Amazing Race: Champagne Towers

Amazing Race
Cathy Drone

Hello! A few weeks ago, I spent too much time outside the house on Spring Break and no time watching The Amazing Race. Now I’m trying to play catch up with some recaps a few weeks too late. Please enjoy!

The detectives were the first to leave the pit stop at 7:47 am and received their clue.

Clue: Teams had to drive themselves 37 miles to the city of Reims, France and find the Joan of Arc statue.  There, they will find a street musician playing a singing saw and will give them their next clue.

Father/daughter team were the second team to leave at 8:04 am.  The first two teams commented on how cold it was when they were  leaving in the morning. Louie said that it was like a New England morning in December. The cowboys were the third team to leave at 8:13 am. The town that the teams were leaving was a super small one with only 43 people living in it. Allie could see where they needed to go on the map, but couldn’t find the town they were starting from in order to direct her dad how to get there. The cowboys couldn’t find Reims on the map so they were going to stop at the first business outside the city to ask.  The brothers were the fourth team to leave at 8:17 am. Jordan was hoping to go somewhere warmer.  The lesbians were the fifth to leave at 8:39 am.

Joan of Arc

The detectives arrived in the town and were searching for the statue. Steve pulled over to ask if a local knew where the statue was located, but the guy didn’t speak enough English to understand what he was saying. The brothers showed a woman their clue and she said it was by the cathedral, but her accent was so thick that Dan heard “Cathy Drone”.  Jordan figured out what she was saying though. When they got back into their car, Dan commented that they didn’t speak “good English here.” Yes, that’s the problem with the people in France. :/

The models left the pit stop in sixth place at 9:48 am. The detectives found a place to park the car and were headed to the office of tourism to ask them. The father/daughter team found a local that was going to show them.  Steve & Allie were the first to arrive at the lady playing the saw. She gave them a cork for a clue. It said “Champagne Leclerc Briant” They asked their local helpers where that was located and they said Epernay. Steve said he would “love a little bubbly.”

The detectives found the office of tourism and were directed to the statue nearby. The cowboys had parked near a square saying that statues are usually found in squares. They got to the clue just before the detectives. Jet had said there was a town 40 kilometers down the road named Champagne so he figured that’s where they had to go. The detectives went back to the information center to ask them. The brothers got to the statue and saw the tourism office so they ran over to get directions while the detectives were inside asking for them. They were both told to head to Epernay.  The cowboys were going to the wrong city!

While driving to Epernay, Jordan asked how you make champagne. He wondered if it was wine and you just add club soda. He was smiling while he was saying it, so at least he was joking and not serious. The lesbians found the statue and ran off back to their car. Big Brother were finally leaving the pit stop at 10:28 am.  While driving, Jordan was asking if Joan of Arc was the guy who carried all the animals. Jeff told her that Joan was a woman and she was thinking of Noah. Jeff said he wondered why they were in last place.

Searching the Cellar

The father/daughter team were lost somewhere since Allie couldn’t read the map. The brothers had followed the detectives and they had arrived at Champagne Leclerc Briant. It was a road block asking, “Who’s ready to cave in?”

Road Block: A team member had to learn how to party like it was 1799.  The person would first rappel down into the aging caverns of the winery and the search through the champagne bottles for one that was marked. Then they had to use a saber to slice the cork off the bottle.  The pressure would cause the cork and their next clue to shoot out.

Jordan and Louie decided to do it. Jordan said he had to do it since he had only done one roadblock to Dan’s three, but he freaked a bit when he read he had to rappel 100 feet down.  He did it though. While he was still going down, Steve & Allie finally showed up. Steve decided to do it.  Jordan had made it down and then wondered how the champagne was going to be marked different while he started scanning. Louie started to head down while Jordan was talking about never being in a champagne cellar in his life while he was on his knees searching through racks of bottles.

Meanwhile, the cowboys had arrived in the wrong city and asked someone how to get to the name on the cork. A local told them it was in another city.  As they headed where they needed to go, they were thinking they might have put themselves in last place. Jordan finally found a marked bottle. He took off up some stairs with it around the time that Louie was finally at the bottom. Jordan met Dan at the top and they went outside where he was shown how to open it. He did it on his first try. He picked up their next clue.

Clue: It was a piece of paper that said Taittinger La Marquetterie. Teams had to figure out it was a chateau and vineyard in the nearby city of Pierry.

The brothers took off to the chateau while Louie searched for a marked bottle. Steve started to rappel down.  The models were in Reims staring at a random statue.  Brent said he thought Joan of Arc was the woman on the left. Cate said Joan of Arc was a guy. Brent begged to differ and Cate finally realized he was right by saying she was “just kidding” and thinking of someone else. Brent walked around the statue. Cate said she didn’t hear anything so she didn’t think it was the right statue.

Back at the wine cellar, Louie found a marked bottle.  Steve had made it down and started searching. Louie opened up the bottle and they got their next clue. He had to run a bit to get it since it went flying. Big Brother were still driving to the city.

