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

[SugarMouseTown]

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?

The Little Mermaid in Copenhagen.
I was going to say The Little Mermaid.
We stumbled across it by chance when we were out walking. It took me a while to believe it was the actual Little Mermaid!

Learning another language

Just so feckin tedious

I'm told the Canadian side is better

^^

It's not

Niagara Falls

I loved Niagara Falls. I went in the winter of 1995 and it was freezing. Literally freezing. It was impressive with large spikes of ice hanging down and sudden crashes of ice falling into the river below.

Cryotherapy - 2.5 minutes of intense chillblains in the legs followed by a thumping headache

Did it help your condition weemouse
It has been suggested to me.

I'm thinking that I'm easily pleased as I'm reading some of these & thinking oh, loved it!

Toured Italy (some 40+yrs ago now) & remember loving all of it!

Venice-spectacular-even though there was a boat strike!

Hamleys!

The Lake District. It's pretty and all but to me, it's a little theme park hedged in by busy roads.

My first career.
My second career.

The Champs Elysees (but not Paris as a whole, which I love) - I had thought it would be much more elegant, not basically Oxford Street

The Empire State Building (not New York as a whole, I think it's great) - it wasn't awful but I had through you'd be able to go straight up from the bottom to the top like in Sleepless in Seattle and you can't

"Foreign holidays" - as a child we had all our holidays in the UK, either the West Country or East Anglia. When I went abroad for the first time to places like the Canaries, Spain, Greece, Malta, I was surprised by how bare (I perceived) the countryside to be and how rocky and scrubby the beaches were. Not wide and sandy like Frinton on sea!

Don't understand the Niagara Falls hate, I thought it was amazing, but I did see it from the Canadian side. Still the same water though!

"Foreign holidays" - as a child we had all our holidays in the UK, either the West Country or East Anglia. When I went abroad for the first time to places like the Canaries, Spain, Greece, Malta, I was surprised by how bare (I perceived) the countryside to be and how rocky and scrubby the beaches were. Not wide and sandy like Frinton on sea!

Any beach I've been to in the US (various parts of the east coast, Southern California) vs just about anywhere on the U.K. coast. (Except La Jolla, which is made excellent by sealions but which you therefor can't go on)

@TellingBone

The Vatican. Apart from the Sistine Chapel [I didn't scream. There were professional 'shushers' standing on platforms otherwise I no doubt would have as per MN tradition] it was tapestry after tapestry after tapestry with the occasional bust on a table.

I forgot about screaming at the Sistine Chapel! Thanks for the laugh!

Another vote for Rome here. Dirty, overpriced, mediocre food and the Vatican - including the Sistine Chapel (where I also didn't scream) - was totally underwhelming.

Bali - it wasn’t golden sand, it bloody hurt my feet! Kuta Beach could have been anywhere hot - it was like Benidorm for the Australians. Some parts were really beautiful but it wasn’t the cultural experience I thought it would be.

*The Champs Elysees (but not Paris as a whole, which I love) - I had thought it would be much more elegant, not basically Oxford Street

The Empire State Building (not New York as a whole, I think it's great) - it wasn't awful but I had through you'd be able to go straight up from the bottom to the top like in Sleepless in Seattle and you can't*

I'd agree with both of these statements. I do love both cities though!

If found Bali underwhelming too. Which was unfortunate as it's a bloody long way away.

Milan

Dublin.Boring and dull imo with the exception of Temple Bar

The Coliseum in Rome. In fact, all of Rome (except the gelato - that was amazing)

Posh hotels. Really, most hotels are pretty good.

The Lowry in Manchester was nothing special.

@KrispyKale

Hamleys!

OMG yes, went with the kids when they were little. It just felt so chaotic and loud. I came out with a banging headache. Even my kids were moaning, thank god they are older now and I don’t have to go again,

Sydney.
The Vatican.
Venice.
A Martini.
Cashmere.
My wedding.

@notacooldad

Niagara Falls

I loved Niagara Falls. I went in the winter of 1995 and it was freezing. Literally freezing. It was impressive with large spikes of ice hanging down and sudden crashes of ice falling into the river below.

The actual falls were quite impressive, in terms of volume of water, but I guess I was expecting scenery. I went in the days before the internet and whilst I'd heard of the falls and maybe seen the odd photo in books at school I'd never seen film footage or anything. But every waterfall I'd ever been to before had been somewhere scenic so I think I was expecting it to be picturesque, with a magnificent mountain backdrop or something. So when I found it was down a street full off tacky souvenir shops I was a bit underwhelmed really.

And the Eden Project.

Admittedly, it is quite big. But so charmless. Waited about 3 days to get in while they absolutely faffed around with our tickets.

Weaved our way through flower beds which are not much more exciting than mine. Then looked at more plants under glass.

The catering was like a motorway service station.

We had booked into their youth hostel which was made of metal packing crates (we did know that). We hadn’t realised quite how grim that would be or how hot. The youth hostel had no catering or other facilities at all. The tea was tiny frozen pizzas.

Hollywood

A millionaire's yacht on the Caribbean; everyone was bored