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To ask what you dreamed would be fabulous but is actually maybe a bit shit

999 replies

hitsvilleuk · 10/04/2021 11:00

I think this about lots of things to do with celebrity lives, when I was younger I thought it all would amazing now not so sure.

A particular one I have is that I always longed for a villa on the Italian lakes. We went to a hotel there one year for 5 days ( in the same village as George Clooney ) It pissed down for 3 days. Everything was dark and damp and that combined with the endless queuing for flights and the thought of maintaining a property in another country sort of did for the dream. Not achievable without a lottery win anyway but now I don't even want it.

Anyone else got stuff like this or that they actually got and then thought 'meh'. I seem to have it about more and more things as I get on - I just don't want stuff anymore. Is it just to do with age?

OP posts:
Sarahtrue11 · 10/04/2021 21:15

@lerelaisdelachance

Morocco. I didn't feel safe there at all, either walking or eating any of the food, which I also didn't enjoy. I just felt hassled the whole time by men. It was awful. I will never go back.
It is the men that ruin a lot of places. The last country that I visited was Mexico, the men were awful.

The men in Turkey ruined Turkey for me. One old man followed me up the street and asked me how much I cost.

In the hotel I stayed in,in Turkey, one of the male staff members also kept trying to get into my room. I felt scared all the time there.

Even now when I plan trips, I go to the countries where the men are okay. That is why I will not go to Egypt.

It is definitely easier for a man to travel, then for a woman.

214 · 10/04/2021 21:16

@ImaHogg

Having a conservatory. It was bloody expensive to have built. It’s so bloody cold in the winter and costs a small fortune to heat and so bloody hot in the summer. Over the 15 years we’ve had it, it’s been a playroom, a dining room (where we had to eat with sunglasses on in the summer and coats in the winter), a gym, a chill out room, absolutely nothing has worked. And it is an absolute draw to every sodding insect known to man, I’m forever hoovering up ants, dead flies, spiders and a whole colony of bloody wood lice (all dead never seen one alive!!).
So true, ours is known as 'the worlds most expensive fly trap'! Never again!
MilesJuppIsMyBitch · 10/04/2021 21:17

@JosephineBaker

I didn’t mean to be pissy, *@MilesJuppIsMyBitch, I just really* liked the book and hate that it is so overlooked.

I bloody love New York, Rome, Paris, London, San Francisco, Florence and Venice. It’s about choosing your time and what you want to see. I am so sad for people who have rotten experiences there.

I didn't think you were being pissy. Think I'll read the book now!
littlebillie · 10/04/2021 21:18

@Sgtmajormummy

I’d always wanted a buffet server or, in my wildest dreams, a hostess trolley.

Aldi had buffet servers about 2 years ago. Not popular here in Italy so they’d reduced the price, too. I bought one, set it up once and never used it.
It’s too big for daily use and we always eat together anyway, so no need to keep things warm under dinky plastic lids.

But the next time there’s a christening/funeral/catering event I WILL BE PREPARED. Grin

I have a table one from Aldi and it great for BBQs 😁
Ohwhatllipick · 10/04/2021 21:19

Wine. When I was a kid i thought it would be some beautiful, magical, sweeter than sweet, exceptionally refreshing drink, a luscious, mysterious nectar that made everyone happy and convivial and everything right with the world. When I was old enough to finally have some, it was such a disappointment. Rough, foul tasting, and made my friends fight, fall over and throw up. And that’s before I even start on what it did to my smart, funny (and now ex) DH.

DeliaOwens · 10/04/2021 21:20

Disney World...queuing, queuing and more queuing. Fabulous set but not the happiest place on earth.

Tobebythesea · 10/04/2021 21:21

Tijuana, Mexico for a day trip from California. Truly horrific.

2Rebecca · 10/04/2021 21:28

The Caribbean, went there twice, loads of torrential rain both times, plus lots of hustlers. The Canaries for winter sun after that

Queenie6655 · 10/04/2021 21:29

@lerelaisdelachance

Morocco. I didn't feel safe there at all, either walking or eating any of the food, which I also didn't enjoy. I just felt hassled the whole time by men. It was awful. I will never go back.
Yes re Morocco Was groped in the market dirty bastards Spent the rest of the trip at the hotel
LauristonLane · 10/04/2021 21:29

Great thread. Can relate to Cadbury World, like others I was expecting something from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The bit that got me most was the 'make your own dessert?' ( or something similar if I remember rightly). I was expecting us all to be up to our elbows in ice cream, chocolate, sauces, sweets.
What a let down. DC's had to stand at a counter and were allowed to ask for 'one chocolate drop, one piece of flake and a spoon of sprinkles'...all put on for them by the staff member, Pizza Hut desserts are more fun!