The models were still standing near the statue. Cate was saying that she didn’t think it was right and Brent was asking her what she wanted to do. He asked if they should ask someone for help and Cate didn’t want to do that.  Brent told her that she was having one of those attitudes so he was going to just stand there and do what she wanted to do.  They argued a bit about who had the bigger attitude and then they went to ask someone where the statue was located. They headed in that direction. Steve found the bottle and got the cork out on his second try. Steve & Allie passed by the lesbians as they were just arriving to the road block.  Brandy decided to do it and immediately started complaining when she found out she had to rappel. She thought it was fun, though, when she reached the bottom.

The brothers and detectives stopped to ask for directions in two different places.  The brothers were told that the place was in Reims, which was wrong. The detectives were told the chateau was in Pierry, which was correct. The detectives also got a local that was willing to have them follow him in his Porsche. Nice! The brothers went to go drive in the wrong direction.

The models found the cathedral, which Brent thought was gorgeous and Cate was excited that she could hear music. They got their clue. Brandy had found her bottle and got the cork off on her first try.  Steve & Allie stopped at a nearby house and asked where the chateau was located. They were also told Reims, so they turned around to head in the wrong direction too! The lesbians were getting directions to the correct city of Pierry.

The cowboys arrived back in the right city and found the road block. Cord decided to do it. Jet was a bit disturbed sitting at the table looking at the four empty champagne bottles, so he knew they were in fifth place and they had started out in third. Cord started looking around the bottles in the cellar around the time that Big Brother found the statue and the clue. Cord found the bottle and asked a local for directions. They were also headed to Reims! At least they were not the only ones headed to the wrong city but it was two wrong places in one day for them!

Fun With Bubbly

The detectives arrived at the clue box and hugged the friendly French couple that had driven them there.  They found a detour as the next clue.

Detour: Teams had to choose a task that related to making champagne.  In Tower, teams had to use exactly 680 glasses to build a tower exactly 15 levels high with only one glass on top.  If the team could solve that equation and build the tower without breaking any glasses, then they would fill the glasses with champagne and receive the next clue. In Terra, teams had to search through a vineyard and find a tiny cluster of grapes marked with race colors.  Once they found the grapes, they had to bring it to the harvester for their next clue.

The detectives decided to search since they were both “bulls in a china shop” and they would just break the glasses. They saw how much land the vineyard took and spread out to start looking.  Back in Reims, the brothers found a place called Taittinger. When they got inside and showed the woman the label, she told them it was in Pierry, really close to Epernay . She did explain that where they were was where the company bottled the champagne, but where they wanted to go was a big castle/mansion place.  Jordan said when they got back in the car that the lesson learned was to not always trust a pretty girl (like the one that gave them directions to the wrong city).

The models got to the road block and Brent decided to do it. Brent found the bottle and they were on their way. Cate thought it was sad they didn’t get to drink any champagne. While searching, Louie found some grapes that he said were red and yellow. They looked green and purple to me. Michael told them, those were not the marked grapes and to keep looking. Big Brother found the road block. Jeff decided to do it since Jordan is claustrophobic. Jordan was a bit worried about not seeing any other teams, but said that others could get lost.

Steve & Allie hit something in the car when they arrived at the wrong place in Reims. The lady was ready for them and told them where to go. They took off without trying to fix the bumper of the car. Allie was telling Steve they had to fix it since she could hear the plastic rubbing on the wheel. He finally got out to look at it and try to get some of the plastic from sticking down into the wheel. Steve was telling Allie to get into the car and move it a bit while he pulled. She said, “You want me to drive forward when your hand is right there?” It didn’t sound too smart.  Jeff found the bottle at the road block and they got the clue. Jeff asked if the champagne was good to drink and poured some in his mouth before he gave the bottle to the guy that showed him how to pop the top off.

Back at the broken car, Steve was saying that he needed something to cut the plastic. Allie said they didn’t have any scissors. Steve asked if she wanted to call for a new car and she said she thought they would have to do it.  Steve told Allie to find some duct tape in his bag. Duct tape solves all problems! He taped it up and they drove off, hoping it would hold. Steve said that when they were packing, his wife threw some in there, saying that they could fix most anything with duct tape.

The models were driving around asking random people for directions but no one knew where it was located. Big Brother asked the tourism office and they told them to go to Reims.  The detectives were still searching. Louie said that when they reached the end, they would scoot over and continue their grid search, but Michael said they would not have to continue since he found the grapes.  Michael said, “If I can find crack in someone’s rear end, I can find grapes in a vineyard.” Well, there you go! They turned their grapes in and got their next clue to the pit stop.

Clue: Teams had to make their way across the city to L’Orrca, a historic mansion, that was the pit stop.

The cowboys got to Reims and found out they needed to go to Pierry. Cord had good spirits about it saying people pay tons of money to tour the countryside of France and they got to do it all day in a Mercedes.  The brothers finally arrived at the correct location and picked the tower of glasses.  Jordan said when there is a skill and luck challenge, they want to go with the skill challenge. He also said they had been to their share of bar and bat mizvahs to know what the tower should look like. The lesbians arrived.  They  picked the grapes. Carol said, “So we just have to pick some grapes?” Then she realized they had to search for marked grapes and said it was insane.

