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?

[quote shepabear]@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! [/quote]
Uuugh totally agree on Miami. Soulless. I had to transit through and stay overnight and it was hideous. Ugly buildings, terrible food and such rude people, multiple random men trying to approach me in the street when walking two blocks in a relatively "nice" part of town.

Absolutely fell in love with Miami so don’t agree on that. Same with Barcelona, it’s fabulous, not a hole at all

Biggest disappointment was Orlando and the Disney parks, over priced run down funfairs. Not at all magical

@Watto1

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

Well bugger me, they’re practically the same apart from the colour, Hull missed a trick there. GG bridge is taller though: 67m vs 30m, and a bit longer, according to google.

Runcorn.

Ice bar this was like decades ago so maybe its improved.

Madrid, felt pretty racist there.

Designer bags - bought one, discovered I don’t really give a shit about bags after coveting it for a year.

Chanel chance smells like celery to me/on me.

Buckingham Palace. I walked past it when I first visited in my 20s, it didn't look as I expected a palace to look

@Thelikelylass

Runcorn.

Er.... why ever would you expect it to be glamorous or impressive? (Unless you've generally got a thing for chemical plants I suppose)

@AliceinBorderland

Barcelona. It is an absolute hole.

Totally agree.

Afternoon tea anywhere 'posh'. The Ritz made me feel like I'd been horribly ripped off.

Am a bit puzzled by Barcelona. It's a massive city. It has good bits and shit bits, the same as any other city. I liked the parts I saw and visited.

Would we judge London as a city by some of its boroughs? Or Edinburgh or Cardiff?

This thread reminds me of 'Paris Syndrome' - the crushing disappointment felt when things don't live up to your expectations. Apparently it is very common among Japanese tourists visiting Paris, hence the name.

I've been to Paris. I quite liked it, although it would have been better if it hadn't been pissing down with rain most of the time.

@shallIswim

Afternoon tea anywhere 'posh'. The Ritz made me feel like I'd been horribly ripped off.

I actually found the Ritz pretty good value. It's basically an all you can eat job! I'd rather pay £50 for the Ritz (which was how much it was at the time I went) than the £35 I'd paid for one in a different hotel that was basically not-fully-defrosted cakes from iceland.

London marathon

Hot tubs - human soup - yuk!
My first marriage!

Paris- was really unimpressed.

@BelindaBumcrack

Am a bit puzzled by Barcelona. It's a massive city. It has good bits and shit bits, the same as any other city. I liked the parts I saw and visited.

Would we judge London as a city by some of its boroughs? Or Edinburgh or Cardiff?

Am a bit puzzled why you haven't taken issue with all the posters saying Paris is a dump.

Sri Lanka (sorry)!

I agree with Sri Lanka too. I changed my ticket to come back early. I have loved India, but for reasons I can't quite put my finger on, Sri Lanka left me cold.

I love Barcelona.
I have eaten some amazing food there.
The architecture is wonderful.
You just need to explore a little and keep off las ramblas.

Football matches in the boxes - Gah it’s so boring even with bubbly
London - Full of rude people who are always in a rush, the tube smells like piss and sweat, there are hundreds of tacky stalls everywhere selling tat, it’s is SO expensive then the restaurants all seem to add on an ‘options’ service charge too, regardless of party size then look at you like the wanker for saying you will tip at your discretion?! I’ve been to 6 of them this past week and all of them tried to add on 12.5% for blanking the two of us for most of the meal. Er, no. The London Eye is boring, it’s only useful feature is the fireworks display it has on NYE.
Manchester CC - Full of homeless people on spice and on a Friday/Saturday night legless people wobbling around like baby giraffes.
Clubbing - Expensive, repetitive, boring, full of dickheads
Staying at Hilton hotels - Stayed in a few of the bigger more expensive ones and just could t see what the fuss was about.
LV bags - They’re not worth the hype and I never use mine, I always think I should sell it but can never be bothered with the faff.
Jo Malone candles/diffusers etc - they all smell cheap and vile.
Champagne - I think I’ve found one I can drink without gagging and that’s just a bog standard £30ish lanson.
Caviar - Tried it once at Harrods thinking myself all posh, bloody awful stuff!
The Caribbean - Been twice, thought it was just horribly humid and the places I went lacked the freedom to do much without a tour guide.

I’m not a miserable cow IRL honest

@MintyGreenDream

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

That’s pretty strange, as Temple Bar is basically a place where projectile-vomiting stag parties are corralled so as not to bother the rest of the city.

Ischia. Supposedly an undiscovered authentic Italian gem. Loads of stray dogs and the 'beaches' were rammed with daytrippers from Naples.
St Moritz. Really couldn't see what was special about it. The main non skiing attraction appeared to be a large duck pond.

Cruises. I don't know why but the way people spoke about them at work they sounded quite glamorous. Oh. My. God. It was like wetherspoons on a Friday night.
People stuffing their faces non stop, bagging sun loungers at 9am. No redeeming moments (and we paid for a fairly expensive ship) .

Cities are real places where people live and work, they’re not just tourist resorts. They are shot to look glamorous in films and tv.

The Grand Canyon (breathtaking IMO) is best seen from ground level.
If you fly over anything in a helicopter it’s going to look small.

@UnoriginalPenguin

Ischia. Supposedly an undiscovered authentic Italian gem. Loads of stray dogs and the 'beaches' were rammed with daytrippers from Naples. St Moritz. Really couldn't see what was special about it. The main non skiing attraction appeared to be a large duck pond.

Well, that's been a traditional holiday area for people from Naples for centuries, so that's hardly surprising!