U.K. TV producer and narrator Alex Polizzi has several mini-series running on Amazon Prime Video. She is from a family with a long history of hotel operations. The first episode that I watched was a travelogue Secret Italy. People who have traveled extensively in Europe will appreciate that she avoids the tourist traps and covers little known sites, particularly in the eastern and southern side of the Italian “boot.” Since she is originally from Italy, she knows the country well. She has a quirky, casual, and entertaining personality that doesn’t drone on like some tour guides.

Her second one was about Spain that covered some of the traditional sites, but again she takes you to those off the beaten path. She joins in the run of the bulls. Other sites include Valencia, Andalusia, Madrid, Costa Blanca, Grenada, and then she goes to a bullfight, and ends up at the Cathedral de Santiago Compostela.

In reverse order of the years in which they were produced, She and her mother undertake the renovation of a medieval country inn in East Sussex. Because it is so old, it has many deed restrictions and lot of problems with rotting wood, makeshift plumbing and electrical wiring. It’s like the common story of pouring money down a rat hole in an old house. Except that the problems run into the millions. For those who fancy themselves good at remodeling, they will appreciate the final product.

Probably my least favorite series is the “Fixer” in which she serves as a consultant to six small struggling family businesses. Of course, the first things she finds are the usual ego clashes, family histories, and emotional conflicts that ruin a business. Only after those issues are resolved, is she able to show them examples of similar businesses that are successful. They learn why those are successful.

In the first series she is a chef for hire. Since she has managed hotels and restaurants, she is knowledgeable of the requirements of a top chef. Since I don’t even cook much anymore nor watch the cooking shows, I skipped this one.

There are six episodes in each series and each is about an hour long, so it’s a good show for binge-watching on a rainy weekend. They were produced between 2015 and 2021.

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