This leg opened with the racers leaving early in the morning from Munich and driving to the airport to catch a flight to Palermo, Italy.  Eric & Jeremy, being the 1^st team to check in at the pitstop left 12 hours later at 2:15 am.  As in past races, the airport is a big equalizer and BJ & Tyler and Lake & Michelle caught up with them while they had to wait for the Al Italia airline offices to open.  The frat boys and the hippies indulged in a spirited game of balancing on 2 wheels in wheelchairs in the airport terminal.  Lake & Michelle very astutely decided there must be a workaround and went and found some computers with internet connections.  BJ & Tyler seeing the value of this abandoned the game and were able to secure the last 2 seats on the first flight out, due primarily to their language skills, which put them permanently in the lead for the entire leg.   Lake & Michelle booked a flight but it turned out maybe not the soonest flight in comparison to the other racers.  Michelle was stymied by the language barrier, of which Lake, Mr. Intensity, never let her forget how she let the hippies beat them to the punch.  Eric & Jeremy once Al Italia opened were able to get a flight out second to BJ & Tyler, which like the hippies, allowed the frat boys to stay a steady 2^nd place throughout this leg. 

 
Mr. Intensity & wife were still at the airport when the rest of the teams started coming in, and they had gotten at the least a 2 hour lead on the some of the other teams which drove Lake crazy.  He kept trying to blame Michelle for their delay in getting to Italy.  I am finding when I think he can’t hit any more lows – he sure does.  It is easy to assess blame when that person doesn’t do anything to help.  But anyway – all the teams made it to Palermo, Sicily and went to the Teatro Massmimo to get the 1^st clue.  This clue sent them to a detour.

 
The detour had the racers checking some 2400 pieces of laundry hanging across an alley strung from balconies for the Amazing Race tag or hauling a  100+ lb. church bell up some stairs to a church.  BJ & Tyler and Eric & Jeremy both did the laundry and were successful in locating the sought for piece of laundry.  Their quick exit from the task allowed them to get a jump on the rest of the racers to the next task, which was a roadblock.  The next set of teams to come through, Barry & Fran, Lake & Michelle and Monica & Joseph, 2 of them did the laundry task and Monica & Joseph, MoJo did the church bell task.  Monica was not up to helping Joseph haul the bell so he muscled it onto this minitruck and drove to the church and hefted it up the stairs to the church to grab the next clue to the roadblock.  Monica, who has been mostly seen and not heard in the last couple of weeks popped off at the start of the hour with her strategy of not showing how intelligent she is and allowing the others to assume she is a dumb blond and then the editors with a strong sense of irony included the clip of Monica asking for a flight to PAL-er-Mo, Italy, instead of Pa-LER-mo, Italy, and even correcting Joseph on his pronunciation.  Evidently she endeared herself to the production staff. (and I don’t mean endeared in the literal sense, but sarcastically – and I thought I would let you know because sarcasm does not convey well in the written form).

 
Barry & Fran and Lake & Michelle did the laundry task and were able to find the tagged piece of clothing fairly quickly.   The next set of teams to come were Dave & Lori and Dani & Danielle.   They struggled with the finding some marked clothing.  But after a bit of time they found it and were on their way.  It was at this juncture that the Dave & Lori team started showing cracks.  The frustration of searching for some clothing and not finding it caused them to snap at each other.  Pressure is appearing to mount and they are not handling it well.  Ray & Yolanda chose the church bell task.  Ray muscled the bell solo too. 

 
The roadblock was at this ancient city called Segesta at the archeological area, where ruins are located.  One member of each team was to assemble a statue and unbeknownst to them there were to be two extra pieces left over.  Most teams assembled the statue and didn’t try to fit the extra pieces and were awarded the next clue to the location of the pitstop.  Lori, of Dave & Lori fame, was the assembler for this task and was trying over and over again to fit in the extra pieces even going so far as to disassemble what she had constructed.  Both Dave and Lori were frustrated and Lori did start caving in to helplessness and started to get emotional.   But she decided to put the statue back together and see if it passed inspection.  She passed and they were on their way to the pitstop.  And then at the pitstop – Dave broke down and was so upset over the emotions that they exhibited to each other and was very remorseful.   Dani and Danielle upon getting to the roadblock were Yielded by Lake & Michelle and were angry and tearful over this setback for them.   They could hear the elimination knell ringing over them.  After the sand ran out of the hourglass they hotfooted it over to the statues where Dani started assembling.   Ray & Yolanda arrived to do their task and Ray finished assembling his statue before Dani.  She had constructed the leg wrong and was rejected and had to fix it.  This extra time allowed Ray & Yolanda to finish and go onto the pitstop before them and they got eliminated.  It was very lucky for Ray & Yolanda that Lake & Michelle yielded the girls. It allowed their lousy sense of direction to not make much of an impact on them other than put them in the back of the pack. 

