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Say Your Deepest Prayers Ever

Departing Barcelona, Spain, the final three teams were in fairly close proximity to one another. Rob and Kimberly took the first clue, which led them to Sagrada Familia - a church that has been under construction for 124 years. Despite a brief stint in the wrong park, it wasn't long before they found the correct cluebox, which contained a picture of a very recognizable landmark - the Eiffel Tower - so it was off to the airport to find a flight to Paris, France.

Tyler and James and Lyn and Karlyn were not far behind, but all teams managed to bunch up at the airport (again) because the window didn't open until 4:00am. Somehow, Rob and Kimberly pulled the last seats on a flight to Charles de Gaulle airport, leaving the other teams in a bit of a pinch. Lyn and Karlyn opted for a flight into Orly that put them closer to the Eiffel Tower, a move that would serve them well in the next stage, but perhaps not as well down the road. Meanwhile Tyler and James nearly broke into a fight because they elected to sit around, rather than trying to do something while waiting for the window to open. Eventually they found a flight that got them into Paris not much later than the other teams.

Lyn and Karlyn landed in third place, but a lucky break gave them a short taxi ride to the Eiffel Tower, which put them into first. Meanwhile, the other two teams received information that the train would be faster than the taxi (and perhaps it was, but they lost position, nonetheless). Arriving on the third floor of the tower, the next clue said that the teams had to purchase tickets for a train to Caen. Again, the teams joined each other on the same transport.

Once the groups pulled into Caen, however, Tyler and James took the lead. Their taxi headed for the airport, where they found the final Roadblock. In this challenge, one team member had to skydive from 13,000 feet, while the other had to take a surprise nosedive in the plane. The teammates would then meet up at the train station and ride back to Paris. Everything went off surprisingly easy - except for Rob, who complained that this was the one challenge that he really wanted to do.

All of the teams booked tickets on the 5:23 train back to Paris, where they were to find the Place de la Concorde, but Rob and Kimberly missed the 5:10 train that came through - they were changing money. So the bit where you saw them wandering about the platform was this scene. However, there was a 5:23 that came through, so they caught up quickly enough. In Paris, the next cluebox gave teams their final Detour, where they had to choose from Art and Fashion.

In Art, the team has to pick up a painting from a local art gallery and take it through the streets of Paris to an artist who would hand them their next clue. In Fashion, the teams has to travel on foot to Anatomy Fashion Studio where they needed to create a jacket. Using the provided tools and materials, they needed to cut, pin and fit the jacket to a mannequin. Once the designer approved of their work, she would hand them their next clue.

Somewhat surprisingly, all three teams chose Fashion, but it was Tyler and James who finished first - apparently due to their modeling experience, or at least that is how they chalked it up. Then, they received their next clue. This led them to their final flight - back to New York City, where they had to locate the News Building with the giant globe. It is probably to the advantage of Tyler and James that they went to New York City, but nonetheless, they headed immediately to Charles de Gaulle, a good choice, for it had flights to New York.

Meanwhile, when Lyn and Karlyn finished, they went back to Orly because of their earlier good luck with the airport - only to find that there were no flights. Interestingly, several times the phrase "direct flights to New York" was mentioned, though it wasn't said in the clue. So perhaps they had to fly directly to New York. In any case, Lyn and Karlyn had to head to Charles de Gaulle, which hurt their chances.

Tyler and James had put themselves onto the waiting list for the earliest flight to New York, but didn't think they had much of a chance. When Rob and Kimberly arrived, they spoke with a supervisor, who managed to get them on the earliest flight (somehow). The next morning, as Tyler and James saw this, they finagled their way to the top of the waiting list as well, but at this point, Lyn and Karlyn were left behind - they didn't make the early flight and it became a two-team race.

Another lucky break was found by Tyler and James as they chose their taxi at the airport, for their driver knew where he was going. Rob and Kimberly had to follow them, and at the toll booth, Tyler and James knew they had yet another break for their driver had an EZ Pass to speed through the toll booth while Rob and Kimberly had to stop and pay cash. It looked like the race was their for sure.

After arriving at the News Building, they found a clue which had them travel on foot to the East Village (some two miles!) to find a sculpture called The Alamo. There they would find their next, and final, clue. In it, the direction was to pursuade a taxi driver to drive them some 56 miles to St. Basil's Academy in Garrison, New York, and the finish line.

• Tyler and James
• Rob and Kimberly
• Lyn and Karlyn

Though Tyler and James made it without any apparent diffculty, on The Early Show the next day, they said that it was a bit closer than it seemed. The first driver from the airport knew where he was going, but finding an out-of-the way place in the country is a bit more difficult, so they were constantly asking directions. By contrast, Rob and Kimberly had a driver from the city who knew exactly where he was going, so they made up a good bit of time on the last segment of the leg. Still, it wasn't enough, and they couldn't overcome the deficit. Congratulations Tyler and James, and to all the racers!

A preview shown after the leg ended indicated that an all-star race will begin in February 2007. While it didn't say who will be in it, it is sure to be very exciting. I can hardly wait!