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

[hitsvilleuk]

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?

@Bluesheep8

Expensive champagne. Complete let down. Never tried any that I've liked.

I've never bought it for myself but can say hand on heart that I enjoyed every glass that was ever bought for me!

@theDudesmummy I have to say when I did it, it was brilliant! Went to a place at the edge of the Azores, trips were connected with a whale observation place. Went out in smallish fast boats - was a bit bouncy one day, but not on the other two. And saw loads of different whales and dolphins pretty close to and learnt a lot about them.

Agree with Whale watching. DH and DD just felt sick. After 3 hours we did briefly see a couple of whales which was lovely but not worth the hours spent on a boat....

I love this thread. I’m usually a really happy optimistic person but I get sucked in by the hype all the time! So apart from the chickens (pecky fuckers) my other major disappointment has been being a woman - I honestly think my life would have been a million times better if I was male.

Skiing. Riding on the back of a motorcycle.

Oh, and snorkeling. It basically gave me a panic attack.

Going to a casino. Went for a friend’s birthday. I had visions of it being like in a James Bond film and we all got dressed up. In reality it was full of scruffy people looking quite depressed as they stared at their money disappearing. We ended up in the bar! Had a nice time anyway but wouldn’t bother with a casino again.

I did most of my travelling before the advent of really cheap flights, and am disappointed to see that so many places that posters have been to have been disappointing. It sounds like mass tourism really has spoiled so many places. We loved Lisbon (visited in 1994), we have really enjoyed every holiday in the US (1986, 1990, 1991, 2016). I loved Rome @bluetongue, but we went in October half term so didn't expect it to be quiet. I wonder if sometimes people have unrealistic expectations about places?

We make a point of avoiding the really touristy areas. DH was surprised at the comments about Krakow. He went there about 10 years ago and really liked it, but he was working in Poland anyway, and visited quiet bars and not the kind of places that stag parties would go to. He also said the the Poles are friendly and hospitable - or certainly the ones he knows.

I don't understand people who say that everywhere in the US is horrible and unfriendly. Have they visited every city in the US? If everyone has been rude and unfriendly maybe it isn't everyone else who is rude and unfriendly. This quote comes to mind:

“If you run into an asshole in the morning, you ran into an asshole. If you run into assholes all day, you're the asshole.”

Multi channel tv/ cable
When I was a child I envied my American cousins who had access to loads of tv channels
I hated the fact that there were only three then four tv channels at the time in the UK
When I visited America as a child I was excited about being able to have so many choices
I was thoroughly disappointed. Most of the tv was absolutely shite. Mostly repeats of ‘Chips’
‘Sunset Beach’( which was the biggest pile of crap, made Hollyoaks look like RADA standard), Not to mention the constant stream of trashy, unbelievably unfunny sitcoms
I was glad to return home to my four tv channels.

Amazed at somebody saying food in Barcelona is underwhelming...perhaps if you only stay in on the tourist trap that is Las Ramblas then maybe do, but ho off down the sidestreets and there are amazing cafes and bars with incredible food. There is also a wonderful good market there, and dh and I bought loads of delicious bits and pieces, went to one of the squares and had a fab time, eating out wares anx people-watching.
Same in Rome, which is a place I love. If you eat near the tourist places, you're going to get ripped off (one place outside the Basilica offers a slice of pizza for €15!! I mean, who is daft enough to pay that??) but we've had wonderful meals in little restaurants away from the beaten track.
If you're ever in San Francisco, head for Tommy's Joint, a place recommended to us by a local we got chatting to on the plane.....sensational food, very basic but done brilliantly, in a place that hasn't changed in years.
I've remembered something though that was a bit shit...Peter Kaye at Manchester MEN Arena. We were so looking forward to it, such rave reviews but I don't know if he was having a one-off but it was pretty rubbish....no support, and he was over and done in an hour. Really disappointed.

Japanese jiggly cheesecake.
I wanted to try it for years.
It tasted like sour cream.

@carlywurly, I'm so glad to see I am not the only person in the world with negative thoughts about the Maldives, you are so right, its beautiful, stunning views across the ocean, wildlife to watch......

