As we move into the last week of summer holidays it's nice to get back into a routine, especially one as much fun as this. At the end of the seventh leg the six remaining teams were all in Normandy where they had a chance to reflect on real heroes and real costs, but today it's back to the races. With the Olympians once again leading the pack after winning their fifth leg they are the first to leave Normandy at 2:26am and are making their way to Paris, France (not Texas) via train.
There are two trains making their way to Paris one hour apart and you definitely want to be on the first one. After they arrive in Paris they need to make their way to the Arc de Triomphe and avoid the Double U-Turn ahead. Michel & Pierre and Mickey & Pete are also on the first train. Meeting up at the train station Alain & Audrey have a chat with the Twins and agree not to U-Turn each other. Good luck with that when you're down to six teams and no alliances.
Everyone's surprised to see Ryan & Rob at the station and learn that last week was a non-elimination leg. Once on the first train Pierre& Michel discuss who to u-turn and Pierre wants to u-turn Alain & Audrey, despite agreeing not to only minutes before. The first train arrives and all three teams head to the Arc de Triomphe.
Mickey and Pete are the first to the clue box and get the next clue; Make your way to the Place du Canada and find the next clue. Why are the getting a cab? The second train arrives and the last three teams make a dash for the Arc.
The Olympians get to the Detour first. Haute Couture, where teams become fashion students at a fashion design school or Plat du Jour, where teams must find chalkboards at three cafés, buy items and deliver them to patrons, reciting the items upon delivery. Both of these are pretty easy tasks but with only three items the Plat du Jour should go quicker. The Olympians decide to serve lunch, as do the Twins.
Mickey & Pete have somehow gotten lost outside Paris, while the Twins and Olympians are lost amongst the cafés. The second set of teams get to the Detour and all choose Plat du Jour.
Mickey and Pete have found Place des Canada rather than Place du Canada and are now at least two hours behind everyone. What the hell were they thinking? Why on earth did they ever leave Paris? Apparently the Dudes forgot Rule Number One: Read The Clue. Nowhere in the clue did it say to get back in a cab, train, bus or whatever.
Back in Paris Pierre & Michel and Natalie & Meaghan are both on their last item. The girls get it first and are now on their way to the Centre Pompidou where they'll find the Double U-Turn. Hope they get there first, because as much as the Twins want to target Alain & Audrey, the Olympians are a definite target.
Everyone seems to have a problem finding the chalkboards, because they're all looking for a chalkboard with the colors rather than an item on a chalkboard with the colors beside it. Simple mistake to make if you're not paying attention. The Twins have finished and they're off behind Natalie & Meaghan.
Sukhi & Jinder can't agree on a method to remember the order as they run down the streets. Meanwhile Alain & Audrey have switched tasks and are now making a dress. It's an easy task and I'm not sure why others wouldn't do it, although it does require a little more attention to detail.
Mickey & Pete finally arrive back in Paris and the girls have found the U-Turn and decided not to use it. Nice. They intend to play an aboveboard game and not cause any undue stress to the other teams. I'm okay with that and if I were first to the board I'd likely do the same because it doesn't put a target on you. However, Pierre & Michel decide to use the U-Turn and U-Turn Alain & Audrey.
Mickey & Pete are finally on the cafe task, as are Sukhi & Jinder and Ryan & Rob. When Ryan sees the tsunami siblings he asks them if they've found any of the items and Jinder says he hasn't, while holding two items in his hands and then running off. Jinder is coming off about as honest as Pierre & Michel.
Alain & Audrey are having almost as much trouble with dress designing as they did finding chalkboards. I guess it's a lost art but I expected better from Audrey. Sukhi spills the coffee and has to go back to fill the order.
The Olympians have found the Roadblock, time to make a piece of art using Mentos candy. Mmm, yummy. Time consuming, but easy enough to do. Obviously this would be my task, assuming I didn't eat all the Mentos while doing it.