 
Dani & Danielle got eliminated this week, and it was anti-climatic.  It seems when they had that big brain fart in Russia where Dani left the clue at the swimming center the air was let out of their balloon.  They never recovered from that event, it was a brutal tailspin.  But they were eliminated and the Yield from Mr. Intensity didn’t help, it might have gotten Ray & Yolanda eliminated this leg if they hadn’t been yielded.  But the girls are gone and I’m wondering if this will be talked about by the frat boys.  This might all be a tv romance but if not – will they confront Lake & Michelle?  Will the girls get a chance to say goodbye?  We will see on Tuesday night. 

What a let down!  All psyched to end the day of racing just to find out the race is still on and they have to leave Russia and fly to Frankfurt.  Eric & Jeremy, being the first, were able to get to the airport and board the Lufthansa flight that left immediately.   Mr. Intensity, Lake & Michelle, were hot on their heels but could not get on their flight to Frankfurt and had to fly Aeroflot along with BJ & Tyler, the hippies.  These three teams were able to get out of Russia that night instead of in the morning like the rest of the teams. 

 
Ray & Yolanda got close but the computers went down and they had to wait until the next morning to fly out to Frankfurt.  The rest of the groups flew out in the morning to Frankfurt.  Upon landing in Frankfurt they took cabs to the Mercedes-Benz factory and everyone was able to able to ride in a Mercedes-Benz on their vertical wall test track.  I actually thought that was a bit weak   How much skill does it take to be a passenger in a vehicle?   Anyway – everyone made it through that with flying colors.  Their next destination was a roadblock.

 
Again – Dani & Danielle are not playing it smart, they need to stand alone and not be so reliant on others to think for them.  They followed mom and daughter, Wanda & Desiree,  to the roadblock but mom and daughter got lost and had to stop and figure out where to go, they did this more than once.  They wasted valuable time following them instead of figuring out where it was.  Girls – pull your heads out and get into the game!

 
The roadblock was not hard at all.  They had to search a field for the Travelocity gnomes that were hidden underground underneath gnome hats or gnome feet.  For the trailing teams it was a bit frustrating since the earlier teams had found the closest gnomes.  But Desiree got frustrated and looked like she wanted to quit because she was not finding a gnome, but she did and they were on their way at that time in last place.  

 
The next stop was a detour and the teams had to break bottles over each other’s heads only when a cuckoo clock chimed and look for a label that said prost, it means cheers in German or learn an intricate German folk slap dancing routine.  Jeremy & Eric opted to do the bottles.  They took turns breaking the bottles and managed to flirt with, whom they called “The Pauli Girl”.  Once they found the right label they got a kiss from her, grabbed their clue and went to the pitstop.  BJ & Tyler did the bottles too.  They were able to talk to the girl in German, impressive.   Lake and Michelle did the bottles too.  Fran & Barry started doing the bottles but ended up switching to the slap dancing.  Ray & Yolanda abandoned the bottles too and slapped danced their way to the pitstop, as well as Monica & Joseph.  Dave & Lori did the bottles and found the prost label quickly.  The rest of the teams did the slap dance.

 
The pitstop was at this place called the Siegestor, it is a monument to peace.  Anyway – that was the final destination for that leg of racing.  Eric & Jeremy came in first, toting their gnome and were rewarded with a trip.  They were followed by BJ & Tyler who made a comment about the local greeter being Santa.  Cute.  Next came Lake & Michelle, Fran & Barry, Dave & Lori, Monica & Joseph, Ray & Yolanda, Dani & Danielle.  The last team to check in was Wanda & Desiree, who were eliminated.  I liked the daughter, I thought the mom was too overtop on her reactions. 