For me, flying.
As a child I longed to be an air hostess. A day out was often to the local airport where I watched the air hostesses, fully suited, complete with silk scarf and a jaunty hat, waving at the open aeroplane door, standing at the top of the steps, before flying off again to exotic destinations. (you can tell how long ago!).
As an adult, I'm terrified of flying, worst passenger ever.

Natural child birth - complete with music, magazines and candles to relax and take your mind away from the pain...not a bloody chance that a bit of soft music and a candle were ever going to do that...what a con, I've never felt pain like it! Sick in the nurses shoes, wet myself and an epidural! Nightmare.

St Ives, packed, touristy falseness. Always wanted to go for that carefree family, British seaside holiday. Yuk.

Never taken to much as a child ( see above...days out at the airport...😂) and wanted to treat my DC's...glass bottomed boats... two hours of seasickness whilst staring through a 'hole' of dirty dish water...not a sea creature in sight!

GreenSlide · 10/04/2021 21:29

When I was growing up I read all the red tops and fashion magazines and they all had articles about secrets of good skin and the answer was always creme de la mer and how amazing it was and all the celebrities used it. I spent a small fortune on a tub of it for my mums birthday thinking this was the best gift EVER. She didn't know what it was, because she didn't read that guff, so it fell a bit flat. I tried it one day and it was really similar to the wee blue tubs of Nivea cream.

Bananabuddy3 · 10/04/2021 21:29

I answered it a bit wrong on mine - said gel nails are overhyped. I meant that the first time I got them done I was so excited but within a week they were outgrown and starting to chip. Not that amazing really.

I also started an FB and Instagram on my interest once and realised that the likes were just not worth it for all the hassle you also receive and the fake ness of it all.

On affirming what I last posted, I have another:

Afternoon tea at Fortnum and Mason - was invited by a friend and it just really was no different or more special than afternoon tea I’ve had anywhere (and cost a bomb). To be honest afternoon tea is always a let down for the cost and I hate it when someone suggests it.

MummyJ12 · 10/04/2021 21:30

@DeliaOwens

Disney World...queuing, queuing and more queuing. Fabulous set but not the happiest place on earth.
Agree! Maybe I would have had a nicer experience if we hadn’t gone with my mum and stepdad who made it really stressful Sad Even worse was “breakfast with Cinderella” in the castle. Unfortunately for us with a hungry toddler, the princesses all descended when we’d been served the hot food. After being pulled away from her food for various Princess photos, my two year old lost her patience and shouted at Princess Jasmine, “Can I just eat my sausage!”
55larry · 10/04/2021 21:30

Bath and particularly the Christmas market. I live about 10 miles from Bath and although it is a pretty city it is normally very busy with tourists so is not a good place to do normal shopping. At Christmas the locals don’t tend to visit the place when the market is on because it is very difficult to see any of the stalls as you have go with the crowds as you get pushed along.

I also found Paris scary.

The place I love to go is the dordogne in France where every thing is so green but I would not eat at the restaurants in the old town in Sarlet where Dh got food poisoning and was ill for days. We visited a doctor and were told it happened frequently.

Staffy1 · 10/04/2021 21:30

@theluckiest

Oh, and Eric Clapton was the most boring performer ever.

Bruce Springsteen on the other hand was incredible (perhaps we need an 'things you weren't expecting to be so amazing' thread?)

The film The Big Lebowski is rubbish. Baffles me as to why it's a cult classic.

I agree with Bruce Springsteen being great. I wasn't particularly a fan, but he was the best performer in a bunch and really engaged with the audience.
GrannyWeatherwaxsHatpin · 10/04/2021 21:32

Notting Hill Carnival. I’ve had more fun at a smear test - it was absolutely rammed (to the point of not actually being able to move), there was rubbish and litter EVERYWHERE where those who had bought their overpriced Red Stripe/jerk chicken)/coconut just lobbed it aside, there was an endless parade of lorries with a sound system lashed in the back, playing the sort of music that sounded like a migraine in auditory form, and none of the police were local so they didn’t know which Tube stations were open. I had to walk to Bayswater in the end.

