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?

But if you don’t like art, and/or are wrangling small children who don’t, surely that’s down to you? I mean, if you’re not interested in looking at old paintings, why go to an art gallery? I love the Uffizi and have gone several times, but would never go to a theme park because that would be pure hell for me.

I do like art though (ex history of art student, work in a creative profession) - that's why I went to the Uffizi. It just made me realise that I like specific exhibitions curated by artist or period or theme rather than acre after acre of collections. And taking my kids made me see it through their eyes - it's a dry and dull way to display art and most of the people there are not that interested in it. They are just ticking a box on a cruise ship tour.

I'm the same with museums. All the big 'must do' museums are boring and complicated. Best museum I've ever been to is the Leprosy Museum in Bergen - small and perfect.

The Ivy (the original “exclusive one”).

Overpriced sausage and mash. I’ve had better food in a greasy spoon

New York City
Expected magical, bustly city like on tv.
Grimy, dirty, scammers/homeless on every corner, unimpressive.

Love New York, Venice and my favourite ‘away’ football ground is Anfield which always has lots of atmosphere when I go, as I’m in a very loud away end. Was not so keen on Los Angeles (traffic and lack of public transport).

In my dreams I have some sort of job that means I can spend a few months a year in New York.

notacooldad I didn't go back after the first session as I hated it so much.
I had been looking forward to trying it for months conviced it would be really great for me, the awful headache put me right off.

@Tagcurious

My first career. My second career.

Same!

Perhaps our expectations were too high @Thecazelets

The Green Room at ITV London studios

Getting to a senior role at work.
Spa days
Business travel
Black tie events

Croydon/ Manchester.. I know both well. If you think they are comparable, you clearly haven’t spent much time in Manchester. They are not the same size either. If you have googled population that is misleading. Half of Manchester City centre falls under Salford for starters.
I think the answer is anything overhyped and expensive that you can do better yourself. Afternoon tea, spa days etc.could all be amazing if you spent the same money and stayed at home. I have genuinely not been disappointed by travel experiences. New York is amazing if you like to mooch and love galleries and quirky experiences. I imagine it’s not much fun if you rush around the sights. Niagara Falls is overwhelmingly tacky. Best forewarned but still interesting. The best position is looking over the railings as the water passes the drop. It is awe inspiring.
I guess I will save my money for travel which I have never found disappointing and skip experiences where I feel I am lining someone else’s pockets ( afternoon tea, spa days, overpriced cocktails, coffee out etc. ).
Spa days are always ridiculous.

Agree about Monte Carlo casino - very disappointing.

I also got tired of business travel having spent too much time in airports/on planes and staying in beautiful hotel rooms alone ordering from the room service menu.

Not just Royal Ascot but racing in general - I often went to the races as a child and it appeared to be very glamorous but going back as an adult it was just loads of drunk hen and stag parties!

I love Paris, Rome, Venice, Florence etc but then I have always loved strolling around galleries, spending hours sipping coffee in outdoor cafes etc.

Bruges Christmas market, so busy and very wet (though the later isn't their fault and I was contributing to the former) - Birmingham Christmas market is better!

Hollywood
Was seedy and dirty

The Grand Hotel, Scarborough.

We were showing an architect friend Scarborough and dh said, let’s go in there for a drink. I was like ‘but we’re not smartly dressed and we have children with us!’
Oh.my.God.
Have a look at the Trip Advisor reviews if you want your mind boggled. It’s not so much complaints about lifts stinking of pee, more about finding turds in them.

Still a stunning building though.

New York. What a dump a lot of it is, even some of the famous areas. And the subway!!!?

Miami and Miami Beach. Meh.

My old career as a music journalist.

Agree on Vegas, Barcelona and Hollywood - it’s like a bigger, grubbier Leicester Square. And LA in general. Nice hikes and views in the canyons but very sprawling and suburban for the most part.

The Golden Gate Bridge. Much smaller than I had expected. Maybe living in Hull and seeing the Humber Bridge daily has spoiled me!

@Watto1

The Golden Gate Bridge. Much smaller than I had expected. Maybe living in Hull and seeing the Humber Bridge daily has spoiled me!

My favourite post of the thread

Fortnum and Mason! The food hall was most disappointing - full of tourist rubbish.

Carnaby Street. As a 16 year old in 1984 we had a school trip to London and we were so excited to go there. It was completely shit and absolutely grim.

And as someone upthread said acting. Especially for TV. It really is money for old rope compared to performing in live theatre. Say a sentence or two. Then they rearrange all the lights and cameras to record you saying the same sentence from a slightly different angle. I worked on a number of TV shows and rarely saw anyone speak for more than about a minute without a reset. It probably explains why so very few soap 'stars' ever venture into theatre.

The exceptions however were brilliant. Phyllis Logan - Mrs Hughes from Downton Abbey - was awesome. Delivering her lines with an RP English accent and chatting away between takes in her natural Scottish accent. Fabulous woman!

I expected the Golden Gate bridge to be golden.😄 So yes I was disappointed.

I was very disappointed when I went to Paris because it had been built up in my head for so long and it was smelly in the summer heat. I then expected to find Rome similarly underwhelming when I went the following October and was very pleasantly surprised! I guess the key is to go with low expectations and travel out of season

@supermoonrising yes to Miami! I loved the beach, but everything in the city was just so expensive and overpriced. When we arrived there we were too tired to go out and get dinner so ordered two pizzas to our apartment which came to $70! Was gobsmacked at the expense! We went to get a cocktail at a bar off the beach and ended up leaving as one cocktail was $25. I was so unimpressed, I thought it would be really glam but it's just not.

I loved the food in Florence but was a bit meh about the actual city - it was just heaving and impossible to get around. Whereas I loved Rome but we didn't eat well there at all despite recommendations from some Roman friends. Very disappointing!

@KrispyKale

I expected the Golden Gate bridge to be golden.😄 So yes I was disappointed.

I had forgotten my Golden Gate Bridge disappointment! I was staring right at it going “where’s the Golden Gate Bridge?” The White House was much smaller and less glamorous than I had thought as well. I had got it muddled up with the Capitol I think!

@Blackberrycream

Croydon/ Manchester.. I know both well. If you think they are comparable, you clearly haven’t spent much time in Manchester. They are not the same size either. If you have googled population that is misleading. Half of Manchester City centre falls under Salford for starters. I think the answer is anything overhyped and expensive that you can do better yourself. Afternoon tea, spa days etc.could all be amazing if you spent the same money and stayed at home. I have genuinely not been disappointed by travel experiences. New York is amazing if you like to mooch and love galleries and quirky experiences. I imagine it’s not much fun if you rush around the sights. Niagara Falls is overwhelmingly tacky. Best forewarned but still interesting. The best position is looking over the railings as the water passes the drop. It is awe inspiring. I guess I will save my money for travel which I have never found disappointing and skip experiences where I feel I am lining someone else’s pockets ( afternoon tea, spa days, overpriced cocktails, coffee out etc. ). Spa days are always ridiculous.

I've spent lots of time in Manchester - a family member lived there for many years, right in the centre - and plenty of time visiting friends around Croydon, enough to know that it was a very apt comparison. Definitely the same feel, similar architecture in many areas (or not 😂), similar amenities and cultural stuff and restaurants - ok but nothing particularly impressive. A bit rough and not very sophisticated. I think it was an hilarious analogy with a lot of truth to it, personally.