Pit Stop


The detectives found the pit stop and ran to Phil who was standing with a mime.  They were the first team to arrive. They both won a trip to Cancun, Mexico.

The models hadn’t left town yet. Brent was in the car while Cate walked around asking, “Where is this?” to every person on the street. No one seemed to know. At the vineyard, Carol found the marked grapes. They got their clue and headed to the pit stop in second place. Brandy wondered if children grew up happier in the area since people were drinking champagne.  At the tower, Jordan was chatting away and Dan was trying to concentrate. Dan wasn’t telling Jordan to shut up, but he did look like he was going to kill him.

Steve & Allie showed up at the chateau and picked the grape challenge. Steve said he hoped the grapes popped out at him like the curb did.  The lesbians were looking for the pit stop and asked a policeman for directions. The models saw the lesbians asking for directions and where they were pointing so they decided to follow them without asking them where they were going. The lesbians ran and checked in with Phil. The models were right behind them and Phil welcomed them on the mat. I was surprised when Brent said they hadn’t done the detour yet so they giggled and ran away. The lesbians were wondering how the models had got there so fast. The lesbians were checked in by Phil in second place.

Back at the vineyard, Allie found the grapes so they were on their way. The brothers were still working on their glass tower. That did not seem to be a very quick task.  Big Brother showed up at the place in Reims and were sent to the right direction. Jordan felt better that at least the place had the same name of the place they were looking for. The models arrived at the vineyard so they must have finally found someone that knew where it was located. Brent wanted to do the grapes and Cate seemed to want to do the glasses. Brent kept saying that the glasses could break and fall, but Cate didn’t seem to believe him that they would.  When they started looking, Cate was complaining that looking for something in two acres was stupid while she was walking passed marked grapes.

Back at the glass tower, the brothers were almost done when they realized they were about to place their last single glass and it was only 12 rows high when it needed to be 15. Jordan said they could use the last three glasses and put them one on top of each other. Dan said it was the moment of truth when they tried it. The cowboys arrived and started looking through the grapes.  Steve & Allie arrived at the pit stop in third place. The duct tape worked! Steve told Phil that he hoped they are insured. Phil looked worried.

The cowboys were just running up rows looking for grapes when Jet found one. Cate asked Brent if they wanted to keep looking or start building. She said they would have already been done building by now. Oh, no you wouldn’t have been done! Brent didn’t really say anything but kept looking.  The cowboys got their pit stop clue and took off. The brothers stacked the last four rows with individual glasses. It was steady but then they had to pour the champagne. The models were busy arguing in the grape field about what task to do. Cate was saying she would just follow Brent and he was saying, he was ready to follow her to the glasses. Oh so, stupid.

The brothers were handed a huge bottle of champagne and Dan wished he was taller. He stood on a chair while Jordan held him steady as he began to pour. It was slowly going down through the glasses, but it was very unsteady.  Cate said that they should build so they came in to watch the brothers pouring. Brent wanted to start building and Cate wanted to count them out while they put them down. Brent said that he should just let her build the entire thing herself. He called her “Miss Perfect” and Cate responded, “That’s why you date me. ” The cowboys found the pit stop and checked in with Phil in fourth place.

The brothers finished pouring and nothing fell over! I was shocked. They got their next clue. Jordan said that they expected some calls for people wanted them to build champagne towers for them in the future. They both toasted each other and drank some champagne before they took off. Brent mumbled under his breath as he watched them leave, “I wish we would have found those stupid grapes.” If Cate had been looking rather than complaining, you would have been gone by now.  Big Brother was still looking for the vineyard by the time that the models had finished. Their tower looked more like a tower compared to the brothers. They finished and Brent started pouring the champagne.  Brent was pouring the champagne too quickly so after a while, the glasses came tumbling down. Doh! They ran out to look for grapes. Big Brother arrived at the vineyard and decided to do the glass since they saw people searching.

The brothers checked in with Phil for fifth place.  Cate was saying that they walked into the race without a million dollars so they could leave without it. Brent told her to walk faster. She probably wasn’t looking for grapes again and just blabbing. Big Brother was more determined to build their glass pyramid. Cate actually found some grapes and apologized to Brent for making him switch. Jeff was telling Jordan that it didn’t need to be perfect, but they just had to get up to 15 rows. While stacking, the glasses started falling. I do think they have to be perfect. The models were off to the pit stop. They were both apologizing to each other. Big Brother were off looking in the vineyard while it was getting dark. The models checked in with Phil for sixth place.

Big Brother were searching in the vineyard in the dark with flash lights. They passed by at least two bunches of grapes when Jordan finally found one. They finally got to the pit stop in last place.  They were expecting to be last and were in good spirits, even when Phil told them they had been eliminated. Jeff said that the experience was priceless. Jordan said that she never traveled before. She liked that she got to see stuff and do things. Jeff told her that was beautiful.

Questions

  1. Were you sad to see Big Brother go?
  2. Were you amazed another team wasn’t in last place with the multiple amount of mistakes that took place on this leg with the cowboys driving to two wrong cities, multiple people driving to Reims instead of Pierry and the models spending more time arguing than working together?
  3. Do you think you could have put together that tower of glasses and poured the champagne?
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