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Original poster

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:

woodlandcalm · 10/04/2021 22:30

My first view of Niagara Falls, from the top of the Skylon Tower. It was a good view but felt a bit meh, probably because the you don't feel the energy of the falls from that height.

Standing by the side of the falls and doing the Hornblower boat cruise was fab and could feel the real power of the water. In hindsight we should have done the Skylon view later in the day.

NobbySignaler · 10/04/2021 22:31

A world record attempt at setting off the most fireworks at once on Bournemouth beach. It was tiny fireworks on a boat and the boat just caught fire. Poor kids were so confused and disappointed.

I agree with a pp about holidays with toddlers. They are just exhausting and I tend to dread them more than anything.

RedToothBrush · 10/04/2021 22:33

Whale Watching - giving a whole new meaning to the word cold.

And then the whales show up for about two seconds in the distance then fuck off!

CloudPop · 10/04/2021 22:34

@FlyingNorth

Sunrise at Angkor Wat. I loved the pre-dawn bit where you could hear the monkeys and the birds waking up, and the journey to the site in the pitch black was exciting. But then at sunrise it just kind of got lighter for a while, then it was daytime.

I saw a fabulous sunset there though

Lampzade · 10/04/2021 22:38

@RhubarbFairy

I have more.

Wicked the Musical. Which I feel very guilty about a DH spent a fortune on the best best seats for us. I'd read the book ahead of it so already knew that I didn't enjoy the story. I just hoped the live performance would be better. I thought the costumes and sets were magnificent though.

Krakow. So many people rave about it but we found it to be so unfriendly. Every time they heard that we had British accents, their whole attitude changed and people that were previously friendly and smiling at us became cold and curt. It happened multiple times in various parts of the city. We ended up staying in our room on the last night as we couldn't face going to any more bars and being met with such a frosty reception.

I fell asleep during ‘Wicked’- totally overrated imho

FizzyPink · 10/04/2021 22:40

I have so many of these. I’m the type of person who plans things in minute detail and gets very excited leading up to a holiday/event and it usually doesn’t live up to my excitement.

Paris
Malta
Staying in the hotel at Chessington
Rome
Most musicals (with the exception of Only Fools and Horses which was utterly fabulous)
Dairy free Ben & Jerrys

On the other hand, places I have loved much more than I expected to -
Seville
Copenhagen
Budapest

CloudPop · 10/04/2021 22:40

@woodlandcalm

My first view of Niagara Falls, from the top of the Skylon Tower. It was a good view but felt a bit meh, probably because the you don't feel the energy of the falls from that height.

Standing by the side of the falls and doing the Hornblower boat cruise was fab and could feel the real power of the water. In hindsight we should have done the Skylon view later in the day.

Oh yes agree entirely. Horrid little town that doesn't make the most of the falls at all

UnderHisAye · 10/04/2021 22:42

Weddings. Your own or other peoples'.

Cost too much, take up so much brain space in the planning stage, end up wearing uncomfortable clothes and painful shoes, dancing to Shania Twain with some gimp from the office.

I'm really glad I'm past the age of going to lots of weddings.

SleepingStandingUp · 10/04/2021 22:43

@lidoshuffle

A trip in a balloon. It was like looking at Google Satellite, but colder and more crammed and with added cow pats.

Oh no, that's on my bucket list!!

70isaLimitNotaTarget · 10/04/2021 22:43

The pyramids. Always loved Egyptian history was so excited to go. They are right next to a massive city not in the middle of a desert as pictures suggest, rubbish everywhere, people pestering constantly. There is even a Pizza Hut right opposite them!!! So sad.

DH and I went 25 years ago , he's had a long fascination with Egypt and the history .
The bus trip there was on your right is the Sphynx I expected to drive up to a majestic statue , nope

The Pyramid itself (we went to the small one , the only one of the three that was open at the time) you walk down a step path, with woden steps (planks) bent double with someones arse 10" in front . Get ferried into a small burial chamber (which stinks) and out again.
All the tour guides ( legit or not) try to get money from the tourists .

And if you are in any way a person who loves/likes/tolerates/doesnt entirely hate horses and donkeys you will be and at the sights you will see as these brave animals toil through their day .

SleepingStandingUp · 10/04/2021 22:44

The Leaning Tower of Piza. Bit small.

Susie477 · 10/04/2021 22:44

A holiday at an all-inclusive resort. At first it was great, then as the novelty wore off it started to feel a bit samey and by the end of the holiday I just wanted to get out of the place.

Turns out I enjoy foreign travel to be in another country, to eat the local food with the locals and to drink the local wine. Not to queue up at a hotel buffet with 500 other British tourists to eat food I don’t want but have already paid for. Lesson learned.

thefurriesthen · 10/04/2021 22:44

@ForwardRanger

Gosh I love visiting New York and California, Paris, Disneyland and Disney Paris, lots of places. I like them just the way they are with their madness and differences and familiarities all rolled up.

I haven't been whale watching but I have heard from friends that disappointed and sickness is a common theme.