 
Eric & Jeremy are endearing themselves to me weekly, dunno if it‚Äôs because of their cuteness or their personalities or both.¬† In some spots it showed them being concerned for the girls and missing them, nice touch.¬† But it could have been a tv produced moment, who knows, but it worked for me.¬† BJ & Tyler, I still like their antics and their free-wheeling style, I’m getting used to them.¬† Lake & Michelle are starting to come around, I don‚Äôt know if it was editing, but he didn‚Äôt seem as big an asshole as previous weeks.¬† Dave & Lori are starting to come into their own.¬† They at one point played dumb as to where a location was because they realized that they are all in competition with one another.¬† Good for them!¬† MoJo ‚Äì sliding under the radar, very quiet these past 2 weeks.¬† Ray & Yolanda had a tough break in Russia losing out on flying that night and having to fly in the morning due to the computers going down.¬† Dani & Danielle better straighten up and take charge of their race.¬†

 
 

  
From warmth to frigid – this race certainly is going to extremes.  The racers had to complete one more task to wrap up their stay in Brazil.  The racers had to leave the pit stop and head out to this place that had them take a 300ft zipline across a valley.  Everyone managed to find the place without any problems, but Mr. Intensity, Lake, of course, instead of listening to his wife’s direction turns the wrong way and gets them lost.  And top it all off he tells his wife to shut up not once but twice! And then tells her not to act like a bitch.  Lake, true to his nature, did not even acknowledge his mistake in driving the wrong way.  Shades of Jonathan & Victoria.  I hope I don’t have to listen to him degenerate into outright verbal abuse.  At this time my most fondest wish is for them to get eliminated SOON!

 
Everyone made it through the zipline without mishap.  Even Danielle, who has issues with heights, got along fine.  At the completion of the zipline they got another clue and its destination was Russia.  They all made it to the airport and ended up all taking the same flight to Russia.

 
Upon arriving in Russia they had to go to this outdoor heated pool to perform this roadblock.  The clue before opening the roadblock mentioned someone wanting to take the plunge so instead of taking a hint from the wording of the clue and trying to figure out the best person to perform the roadblock, team members ponied up and volunteered.  This proved to be problematic to Yolanda, who professed she sank in water and mom and daughter team, Wanda & Desiree, of which Wanda confessed to not being able to dive.  After a few fitful starts and other teams telling her to hurry because they couldn’t dive until she dove, Yolanda finally took the plunge.  They showed Ray watching her descend into the pool and looking concerned until she surfaced.  Whereas Wanda jumped into the pool but was unable to dive to retrieve the clue that was affixed to the bottom of the pool.  After many attempts, some slight hysterics and with the locals cheering her on Wanda finally was able to get deep enough in the pool to grab it. 

 
Jeremy and Eric, demonstrating their increasing closeness with Dani and Danielle, waited for them after completing their diving roadblock.  They all piled into the same van to take them to the next location, a monastery.  As they were driving they started taking inventory and realized the girls did not have their clue and the fanny pack.  The girls immediately stopped the van, got out and found another cab to take them back to the pool, dismissing their cab upon getting there.  They ran into Wanda & Desiree exiting the swimming venue on their way to the monastery.  The teaming up with the boys during this leg and at the pit stop I believe is taking them out of their game.  They made two major mistakes and started sniping at each other.  Forgetting the fanny pack was one major mistake and then dismissing the cab when they got back to the pool was the other.  And when they were trying to get a cab and not having much luck, desperation started setting which shortened their tempers.  If they are going to hook up with the boys – they are going to need to keep their eyes on the prize not some bulging biceps. 

 
From the monastery the teams had a detour which consisted of scouring the inside and outside of a trolley or plow through 1500 Russian nesting dolls looking for the clue to the next location.  Some of the teams decided to scrub the trolleys but their drivers where unable to find the trolley yard so BJ & Tyler, Eric & Jeremy and Fran & Barry, Lake & Michelle had to change course and join Ray & Yolanda at the theater disassembling nesting dolls looking for a clue.   Eric & Jeremy were the first to find one, then Lake & Michelle found the next one and they were on their way to Red Square. 

 
While Dave & Lori, and Monica & Joseph, sharing the same taxi van got lost in the city trying to find the trolley depot, Wanda & Desiree were able to find the depot & started washing a trolley and they were joined shortly by Dani & Danielle.  Dave & Lori and Monica & Joseph’s driver finally found the place and they got to cleaning too. 

 
After completing the roadblock the teams were directed to Red Square where unbeknownst to them and me they met Phil only to be informed that this leg is not over and we will see the completion of it next week.  DRAT!

