Another week. Another Amazing Race.

Well, I must say that this week wasn't quite as exciting for me. I'm not sure why, but I just wasn't an invested as I usually I am. I dutifully took notes, though, for the blog, so I'll get to it.

First off, Red Square was amazing. The part of me that grew up during the Cold War, back when there was still a Berlin Wall and we watched movies like War Games, would be really anxious about visiting Russia on my own. But going with the safety of a tv show or a tour or something, when you know someone's got your back, I think you could really take in the beauty of the architecture and let it sink in that you're really in *Russia*! I got that sense just seeing Red Square on tv. Looking at the multi-colored onion domes, I just thought how cool it would be to be there. But on to the game.

As I say every week, I luv my hippies. It was so sweet that they were concerned about Barry and Fran making it and not getting eliminated. Love them.

How annoyed was I that the Rutting Animals (aka Eric and Jeremy) were the only ones to make the first flight out of Russia? They had luck the whole leg. Yuck.

Lake, on other hand, redeemed himself a bit by showing Ray and Yolanda the right line at the airport. (What WAS up with his hat, though???) Everyone was really down in the dumps at the Moscow airport, and I kept thinking, "Don't worry about it - as long as you're all in the same boat, it's no problem." But I think they were all just really tired. I hate to think how I'd come across on tv when I got really tired. I'm sort of worthless without enough sleep.

First task: Take a Test Drive. Two words for that Wall of Death test drive. KICK ASS!!!! Boy, would that be fun, and the German accents were so perfect. The drivers seemed so stiff and uptight, "Ve are goink to drive now." And then they put the hammer down! Even better - you get to drive that car around afterward.

The Bavarian countryside: gorgeous. David and Lori are gettin' tough now - telling little white lies to throw off the competition. I wonder how much of a dark side they've got.

Roadblock: Find the gnome. I would've done this one. Easy sneezy. I got a good laugh when Lake and Michelle were there at the same time as the hippies. As they're reading their clue, one of the hippies is dancing like a goof in the background as the other one searches, and you hear Michelle say to Lake, in a very stern mother tone, "Quit payin' attention to that." Cracked me up! I could just see Lake distractedly watching The Dancing Hippie and his voice trailing off as he was supposed to be reading. That's another thing. Has Michelle even done a Roadblock yet? Doesn't each partner have to do an even amount? They're going to be hurtin' if she gets stuck with a bunch difficult ones at the end b/c she's been bailing on everything up front.

Detour: Break It or Slap It. I would've gone with Slap It because I'm a crappy dancer. My one laugh from Eric and Jeremy was during this Detour. One of them hit his head into the bottle instead of the other way around and then said, "German karate." Chuckle. But of course, they had to hit on the girl working the Detour. I repeat: rutting animals. Again, Fran and Barry choose something physical and have difficulty. I shake my head.

The Pitstop: Eric and Jeremy won the leg and a trip to Africa. Someone should probably warn them there's a rampant AIDS epidemic there. The look on Phil's face when they referred to more "tongue wrestling" with the Boob Twins was priceless. My hippies running backwards? Uh...okay. And I'm not sorry to see Wanda and Desiree go. I didn't loathe them or anything, but Wanda got on my nerves alot with her drama and Des kept correcting her English, which was annoying - it seemed a little disrespectful, like she's embarrassed by her mom. Anyway, I was glad to see them go. Maybe the Boob Twins can be next.