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The pioneering travel show returns in which two intrepid Irishwomen couch-surf their their way across Europe.
Bláthnaid Tracey and camerawoman Laura O’Connell have neither the inclination nor the money to stay in hotels or hostels. Instead, they opt to crash on the couches of complete strangers.
But couch-surfing is not just about free accommodation and the girls (sometimes) have to pitch in around the house, the flat or even the farm. They may even have to sing for their supper ! During their 10 week trip Bláthnaid and Laura stay with over twenty hosts in 12 different countries, getting a flavour of where and how their hosts live and of their cultural –or other– habits.
This season Bláthnaid and Laura also venture into the heart of the Balkan states that, a mere two decades ago, were torn by conflict. In Germany they stay with a full time student/part time clown, sleeping on the floor with four Mexican street performers. In Austria they skateboard their way around its historical capital Vienna. In Hungary they are evicted from a squat, of all places, to find themselves homeless on the streets of Budapest - only to land in Timisoara where they have to kill their own dinner.
Moving on further into former Yugoslavia the girls are given several eye witness accounts of the Balkan conflict. In Serbia, they hear how people dealt with the NATO bombings while in Bosnia they stay with a host who, as a child, grew up in an apartment block surrounded by snipers. They celebrate Independence Day in Macedonia and learn how Croatians manage to embrace the trappings of the West without forgetting about their past.
For the last leg of their journey the girls bunk with a handsome banker in Switzerland, visit the tourist trap that is Venice, get a wine tasting crash course in Dijon only to finish in Paris, where they stay with an archetypical, baguette-under-the-arm, French charmer.
But it’s not just one-way traffic: these two girls also know how to enjoy themselves and entertain their hosts with Irish dancing lessons, late night parties and Laura really gets the room going when she takes up the mic at a local hen party!