 
I realize this race has already been run and nothing I say will affect the outcome of this race.  These weekly installments give me the illusion of having an effect on the race.  So I will continue to critique and offer my insight, like these teams need to read every word in the clues.  The wording in the clues allude to what is coming next and they can pick the best person suited to accomplish the task if they just look at the words in the clues.  Come on teams – be astute and think!

 
So that being said:  just some quick comments:  Lake – awful, awful man.  I want them to be eliminated soon.    Dani & Danielle, (who my 13yr old calls “hot”), need to quit trying to think they can flirt and have fun – this leg proved they need to concentrate on the race not the boys.  Ray and Yolanda – capable of going all the way – but slow down & scrutinize the clue and then make your choices.  Fran and Barry did better, but then there was really no taxing physical task set up.  Lori and Dave, the nerds, still like them.  They do what needs to be done and go onto the next task.  Mo Jo – was quiet this episode other than Mo uttering an inane and idiotic – “ I don’t know much about Russian men other than they smoke and drink a lot”.  Mom & daughter – mom get a grip.  Calm down and you will be able to get it done.  Eric & Jeremy – climbing to the top of my hit parade.  I like their attitude, doesn’t hurt they are good to look at.  As for BJ & Tyler – still freewheeling and one of the leaders.   

 
 

All right, they’re still in Brazil and the race is going strong. We had an elimination last night but we’ll get to that later. The teams are off and running and getting into some problems. Besides the language difficulty, believe it or not, there are countries out there that really don’t feel it’s necessary that all their citizens learn English. Geesh! Which makes navigating through these cities a bit daunting in some cases for the teams, and provides some frustrating moments for those teams who try to ask the local citizens for information. But they eventually get the info they need and push on.

The first task had them climb a fire escape to the top of a building and then they had to rappel down 400ft. I was impressed by Danielle. Apparently she has this intense fear of heights. She was crying and carrying on and Fran literally gave her a shoulder to cry on and some encouraging words. But she did rappel down that building and felt empowered to tackle the rest of day’s tasks. Both girls did admit that maybe their strategy of relying on their feminine attributes might be a bit misguided. Though it did not stop them from flirting with the frat boys. Maybe it’s their way of banking some of their feminine charms to use later in the race? Hmmm, we’ll see. It also indicates to me they’re not far from reality and have a good grasp on the competitor’s mindset. So I won’t be underestimating them.

The hippie boys and the frat boys sailed through the detours and roadblocks and they made it to the pit stop teams 1 and 2. Mo Jo, Monica & Joseph, also had what appeared to be a fairly uneventful day and they ended the day in 3^rd place.

Lori and Dave, the nerds, came in 4^th this leg. They opted to do the sugar cane pressing to distill some fuel for their cars instead of doing what the majority did, scaling a waterfall for this detour. I like the fact they did not even try to pretend they can compete with the fitter teams. They go with their strengths, which made them the 4^th team to check-in at the pit stop. As they did the press, Dave commented he did a similar project in school. Mom and daughter, Wanda and Desiree, also opted to do the cane pressing. They were successful and went from there to the pit stop for a 6^th place finish.

Ray and Yolanda, I like them, but they need to step it up. They are able to perform the roadblocks and detours with little problem but they are getting separated from the leaders and finishing farther down than they should be. They finished 5^th on this leg. In order for them to make it to the final 3 they are going to have to really buckle down and stay with the leaders.

Mr. High Intensity, Lake and Michelle, didn’t appear to have any problems this leg too. They did manage to get a local to show them where the pit stop was after scaling the waterfall. But unfortunately for them their guide stopped for gas and allowed Dani and Danielle to get in front on the race to the pit stop. But Lake and Michelle beat them to Phil for a 7^th place finish and the girls came in 8^th.

Fran and Barry are really giving a great effort and might have still finished 9^th even if their car didn’t break down. Fran had problems trying to climb the waterfall. She was really struggling to get some forward motion but she managed to figure it out and get to the top of the cliff. Barry had problems but he too made it to the top. I think they should have tried the sugar cane pressing, it would have been less physical and for the length of time it took them to climb the waterfall they might have been able to finish the distilling. Their car did break down on the way to the pit stop and a replacement vehicle was brought. I really don’t think it affected their place in finishing. But it’s their race to win or lose and it will be interesting to see what decisions they make in trying to stay with the rest of the teams.