I had expected steel bands, fabulous outfits and, you know, a carnival vibe. What I got was a fear of being crushed and endless warnings about being pickpocketed. Never EVER again.

Also, Les Mis. Everyone raves about it but it’s as depressing as fuck (yes, I know now that the clue was in the name...) and it goes on for several hours too long.

And I’d agree about LA - it’s incredibly sterile and the first thing we were given when we got there was a map of places we mustn’t go else we might get shot. Nice.

Finally, anything by Kate Morton. Bought one of her books to make up an Amazon order and, as a history nut, I thought it sounded interesting. I have never read such derivative drivel in my life! It read like a bad first draft that got published by accident. And yet Amazon is full of 5* reviews...

@LyndaSnellsSniff have you tried Avebury? Much nicer, not least because you can go right up to the stones and wander round them. The West Kennet Long Barrow is nearby too.

RhubarbFairy · 10/04/2021 21:33

I always thought DH and I did Dublin 'wrong'. We were just meh about it the whole time we were there.
It was boring and the people were so rude.

Belfast on the other hand, we loved. World's apart in terms of the welcome. I enjoyed reading the Belfast thread recently.

Grendalsmum · 10/04/2021 21:33

Tripping while watching Hawkwind play at Stonehenge on midsummer night ( that dates me! Grin ) Should have been amazing, right? I was freezing cold, l had stomach ache, l was sitting on the only patch of gravel on Salibury plain, there was a faint but very persistant smell of dog shit and the loud american woman behind me was clearly having the mind-bending experience l should have been having and banging on about it at length and considerable volume. Heading back to the tent in the grey dawn l fell over someone's goat, skinned both my knees, spilt my wine and got shouted at by the goat's owner. Major let down all round - l'm still sour about it hundreds of years later!

SilverLiningSearching · 10/04/2021 21:35

University:such an anti climax, and so much debt! Not to mention the horrors of house shares.
Dublin: overpriced and if you don’t drink not that much to do, doesn’t feel like a capital city IMO. Much better places to visit in Ireland.
Trevi Fountain: I thought it would be set in some grand piazza but it’s cramped and too busy.
Villa holiday: the wide angle shot of the pool area was so deceiving, the swimming pool tiny and shallow. Didn’t like being miles from anything, everyone just got on each other’s nerves in the end.

Grendalsmum · 10/04/2021 21:35

Oh, and Hawkwind were REALLY rubbish too, and l normally loved them!

GrannyWeatherwaxsHatpin · 10/04/2021 21:36

Oh and one final one: hen dos. They are always billed as a great weekend with friends, and the reality is overpriced ersatz activities (I mean, has anyone ever learned the craft of cocktail making on on of these shin digs? Of course not, it’s just a way of pouring Sex on The Beach and Porn Star Martinis down people), awkward small talk with a disparate group of people you don’t know and an eye watering price tag.

StanVic49 · 10/04/2021 21:36

The London Marathon.

Incredibly overhyped and much better marathons out there.

littlebillie · 10/04/2021 21:36

@Sarahtrue11

Los Angeles

I thought it would be glamorous. It was one of the worst places I have ever seen. Homeless people everywhere, and the most aggressive homeless people I have ever seen anywhere. I saw a homeless man in a wheelchair shouting at an Asian woman, calling her an Asian bitch, and then he ran over her foot in the wheelchair.

Homeless people pushing trolleys of belongings on every street.

Crack addicts everywhere. People having full conversations with themselves on every street corner.

I was in a McDonalds in Los angeles, and a man came in and said "Hey John ! There you are", and walked over and sat down in a booth and had a full conversation with some one who wasn't there . In the middle ofhte day.

I went to Santa Monica beach, and it was full of crack addicts shouting at people that were not there.

I went to Echo park, which is a very beautiful park in LA, and the whole park was full of tents with homeless people inside. It was like a little shanty town.

Violence and guns everywhere.

I think it is the worst place that I have ever seen

I was in LA 25 years ago and it a was scary shit hole then. It's put me right off the west coast of the US
Sarahtrue11 · 10/04/2021 21:36

@RhubarbFairy

I always thought DH and I did Dublin 'wrong'. We were just meh about it the whole time we were there. It was boring and the people were so rude.

Belfast on the other hand, we loved. World's apart in terms of the welcome. I enjoyed reading the Belfast thread recently.

I agree that the people in Dublin are so aggressive and rude. It is probably that big city rudeness all over again
Grendalsmum · 10/04/2021 21:37

At least it was free ...

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