by Michelle

I am surprised when I see that the finale tonight is only one hour long. The Amazing Race finale is usually a two-hour event. This is going to go fast.

Ron & Christina are leaving the Taipei Pit Stop first and their clue tells them to fly to their final destination city — Anchorage, Alaska. They get to the airport and quickly book the first flight with China Airlines. Ron asks if they can use the airline’s lounge to do some internet research. TK & Rachel and Nicolas & Don both get on the same China Airlines flight. They all get nervous when they don’t see Ron & Christina, thinking they have gotten a better flight. But when they finally appear, TK is very relieved.

In Anchorage, Ron & Christina take the lead again, leaving the airport first. TK & Rachel are next with Nicolas & Don trailing in third. They must find a store called 6th Avenue Outfitters where they will pick up their clue along with some gear needed for their tasks. That clue takes them to the Ship Creek Boatlaunch. The teams arrive and leave in the same order they left the airport. But wait, Nicolas & Don are leaving and they left their bag of gear at the store! Go back, Don! Oh, no. It looks like my favorite team may have made a mistake that will cost them any chance they had to win.

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by Michelle

The race picks up in Osaka, Japan, where TK & Rachel came in last, but lucked out because that was the second of two non-elimination legs. Will they be able to catch up with the other teams despite being three hours behind? And there’s also the little matter of the Speedbump to deal with …

Ron & Christina are leaving first at 7:02am and learn they must take a taxi to the Umeda Sky building and find the floating garden. Nate & Jen are close behind leaving at 7:15am, followed by Nicolas & Don at 7:21am. And we’ll get back to poor TK & Rachel in a few hours.

The three leading teams get to the building and quickly realize that the floating garden is the observation deck, which doesn’t open until 10am. That could really help TK & Rachel gain ground. As they leave the Pit Stop at 10:18am, the other teams have found their clues and are on their way to the airport to fly to Taipei, Taiwan. Nate’s comment in the taxi is hilarious — “I know absolutely nothing about Taiwan, except we think Thai food’s pretty good.” Cut to Ronald talking about Nate & Jen as he says, “These guys are smart.”

At the airport, Christina tries to play dirty by asking the ticket agent to tell Nate & Jen that the first flight is full. And that’s exactly what the agent tells them. Now did Ron & Christina really buy the last tickets on that flight or is the agent lying? Couldn’t she get in trouble for that? By the way, today is Jen’s birthday and Nate is being mean to her on her birthday.

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Michelle & Bex
Graphic Designers

This week gave us a more exciting episode — airport suspense, physically challenging (and possibly dangerous) tasks and teammates hating on each other. That’s the kind of stuff that makes us love Amazing Race!

TK and Rachel came in first last week so they leave the Pit Stop in Vilnius, Lithuania at 1am with $109 for this leg of the race. They must make their way to the airport and fly to Dubrovnik, Croatia, to find the Fort of St. Lawrence. Kynt & Vyxsin leave next followed closely by the other teams. Nicolas & Donald are last, leaving at 1:42am. All the teams are less than an hour apart and headed toward the airport so there is a lot of potential for a change in the order.

Michelle: I sure hope Nicolas & Donald can get ahead, I’m not ready to say goodbye to Grandpa Don yet!
Note: Bex is out on assignment, scouting locations for next season. She will return for the Dec. 23 episode recap.

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Michelle and Bex
Graphic Designers

We find our teams ready to leave the Pit Stop at Hotel De Ville in Ouagadougou. Azaria & Hendekea are the first to depart at 6:45am. The clue is to fly to Vilnius, Lithuania and drive their marked cars to St. Anne’s Church. Nathan & Jennifer are second to depart. Jennifer declares, “Our eyes are full of fire right now. We are going to use that ball of fire that’s inside of us to just rage through.”

Bex: I hope that really means “rage at each other.” I love it when these two get into it.

They are followed by Ronald & Christina and Nicolas & Donald. Grandpa Don thinks this is a good experience for he and his grandson to do together so they can share their adventures with the rest of their family. Nicholas says that Don “can’t remember where he put two hats in two days, let alone remember what we have done on the race.”

Bex: I know where you are coming from, Nicolas. Reminds me of one of my family members.

Next to depart are Kynt & Vyxsin and Shana & Jennifer. Jennifer is feeling very, very guilty about using the U-Turn on the last leg to oust Lorena & Jason.

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Michelle and Bex
Graphic Designers

There’s Phil to introduce the episode and tell us a little about Burkina Faso as a montage of images go by. The village of Bingo was the Pit Stop for the last leg, and Azaria and Hendekea are the first team out. As they read their clue we find that they must follow a marked path to the Tribal Chief who will give them a gift. Interestingly, they will have zero dollars for this leg of the race.

