The Bachelorette / Week 6

Greetings From Dubrovnik!

Dubrovnik, Croatia

Our fair-haired bachelorette had some fierce competition in the beauty department this week, not from any of her suitors, but from the backdrop of scenic Dubrovnik, a stunning historic Croatian city on the Dalmatian Coast. Breathtaking. Emily did hold her own, though, and then some. She cut more than a little fat from her larder of prospects; in fact, she went right for the meat, as in Meathead Ryan, who at last got the ax. Not being mean, folks, just realistic. The dude had to go and three cheers for Emily for making the right decision!

Six weeks into her journey from being a Miss to a Mrs., Emily has effectively ditched the most obnoxious dudes and bid adieu to the most boring of the bunch as well. So what she's left with is a group of perfectly fine choices. Not the sharpest tools in the shed, but not too dull, either. I think it's difficult for anyone to stand out next to Emily. She's gorgeous, sweet, friendly, fun and has a healthy dose of good old women's intuition. She just might have what it takes to find lasting love amid a wholly manipulative "reality" fraught with cameras and critics.

So how did eight guys at the top of the show become six by night's end? Not by wooing Emily on a one-on-one date. Mississippi Travis was first up, and he struck out, big time. Anyone could see there was no romantic connection between Emily and the 30-year-old salesman (and former Ostrich egg-holder -- remember that half-baked ploy?). But the Dubrovnik date sealed it. Nice guy, but no dice. I felt kinda bad for him as he made his exit in the rain.

The other swing and a miss came from resident meathead and self-proclaimed "bad boy" Ryan. He and Emily seemed to enjoy a relatively OK date, engaging in their usual Southern banter. But Ryan was increasingly clueless about how to win Emily over. His insistence on finding a "trophy wife" rubbed her the wrong way (gee, I wonder why?) and he failed to notice that the more time they spent together the more the flirting was one-sided. And clueless he remained, even when Emily told him he was not getting a rose. He was "shocked" and "surprised" and not ready to leave. He cajoled and yammered on and kept swinging for the fences, but our bachelorette wasn't swayed. Yahoo! Ryan, take your oddly coiffed facial hair and blue-suede loafers and head on home.

Bachelorette Emily Maynard with the final, skirted six.

Group dates don't tend to yield a lot of connection, but this week's had its share. And for once, it was even fun to watch. After a private screening of Disney-Pixar's new animated film "Brave," Emily garbed Chris, Arie, Jef, John, Sean and Doug in kilts (yup, that's them in the photo) and sent them off on donkeys to be manly men in a modified version of the Highland Games. (By the way, pretty much everyone but Arie looked damn good in a skirt. Nice legs, boys!) They shot arrows. They tossed cabers. They muscled lazy sticks (don't ask). And they did it in good humor. But it wasn't the strongest or most agile of the bunch who got Emily's attention; it was the one who struggled the most -- Chris (definitely not Gerard Butler, but getting closer all the time). He got a special "bravery cup" and the group date rose. Good going Gerard, I mean Chris. 

What else happened this week? You know, the usual: lots of kissing and swooning and grammatical error-making. (Really, Arie, "shookin' up"? Yeesh.) Emily walked in crazy high heels on medieval cobblestone streets. The guys yukked it up and stressed out and hoped for the best. And in the end, six skirted suitors are off to next week's destination: Prague. Until then, na shledanou!