CBS

FLYING HIGH
As the sun rose, TK & Rachel, having taken the highway through Rome, arrived in Empoli to join Nate & Jen as the only Teams to reach the airfield before the 7:00am opening. The normally calm TK shouted with sheer exhilaration and excitement at being the second team to arrive after having to backtrack to retrieve their clue the night before.

When the gates opened, TK & Rachel and Nate & Jen opened their clues to find a Road Block. In it, one team member had to soar through the skies over Tuscany in an ultra light. While aloft, they had to scan a 10-kilometer radius of the countryside below for the name of their next destination: Vinci. When they thought they spotted the hint, they had to signal their pilot, who would then bring them back down. Once on the ground, they would tell the instructor the word and, if correct, the pilot would hand them their next clue. There was a thirty-minute time limit per flight. Once the half hour was up, team members had to make a mandatory landing for refueling before continuing their search.

Going up in their ultra lights, TK and Nate both marveled at the beautiful scenery over Tuscany before beginning the search for their next clue. At the same time, Ron & Christina arrived at the airfield followed closely by Nick & Don. When Ron shouted at Christina when they couldn’t find the number pull for the Road Block, Rachel listened in shock and horror. She told Jen, “I haven’t heard him yell at her yet. I have no forgiveness or respect for the way that Ron talks to his daughter.”

While Christina chose to fly in the ultra light for her Team, Nick & Don opted to try for the Fast Forward, the only one on the entire race. In it, teams had to travel to Fabio Studios to take part in a local seafaring tradition. What they didn’t know was that the tradition is the art of tattoo. When they arrived, they would learn that they had to have a permanent tattoo drawn on their bodies, the letters FF for Fast Forward.

As Vyxsin began to emotionally break down from lack of sleep and not being able to find Empoli, TK endured his own stress and anxiety in the ultralight. With so much area to cover in searching for the hint, the trick was to look along the river as Nate learned when he spotted the giant letters spelling Vinci on his first try. Opening the clue, he and Jen discovered they had to drive to the town of Vinci and find the birth home of famed Italian artist and inventor, Leonardo da Vinci.

FLYING BLIND
A frustrated TK went back up after refueling but again couldn’t find the hint while Christina directed her pilot along the river and easily spotted the word Vinci. Once again, TK came down without any idea of what he needed to look for. His frustration worsened when hopelessly lost Kynt & Vyxsin arrived at the airfield thrilled and surprised to see another Team having as bad a day as they were. When Vyxsin went up in the ultralight, she also spotted the word Vinci along the river while TK continued to flounder. Back on the ground, TK told Rachel, “This might be the most heartbreaking thing I’ve ever been a part of. I think we’re done.” Now alone in last place, TK once again went back up in the ultralight and this time he finally spotted the hint. Driving off, TK remarked, “I hope because of that we don’t get eliminated.”

TATTOO TIME
Walking into Fabio Studios, grandson and grandfather Nick & Don received a huge shock when they realized they had to get a tattoo to earn their Fast Forward reward. Don remarked, “I never thought at my age I’d be getting a tattoo.” Knowing that turning back now would result in their elimination, they had no choice but to sit down and endure the painful stings of the artist’s needle as black ink permanently transferred onto their arms. With the FF emblazoned on their arms, Nick & Don opened their clue, instructing them to skip all tasks and drive to the Pit Stop at Boboli Gardens in Florence.

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