The teams must search a park located behind the church for their next clue. Tyler and James are at an advantage, being the only team with certified experience in darkened city parks at night. They find the clue box and learn the next destination: the Eiffel Tower in Paris. They leave the Bama girls "deep in the weeds" searching for the clue.
At the Barcelona airport, there is the requisite pile-up in the middle of the night. James suggests searching the internet for any other flight options, while Tyler tells James to "chill, bro." In the morning, it's apparent that James was right, and a little internet sleuthing might have helped them gain the lead as the teams all headed to France. Tyler has a huge freak-out on James where the word "dude" is bandied about like a weapon.
In the end, James is right and Tyler's ego is damaged. They are such a married couple.
Bama arrived last at the airport and made the decision to fly Iberia airlines into Orly, which is actually closer to the city. This strategic move gives them a slight advantage, as they arrive at the Eiffel Tower first, stunning Rob and Kimberly. Three snaps in a Z formation, sister girls!
Lyn and Karlyn are in first place as they board the train to Caen, not to be confused with Cannes. Tyler and James think maybe people have underestimated the Bama girls. Really? Who would those people be? You all?
So, everyone is caught up on the train to Caen. Once they reach their destination, they run headlong into a Roadblock. In this Roadblock, Storm The Beach, teams must participate in a tandem skydive and land on Omaha Beach, site of the Normandy invasion in World War II. One team member will make the jump, while the other will do dive-bomb maneuvers in the plane, not to be confused with Tyler and James doing orchestral maneuvers in the dark, off camera, dudes. Afterwards, the teams will reunite at the Bayeux train station.
As a quick point of fact, we've noted that the physical challenges on this season of The Amazing Race have not been very exciting as in some seasons past. This Roadblock, however, reminds us why this show can be so exhilarating. Let's have more of that, shall we?
So, the teams are all headed back into Paris on the train...except for Rob and Kimberly who have decided to try and change some money before getting on the train. Tyler and James and Bama all grab the 5:10 while Rob and Kimberly fumble their way through to the 5:23 train. Their next stop is Place de le Concorde, where they will receive their next clue. All teams meet up in Caen, where they switch trains and head into Paris.
So, it's now the Detour: Art or Fashion. In Art, the teams had to take a painting from a gallery and bring it to an artist. In Fashion, the teams had to find an obscure fashion house, put together a garment per strict guidelines and then get their clue. So obviously, everyone chooses, Art, right? Yoinks! Everyone chooses Fashion! Ugg! Doesn't anyone watch Project Runway?! In the words of the venerable Tim Gunn, make it work, people...make it work!
Tyler and James are at an advantage...they are models and have been through millions of fittings, and these boys know their way around a needle and thread. Naturally, the boys finish first and are off to the airport to head to New York City and the end of the race.
Tyler and James head to Charles de Gaulle Airport, as do Rob and Kimberly. The Bama girls pull a fast one and head over to Orly, not realizing that no direct flights to the United States depart that airport. D'oh! So, they head over to De Gaulle and hope they can get on the overbooked flight to NYC. Oh cruel gods of The Amazing Race! Why?! WHY?!
Rob and Kimberly dish out their finest moment when Kimberly screams at Rob, "I'm done with you!" And frankly, we are too. We're exhausted by you, Rob and Kimberly. Seriously, please don't make any babies before you seek counseling. I mean, you're not anywhere near as bad as Jonathan and Victoria, but please!
Miraculously, Rob and Kimberly set aside their vitriol and sweet-talk their way onto the overbooked flight to NYC! In a stunning moment of luck, it looks like they might have this thing sewn up! At the last moment, the models are cleared from standby, and make the flight, leaving Bama to fly into Newark and putting them almost 90 minutes behind everyone else.
Once in New York, the teams must make their way to the News Building for their next clue. Rob and Kimberly fall behind when their taxi driver does not have EZ-PASS, and Tyler and James take the lead into Manhattan.
Once at the News Building, the teams must head down to the East Village to a piece of sculptural artwork called "The Alamo" by local artist Tony Rosenthal. Tyler and James make it there first and receive their final clue: take a taxi to the town of Garrison in Putnam County 56 miles away, and go to St. Basil Academy, the final pit stop for the race.
First Place: Tyler and James
Second Place: Rob and Kimberly
Third Place: Lyn and Karlyn
It's been four continents, thirteen countries and over 40,000 miles. Phil gives a cell phone to Tyler and James to call home. Not so surprisingly, the in-laws are together at Tyler's house. Emotional words are shared and the magnitude of the race and the winnings set in on the boys. We see that James' dad "Pops" has the most wiry, monstrous eyebrows ever. Yoinks! James, who knows a thing or two about grooming, should get on this...stat!
Bama sums it up best when Lyn says it's been a dream come true to finish the race. And, truth be told, we were with Bama the whole way. Good show, ladies! You'll always be number one in our hearts.
What's Next:
James will come out, finally, and declare his love for Tyler.
Rob and Kimberly will get married, have kids and have horrible luck with their Dodge Caravan.
The Bama girls will run for office in '08 and will probably win.
Next Next:
The Amazing Race: All Star Edition in February. We can't wait!
On behalf of Paul, Jeff and the team at Jaunted, it's been fun, you hags! We'll see you in February!