Unbelievably I was heading offshore on a snorkelling expedition when a whale rose upon front of the boat, that was quite a moment. Sometimes the best moments are unexpected.

I also love living in London and in New Zealand for their quirks and uniqueness. To the poster who said NZ has nothing you can't get in the UK, that really is the ultimate in colonialism. Contrary to popular British belief, NZ is not some colonial outpost, those days have long past. I actually feel embarrassed for fellow Brits who go there and whine endlessly thereby confirming the cliche of the whingeing pom.

Of course it's not a colonial outpost, and you can't go there expecting it to be a 'second Britain.' In many ways, I find NZ to share more similarities with parts of the USA.

I know that Kiwis hate any criticism of NZ, but it is worth pointing out that NZ Tourism has done a marvellous job of convincing Brits that the scenery and lifestyle is unparalleled, when in actual fact you can see a lot of similar things, with a significantly lower cost of living right here in the UK.

But its horses for courses - all I'm saying is that it's worth properly looking into what it's like to live there, rather than merrily hopping on a plane thinking it's going to be paradise....

somethingonthecarpet · 10/04/2021 22:46

@KatherinefromKensingtonHighSt

I grew up in a tiny council flat with little money in the 70's, sharing a bedroom with my sister who was and still is a disagreeable biaatch and parents who hated each other. But, i had great friends in the kids in our flats and the street and their families. All mums looked after each others kids. So diverse, i was exposed to much foreign culture, foods and love.

I always dreamed of having a big detached house in the country, with a gravel drive, big frig off gates and a massive garden. My children would have rooms of their own and i would have my own space.

After yrs of work and sacrifice i got what i finally desired but it is too much for me. I have 2 DC's one grown now and left home and one 15. I am single and i really rattle around here. No neighbours upstairs to go for a cuppa, no community. I worked, so missed out on so much of my DC's , in search of this. The DC's have had a great and privileged childhood and enjoyed the house but i have missed out on so much. I think my kids have missed out too. They do not duck in and out of others neighbours houses like i did and they have not experienced other cultures like i did or made diverse friendships like i did.

Will be downsizing in a few yrs and looking forward to being back and moving back among community.

What i always dreamed of and acquired has in fact deprived me and my children of so much. I see that now.

Sorry to hear this Katherine but glad you're going to be changing things for the better. It's interesting you've said this because I remember reading a book about when the people who lived in the Poplar slums were re-housed by the council into smart new council homes in Essex and Croydon, and how lots of them suddenly found that although they weren't now living in such 'poor' conditions, they really missed all the camaraderie and sense of community and some of them longed to be able to go back.

coronafiona · 10/04/2021 22:47

All theme parks except Disney Florida which I absolutely loved. Crowded, queues, wasps... bleurgh!

MsTSwift · 10/04/2021 22:47

Mil keeps insisting we go on a cruise. Shows how little she knows us dh hates being near other people and has to cycle for hours most days or he’s like a caged lion and I get horribly sea sick! Can’t think of a worse holiday for us!

villanova · 10/04/2021 22:50

Most board games, especially those advertised when I was a child in the 80s - a pp mentioned Operation, I also add Mousetrap - they never worked well, were a pain to set up, and weren't worth playing more than once

ForwardRanger · 10/04/2021 22:53

Petra. Friends in Israel strong armed us into going and I'm afraid I didn't enjoy it at all. Petra might be incredible historically but my experience was one of sensory overload - unbearably hot, harassed by beggars and the place stank like a gigantic urinal. Athens was a similar experience.

Sarahtrue11 · 10/04/2021 22:57

@ForwardRanger

Oh no.I was thinking of going to Athens.

Frokni · 10/04/2021 22:57

@Morgan12 that's not too far off actually

KatherinefromKensingtonHighSt · 10/04/2021 22:57

@somethingonthecarpet yes, being financially wealthy and having a dream home removes you from your roots and your
community.

Bettering" yourself is not always " bettering" yourself. You just remove yourself from those who love you.

Ormally · 10/04/2021 22:59

Macarons.

And so far, a hot tub. Had its water for a week. Added all the chemicals bar one so far (in response to the pH etc. test strip results, not all at the same time), and bought one further additive not in the original pack (filter cleaner). Been in it once and don't trust its unbalanced chemistry!

Twintub · 10/04/2021 23:00

Yup agree cordless dyson can barely do the hall before the battery flat and you have to wait 5 hours to charge

Lweji · 10/04/2021 23:01

@benorjerry

British Grand Prix, and I assume all the others will be the same, I bought tickets for my late OH's 65 birthday. We spent a lot of time looking at the screens, the cars are going too fast to see which was which! We didn't even feel there was much atmosphere, not like the London Olympics, that was electric.

I was just thinking F1 when I read your post. Not too disappointed because I didn't expect it to be like on TV, but not particularly keen on going again, particularly considering the cost of the tickets. But my favourite driver won and beat a long standing record, so I was quite happy to witness it. I also took binoculars.

DancyNancy · 10/04/2021 23:01

Life in f*ing general, where the heck us my Michael Vartan/Heath Ledger story like????

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