Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Roman holiday
WACKY, deadpan and totally unconventional, Richard Ayoade returns to save the world from boring holidays, one short-haul destination at a time.
This is series six, but if you’ve not seen this bizarre travelogue before, it’s as refreshing as a dip in a Roman bath. Which is handy, since that’s where Richard goes first – to Rome, with comedian Matt Lucas, one of the “affordable and available” celebs who’ve been lined up for the series.
“This is a maxi-packed mini break, travel without mercy,” explains The Crystal Maze host Richard.
And maxi-packed is right – the whole thing is a super-fast, frenetic, romp through a city.
It’s only a 30-minute show, and you’ll need to tune in and keep up with the pace. This is part history lesson, with some fascinating facts, part Tripadvisor review (with prices) and part opportunity for silly behaviour.
Introducing Rome, Richard says: “If you like old, you’ve hit the melon-farming motherlode,” before throwing in random words such as “concrete”, “art” and “sewers”. Then he and Matt begin to “saunter through Rome and commence pointing”. This is a travel documentary on speed.
After dropping their bags at an ultra-hip hotel, they head to Rome’s oldest hat shop to choose appropriate fedoras.
Then they take a guided tour in a vintage Fiat 500 car, stopping to peep through the Aventine Keyhole, before heading to the border of the Vatican for the best of Italian cuisine.
Then, on day two, they head to the Trevi Fountain, the Colosseum and to gladiator school, where we see a “thrilling montage” of their skills.