Now for the Glamizons, the sisters from Texas, Lisa and Joni. Yes, they were eliminated. Lisa, upon elimination, melted into a puddle of tears. She apparently is the one that pushed to go on this race but it turns out she is not strong enough to deal with frustrating situations. She was having problems driving the manual VW and kept stalling. Every time the car stalled she appeared to get more and more upset. Ranting about how hard it was to drive, she needs help from her sister to navigate, she’s doing all the work, etc. Needless to say that did not help them get anywhere. It appears they did the first two tasks uneventfully, but it was probably their placement in the pack that got Lisa on edge and attributed to her meltdown.

So they are out and if Fran and Barry don’t step up and race their race, which I mean, do tasks they are more suited to, they’ll be out too. They shouldn’t try to compete with the younger teams in the physical and strength tasks. They can still win maybe not as easily as the others, but if they play to their strengths and keep a steady course, I think they can last awhile.

As for whom I’m pulling for, still don’t have a clue. I can only tell you who I am not voting for, Lake and Michelle, Wanda and Desiree, Monica and Joseph. More may enter into that list or some can be removed from the list. But based on what I’ve seen so far these are the teams I’m not too thrilled about. Until next week.

“Aaaaah‚Ķ.” is that satisfying feeling you get after your first sip of coffee in the morning.

“Aaaah ‚Äì it‚Äôs back” is way I‚Äôm feeling this morning before caffeine. The first segment of this edition of the Amazing Race is history and the race is on.

I don’t have any clear-cut favorites but I did manage to loosely group good teams and bad teams. Not real fond of the dentist and his wife, Lake & Michelle. He has that attitude that I really dislike, arrogant and superior. The older couple, Fran and Barry, not real fond of them either. I think it might be the chip on their shoulder regarding their age versus their perceived threat by the other younger teams. Yes, they will have to try harder, think faster and be clever. They just need to relax and play their game – slow and steady, less chance of mistakes.

Look how long that older couple, Meredith and Gretchen, lasted in 7^th Amazing Race. Another one I’m not high on is Joseph and Monica, Mo Jo, who some of the other teams called Ken & Barbie. He seems nice but she is high maintenance, don’t like high maintenance women, gives us low key women a bad name. So just because of her – not thrilled with them. Mom and daughter – they are what I would call on the bubble. Mom is kinda pushy but the daughter seems down to earth and looking to keep mom reined in when getting out of control. Another team on the bubble is Glamizons, the Texas sisters, Lisa & Joni. Too much screaming – tone it down! The rest are OK – I can see myself voting for them.

The hippies, BJ and Tyler, I think are trying too hard to be free spirited and wacky – but I think as the race wears on, they will wear down and the real them will surface. The frat boys, Eric and Jeremy, are too cute but they seem eager and sincere and want to have fun and that is what is keeping them on my good side. I really like Ray and Yolanda. I like the way they’re not getting too caught up in the chase. They are staying on their designated tasks and moving from one to another without a lot of fanfare. The nerds, David & Lori, I like them. I think they will be fun to watch. They have no preconceived ideas of how they will perform. They know their strengths and weaknesses and keep moving forward. And last but not least, Danielle and Dani, I like them, I don’t know for how long, but for now, I like them. I like how they are playing very heads up and willing to move on to another task if one is not coming together for them.

The tasks on this segment were OK, but I think the motorcycle assembling was probably too hard. It called for a very specific set of skills – of which it appears that many teams didn’t possess. Whereas the helicopter search was not even remotely hard, or so it seemed to me. The obstacle that required finding that religious sect and lighting a candle was weak. Maybe the big challenge of this segment was navigating through traffic and everything else paled. But I realize it is the first show so I need to give it time to evolve.

As for the team that got eliminated, John and Eric, I had high hopes for them as entertainment value but as the show got underway the incessant whining from John was tiring. Just shut up already. But John and Scott didn’t play smart and really had no apparent plan of action. It seemed as if they just kinda drifted along not to mention the disastrous abandonment of the cab to hoof it to the bridge to get the clue. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.

So the first casualty of the show has occurred and the action is just getting started. I’m settling in to enjoy the chase and adventure. It surpasses the family version of the race and to tell you the truth – watching paint dry would have been more interesting than the family version. But this so far is on the same level as the previous versions and am getting anxious to watch the next segments. As for my son – my watching partner – he is finding more interest playing his online games while watching over my shoulder periodically. But I anticipate the lure of the chase to be more potent than the internet or he gets restricted from its use, whatever comes first.