Merton in Europe

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[edit] General Information

Culture Documentary hosted by Paul Merton and published by Channel 5 in 2009 - English narration

[edit] Cover

[edit] Information

Having travelled far afield to explore China and India, Paul Merton is ready to take things easy with a relaxing trip around Europe. "But things didn't turn out quite as expected," he says. Far from gorging on sumptuous food and wine, lying on ravishing beaches and enjoying breathtaking architecture, Paul will be exploring some of the lesser-known areas of the continent. "Prepare to see Europe like you've never seen it before," he promises.

[edit] Germany

Beginning in Germany, Paul meets the leader of a political movement known as the Apple Front, before enjoying a 'chess boxing' match in a Berlin sports hall. Next, he meets a former truck driver who practises the dying art of giant bunny breeding, and samples the delights of naked bowling. The first leg of Paul’s tour ends with a bizarre spa treatment in a hotel on the Austrian border.
http://www.five.tv/programmes/documentaries/paul-merton-in-europe/57175

[edit] Germany and Ireland

In this installment, Paul visits an American Indian Club in the former GDR before exploring the Wunderland miniature railway in the affluent city of Hamburg. His last stop in Germany is a visit to a family who make wooden sex toys! The next leg of the journey is the Republic of Ireland, starting in the 'rebel' county of Cork. Paul meets a solicitor called Colin who dreams of competing as a female synchronised swimmer, and an Irish monk who has opened an alternative sculpture park...
http://www.five.tv/programmes/documentaries/paul-merton-in-europe/57259

[edit] Ireland

Paul resumes his travels in Ireland with a stop to witness the unusual sport of road bowling. Near the lunar landscape of the Burren, he drops in on Father Ted's house, before visiting a remarkable Brazilian enclave. In Dublin, Paul meets an enterprising pair who are selling Irish dirt to America, and an artist who lives in a 1930s house.
http://www.five.tv/programmes/documentaries/paul-merton-in-europe/58917

[edit] Italy

Paul's European tour continues with a trip to Italy. His first stop is the elegant northern city of Milan, famed for two things – football and fashion. Paul's guide, Genevieve, shows him how a local department store has gone one better by fusing the two together. While being dragged around the shops, Paul is surprised to stumble across a semi-naked footballer, Andrea Vasa, living in a department store. Andrea eats, sleeps and showers in the aisles for passers-by to see. This living, breathing bit of window dressing even parks his Porsche on the shop floor. The idea is the brainchild of the store owner, who believes that football is the language of the 21st century...
http://www.five.tv/programmes/documentaries/paul-merton-in-europe/58923

[edit] France

In France, Paul meets show jumpers who perform without horses, hears from a playwright who lived in a zoo with a panda, and learns the bittersweet story of a heartbroken graffiti artist. In Champagne, Paul discovers that boundary changes could make some locals very rich indeed. The intrepid explorer also visits a macabre museum devoted to the horrors of the world, and catches up with the man who has invented the world’s first full-body rollerblading suit.
http://www.five.tv/programmes/documentaries/paul-merton-in-europe/61375

[edit] Spain

In the final episode, Paul travels to Spain, where he encounters a former monk who has spent the last half-century building a gigantic church single-handedly. At a bullfight, he witness a spectacular display of acrobatics that leaves the animal in one piece. Elsewhere, Paul takes part in a gigantic human tower, learns about the legacy of the Civil War and tries his hand at flamenco.
http://www.five.tv/programmes/documentaries/paul-merton-in-europe/61927