in which they pick up a typewriter outside the Pantheon.

Spanish Steps

We visited Rome in March 2004 on a one week trip to Italy.  These photos and video were taken with a 1.3 Megapixel camera (HA!) which was the latest technology at the time.
If you haven't visited Rome, it is truly an amazing city and definitely worth the trip.  Rome has everything...art, culture, history, food, wine, and coffee.  I especially loved the cappuccinos in Italy.

My Personal Amazing Race - Costa Rica

In Season 8 (Family Edition), Leg 6 of the Amazing Race on CBS, teams travel from Panama to Costa Rica by bus and then drive themselves to Poas Volcanoes National Park.
In 2007, my husband, Paul took a two week work trip to Costa Rica.  I joined him for a short portion of the trip. Paul's Costa Rican co-workers took us for a day trip to Poas Volcanes National Park.  We had a blast!
Costa Rica is well known for their coffee.  Coffee plants are grown near the Poas volcano area, and harvested into Cafe Brit Poas Volcanic Earth Coffee.  I have had this coffee in this past, and it is one of my favorites.

My Personal Amazing Race - London

Paul @ Abbey Road

London Eye

In Season 7, Leg 10 of the Amazing Race on CBS, teams travel from Istanbul, Turkey to London, England, U.K.  Once in London, teams search for Abbey Road, the crosswalk made famous by the Beatles album cover photo of the same name.  From there, the teams race to the London Eye and look for the marked building from the London Eye, from there they follow a series of clues riding the Underground.

The Abbey Road photo (top right) is from Paul's college days when he and 2 friends backpacked through Europe one summer.

In 2007, we spent 3 days in London  as part of a week long trip riding the Eurail in Europe.
We didn't get to complete any challenges, but we did see the London Eye, ride the Undergound and covertly followed a group on a "DaVinci code" tour to a church with Knights Templar.

Underground

Stop on the DaVinci Code Tour

I have visited London multiple times in my life from when I was a small child, to Study Abroad, to post-college.  I was staying with friends in London, the night Princess Diana was killed in Paris in her car accident. My friends were so upset about Princess Diana's untimely death, they didn't even want to tell me, they just told me to watch their TV.