The chief’s gift turns out to be a live chicken for each team — which they must catch themselves and get into a bag. The clue tells them they must keep their chicken with them the whole leg of the race — “no chicken, no check in” at the Pit Stop. Their next step is taking a taxi to Bouda Pelegtanga for their next clue. The first seven teams (everyone except Jason and Lorena) seem to be pretty close as we see each team catch their chicken and then hop into a taxi one right after another. By the way, the Blondes are naming their chicken Phil because he’s cute and has spikey hair.

Michelle: Ooooh, I hope those blondes forget Phil the Chicken somewhere along the way — not that I wish anything bad on Phil!

Bex: The Bimbos show us more and more each episode how dumb they are. As one is trying to grab a chicken, the other says to her, “It’s not easy, Jen. They are gonna pluck you and everything.” Hey, dummy, chickens don’t pluck, they get plucked. Chickens peck, brainiac.

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The remaining teams leave from the Pit Stop at Durgedam. We learn that Ronald has developed a hernia as he was driving the bakfiets. The doctor tells him, “I reduced the swelling by pushing back the tissue into your abdomen.”

Bex: Somehow, I don’t feel too sorry for him.

The first to leave the Pit Stop are Lorena & Jason. They are to go to Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso and go to the train station to find their next clue.

Bex: It was fun trying to count how many different ways the teams pronounced Ouagadougou.

We find out a bit more about the teams as they make their way to the airport. Jason says of Lorena, “She does get stressed out a lot. It reminds me of the movie The Exorcist – her head spinning around. Argh!” Team Bimbo (Shana & Jennifer) proclaims they do not look as good as they want to, and Team Eyebrow (Kynt & Vyxsin) do not really worry about gender issues. Grandpa (Donald), who will be 69 in a few months, is letting it all hang out.

Bex: We saw that last week, Grandpa.

The teams arrive at the airport, but Nathan & Jennifer get on an earlier flight than the rest of the teams. The other teams begin to freak out.

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Michelle & Bex
Graphic Designers

In the second episode, the racers start off in Galway with brother and sister team Azaria & Hendekea leaving first. And they are off to the Shannon airport to fly to Amsterdam with $59 for this leg of the race.

Bex: I have always wondered how the producers have calculated how much money the teams will need for each leg. I hope they have factored in a quick trip to the coffee shops. After all, these lucky stiffs are going to Amsterdam!

The race is already starting to take its toll as Shana (or was it Jennifer?) points out “The race is absolutely a shock to our systems. Clearly, I haven’t had a facial or a manicure, but it’s even tougher than you can ever imagine.”

Michelle: Bex, I hope you’ll pardon my appearance today — clearly I haven’t had a facial or a manicure in a while and I don’t even have the excuse that I am on a reality show racing around the world.

Bex: Oh, you look as smashing as ever, kid. But what is with these broads? Oh, that’s right. They are clueless bimbos.

Everyone gets to the airport in time for the first flight to Dublin except for Marianna & Julia who apparently took the scenic route and arrived as the flight was leaving. The connecting flight from Dublin to Amsterdam filled up and most teams got on, with only Ronald & Christina, Donald & Nicolas and Kate & Pat left to hope they can get on standby. Ronald & Christina and Donald & Nicolas race to the ticket counters and are both a bit pushy trying to beat the other team to get the last two seats. Nick is so bad the agent actually remarks that he was rude, which Ronald overhears and decides to yell at Nick for giving all of the racers a bad name. Much more feistiness from Ronald is yet to come in this episode. Donald & Nicolas end up getting the last seats on the flight.

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Michelle & Bex
Graphic Designers

Bex: Our favorite show has started again, Michelle. Luckily, instead of wasting countless hours at work hanging out in each other’s cubes discussing the ins and outs of the race, we get to blog about it!

So let’s meet the racers. There are your blood relatives: the sisters (Marianna & Julia), the brother/sister (Azaria & Hendekea), the father/daughter (Ronald & Christina), the grandfather/grandson (Nicholas & Donald).

Bex: They all seemed sweet enough to me at this point, but none really stand out. But I do wonder how long it will be before Grandpa (who according to his grandson, swears and talks inappropriately about girls) will offend a woman abroad, causing an international incident.

Then we move on to the friends. There are the girlfriends (Shana & Jennifer), who “plan to flirt our way through this competition.”

Bex: Genius! They must be scholars. Isn’t that how the winners of the last 11 seasons of Amazing Race have won?

Michelle: I just read in “Us Weekly” that Shana is dating Ryan Seacrest. I’m thinking they didn’t win and he must be her backup plan for making her dream of a million-dollar shopping spree come true.

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