Sukhi & Jinder complete their cafe tasks and are off, with Ryan & Rob right behind them. It's a race to the U-Turn board. Jinder & Sukhi got there first and u-turned Ryan & Rob, who were not happy as they headed off to the other side of the detour. Further along the leg, Pierre & Michel have arrived at the Roadblock and join the Olympians in creating their masterpiece.
Alain & Audrey have completed the task and find they've been u-turned by the twins. They can't believe that Pierre & Michel would turn against them but apparently they missed the whole point of the race. When Mickey & Pete arrive at the board they discover nobody targeted them and they move on. Ryan & Rob start on their dress, complete with upside down sleeves as Alain & Audrey hunt the cafés. They had no problem getting the items and reciting the food but they spilled the coffee and had to repeat it.
Natalie feels she's got the Mentos masterpiece but she messed up the first time, went back and changed some colors and she and Meaghan are off to La Pont de l'Archevéche, the love lock bridge. Once there they must search for Jon at the Pit Stop.
Natalie takes some Mentos to go as Sukhi starts her masterpiece and Michel continues on his. Jinder and Pierre bond over their u-turn choices and have a little laugh at the others expense.
Ryan & Rob have completed their dress and have now arrived at their Speed Bump and must learn to play an accordion and play Eau Claire de la Lune before a crowd of Parisians. Alain & Audrey have completed their lunch service as Mickey & Pete arrive at the Mentos challenge, which Michel has failed on the first attempt. Back to the original.
Meanwhile, back on the streets of Paris, Ryan & Rob have memorized the song and completed the speed bump. Time to move on.
Sukhi has been working on her masterpiece for 2hrs and 23 minutes when Michel asks for his to be checked. Wrong again. Here come Alain & Audrey and you can feel the ice in the air as Audrey gets started on the Roadblock.
Natalie and Meaghan are once again Team Number 1, six wins out of eight, and have won another trip to anywhere in Europe Air Canada flies and another $3000 on their card. They're gonna have one helluva vacation when the race is over.
Ryan & Rob have arrived at the Mentos challenge as Sukhi asks for an inspection, passing Pierre & Michel as she & Jinder head to the pit stop. After five hours Michel is still wrong, but so is Audrey, and Pete. Audrey and Pete decide to work together and them Pete is done, so he and Mickey are off.
Sukhi and Jinder are team number 2, their best finish so far. They're a fun team to watch and I'm impressed with their performance but they are definitely starting to acquire a target.
After 3hrs and 40 minutes Audrey's done. It's down to either Ryan & Rob, who arrived last or Pierre & Michel who arrived second. Rob gets a check but it's wrong, as is Michel's next check. It's not looking good for the Twins.
Mickey & Pete are Team Number 3, and Alain & Audrey are Team Number 4. At the mat Alain gets down on one knee and proposes to Audrey and she says "Yes." No surprise there, but a nice tender moment. He's obviously been carrying that ring around since the start of the race, just waiting for the right moment. This was it. Jon sends them off to enjoy the city of love.
Back at the Mentos masterpiece Rob and Michel are still counting colors as they race to complete their masterpieces. Rob asks for another check and Rob has completed his masterpiece and they're off, leaving Pierre & Michel in the sugar coated dust. Ryan and Rob are Team Number 5.
After 7hrs and 52 minutes, Michel finally gets it right and they're off to find Jon. They are the last team to arrive and have been eliminated from the race. They ran a good race but apparently karma caught up to them and has sent them on their way.
Next week teams return home as they fly to Montreal for a car race, a cheesy challenge, and a nude modelling task. Look for our upcoming exit interview with Pierre & Michel in the next few days and another video recap from Wayne and I where we discuss the errors in the Twins ways, the Olympians return to the podium, and what happened to Mickey & Pete. See you real soon.
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Gordon L GaleGordon L Gale is a Freelance Illustrator, a Graphic Designer, a Dad and (according to his children) an Ogre. Archives
September 2016
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