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Original poster

What did you think would be more glamorous or impressive than it was?

407 replies

SugarMouseTown · 18/10/2021 11:59

As a kid I thought that being an actor would be fun and exciting and I'm sure it has its moments but watching the behind the scenes videos much of it looks miserable and dull. Especially action movies where they're required to get drenched with every substance known to man and have explosions and fire going off around them.

What didn't live up to expectations for you?

OP posts:
BlowDryRat · 20/10/2021 12:12

I suppose I had built up an unrealistic expectation that the Eurotunnel would be the Taste the Difference version of tunnels.

ErrolTheDragon · 20/10/2021 12:42

@Maireas

I seem to be in the minority as I was (an am) impressed by Rome, the Colosseum and the Sistine Chapel.
There's lots of impressive stuff in Rome. The pantheon and the Baths of Caracalla (and the colosseum) etc perhaps make a bigger impact if you've learned a bit about them in terms of architecture and structure. Trajans column.... ponder a moment how the hell they built it in that era in a confined site.
Clandestin · 20/10/2021 12:57

@Maireas

I would like Paris were it not for our experiences of racism.
I've yet to encounter a non-racist city anywhere, unfortunately.
Maireas · 20/10/2021 13:02

Sad, but true, @Clandestin. However, we've travelled in Italy and Spain and not felt too uncomfortable. Less overt, maybe.

OnTheNatureOfDaylight · 20/10/2021 13:10

I found Rome to be jaw dropping. the history is everywhere.
Hated the graffiti but loved the city.

CounsellorTroi · 20/10/2021 13:31

I loved Rome apart from the awful monstrosity that is the King Victor Emmanuel II monument.

Love Athens too, but went there a lot pre COVID so got to know it quite well.

berlinbabylon · 20/10/2021 13:50

Airport lounges, though some are quite nice. Not glamorous though, despite their price tag.

berlinbabylon · 20/10/2021 13:53

@LowlandLucky

Le manior aux quat' saisons, over priced and you need to stop off at the chippy on the way home.
My mum had a bad experience there and we thought it was because she went with a coach trip (and were very surprised that they even accepted coach trips) but maybe it's always meh!
mamabear715 · 20/10/2021 14:06

Loving this thread! I've never had the means to travel outside the UK, it's making me feel so much better about it! :-)
My own dislikes in this country - sorry to anyone who lives there - Durham - was expecting great things but it just felt flat. Evesham. Same. Morecambe - I understand it's been improved, but I think it was shut when I went.
Other things.. most boxes of chocolates. Mostly sickly and no wonderful flavours any more. The expectations of Christmas.. when did it get all about the presents & Christmas dinner? I'd be happy with a couple of small gifts & a lovely walk. New Year's Eve.. always hated it, my happiest was when Shameless was on the tv with back to back episodes. :-)
Expensive clothes - not that I've had many, but there are still loose buttons & threads & uneven hems.
Having a dog - and I've had them all my life,up until about the last decade, and love them to bits, but omg the muddy floors and hair..
Technology - ie newer, better washing machines etc - does anyone ever use more than a couple of programmes? Does a vacuum cleaner ever last more than a couple of years, whichever one you get? Smartphones - they aren't. I've borrowed my daughters when I couldn't use my lovely old desktop, and wanted to throw the damn thing at the wall. Why do they just do what they want to do? Maybe I should finish now before I upset EVERYONE! ;-)

Toddlerteaplease · 21/10/2021 15:47

I also adored Rome. But what is it with the graffiti. It really spoils such a beautiful city.

Toddlerteaplease · 21/10/2021 15:51

I expected Dublin to be this gorgeous Georgian city. It was just traffic chocked and nothing special. Liverpool's Georgian quarter is much better!

brokenbiscuitsx · 21/10/2021 16:08

@languagelover96

Life
🤣 Sorry I realise that probably wasn’t a joke but it just hit home.

I had this idea as a teen that as a woman in her 30s I would dress a certain way and have a certain life but it just isn’t like that.

brokenbiscuitsx · 21/10/2021 16:12

Oops pressed send too early.

Paris. I lived there for a year. It’s lovely in the more touristy central arondissements but outside of that, it’s actually quite grim and in fact, quite dangerous. Graffiti, dog poop, litter, smelly, gangs of men intimating women…

DandyHighwayWoman · 21/10/2021 20:07

Bruges absolutely stank of sewage.

BestIsWest · 21/10/2021 20:22

I loved Niagara Falls. Yes the town was tacky (Canadian side) but the falls themselves were impressive. We did the boat trip which was great fun and got thoroughly soaked. But we only spent a few hours there, it was enough.

allfurcoatnoknickers · 21/10/2021 20:45

Working in the art world. I worked for an auction house and a swanky gallery and it was mostly hanging pictures in 6 inch heels, getting yelled at by old men in tweed and having to put up with lecherous clients.

Clandestin · 21/10/2021 20:52

@allfurcoatnoknickers

Working in the art world. I worked for an auction house and a swanky gallery and it was mostly hanging pictures in 6 inch heels, getting yelled at by old men in tweed and having to put up with lecherous clients.
Oh, @allfurcoatnoknickers, I wish you would do an AMA. I would be fascinated!

Who were the shouty old men in tweed?

TaraR2020 · 21/10/2021 22:04

@allfurcoatnoknickers I second you doing an AMA!

allfurcoatnoknickers · 21/10/2021 23:24

Haha I'm flattered but it was only for about a year almost a decade ago, so I'm not an expert at all.

The shouty men in tweed were heads of departments like Books and Manuscripts and Antiquities.

HairyPoppins1 · 05/12/2021 09:39

Hollywood, I couldn’t believe how dirty and smelly it was! It was like a sunny/warm Blackpool!

mumofEandE · 05/12/2021 09:56

Lake Garda - not as classy as I had thought it would be
Florence / Sorrento - nice but not fantastic - maybe because I had wanted to go for ages
The Grand Canyon - agree with PP - after a few minutes in a plane / helicopter it all looks the same!

DarlingFell · 05/12/2021 10:40

The races. Just a piss up in posh hats 🎩

DarlingFell · 05/12/2021 10:51

@berlinbabylon

Airport lounges, though some are quite nice. Not glamorous though, despite their price tag.
Oh some are! The BA Concorde Room at LHR is pretty glam, as is the Air France first class lounge at CDG. I agree that some of the bog standard business class lounges are nothing to write home about but have to disagree about the more exclusive lounges
DarlingFell · 05/12/2021 10:53

@julieca

Dublin, far less beautiful than I was expecting. New York. The skyscrapers were impressive, but DC Washington was 100% times better to visit. Hampstead Heath. I had read in columns about this amazing heath in London. In reality it is nothing special.
Yep, HH is really not all that but London dwellers love to cling onto it as though it’s some amazing AONB. It’s not. It’s a typical London park 🤷🏻‍♀️
OhWhyNot · 05/12/2021 11:58

Hollywood it’s dirty, seedy and so dated

Paris - in love Paris but it is not as beautiful as I expected it to be or as chic. But there are beautiful buildings