We went for 2 weeks, oh dear lord after day 4 I felt like Robinson Crusoe, I too am veggie, so the same food every bloody meal, the sand is really bloody sharp and small sharks like swimming in the shallows, there is no 'culture' to see, no looking round interesting little markets and shops, just endless sea and sand and the couple in the bungalow next door having the loudest bloody sex at least 3 times daily (I always wondered if they were as bored as I was )

I always feel like a spoilt git when I say I found the Maldives meh but shoot me, I did.

The Taj Mahal. Not shit, but just didn't live up to my expectations. It was beautiful, but I wasn't overwhelmed with emotion. It was by no means the highlight of my trip to India, which was the most amazing place I've ever been.

This.

afternoon tea

Argh quote fail. It was about the Mr. Frosty and asking can a 7yo grind ice. Spoiler, no they can’t and also it was boring as. I resorted to seeing what else it could grind in the end, just for the craic.

Adding some more,

Rome, and Barcelona, first being the only place in Italy I don’t love and Barca just having a feeling of being unsafe all the time.

Range Rover, expensive and breaks down all the time.

Large house and garden, you never enjoy them because you are working at them constantly.

Yay to Spas, hot tubs etc.

And, i am surprised nobody has said flying over the grand canyon, i found the whole thing meh, and we ended up in a small plane with a vomiter,pretty grim to say the least.

Jesus, so many typos in my post....apologies!!

Southern Spain - nightmare to drive around, the coast is like one big ugly building site, the sea isn’t even nice to swim in, inland towns were pretty but so windy it was awful, got food poisoning, to top it all the Alhambra was closed :( the one thing I was looking forward to. The only plus was I discovered churros.

Spa day - cold, uncomfortable and boring, had a facial from an annoying woman with long fingernails! and I felt awkward having lunch in a dressing gown. I still do dream of the perfect spa experience though.

@Neonprint @BeesAnkles
Totally agree with you all about Mr Frosty. Waited 45 years to get my hands on one. Barely get anything out if it.
But I’m pretty sure you don’t have to grind ice - it sits with the salt (why?) inside the barrel that you turn and the cream is on the outside turning into ice cream.

I went to LA 40 years ago, to visit a relative who was living there at the time, stayed a month and had a great time and met lots of locals. Mind you I was young and hadn’t really travelled prior to that. Also went to NY 25 years ago and loved it. Found black people very friendly (I’m not black btw) white people less so. The one sour note was when we approached a policeman to ask for directions or something and he was horrible. Really rude.

@ViviPru

Surfing. I was obsessed with the film Blue Crush and wanted to be Kate Bosworth. I wasn’t.

University. Probably my biggest regret. Lonely, boring waste of time.

My wedding day. Massive anticlimax, spent the day in an out of body state of high anxiety. Was nice to marry DH though.

Scotland. Always fantasised about it since childhood. My 3 visit experiences include food poisoning, breaking a molar on a seafood platter, a dog eating a poop at face level in a garden as we walked past, endless foggy rain and underwhelm at the mountains and lakes after having spent a lot of time in Snowdonia and expecting Scotland to be a supercharged version. Wish I’d just travelled for half the time and gone to Wales again instead.

Gutted at this one! I know we're all different and like different things but it sounds like you were just really unlucky with Scotland. Food poisoning could happen anywhere, as could breaking a tooth. (I'm not sure what to say about the poop...!) as for the weather, the most beautiful places in both Wales and Scotland can be obscured in the fog and the rain. I've spent time in many places in both countries and they're both lovely. The right places in Scotland are so wild and otherworldly they can take your breath away!

@Mapletreelane

Paris. Smell of wee everywhere, very dirty,.groups of men everywhere either trying to sell you tat or just being generally anti-social, so many beggars on streets and metro. Didn't feel safe at all. Been there four times and each subsequent time tried to keep an open mind but was just disappointed.

I am a huge francophile and speak French and have spent much time is some beautiful places there, but Paris has disappointed me. And I've lived half my life in London so not cityphobic. Puzzles me why i can't see past the bad things and enjoy Paris .

Completely agree! I’m also a fluent French speaker and have spent some time living in areas of northern France which are hardly glamorous and I still loved that so it’s not as if I don’t appreciate French culture. But Paris was just so rubbish! Saw so many people getting mugged in the few days we were hed there.

[quote thebabessavedme]@carlywurly, I'm so glad to see I am not the only person in the world with negative thoughts about the Maldives, you are so right, its beautiful, stunning views across the ocean, wildlife to watch......

We went for 2 weeks, oh dear lord after day 4 I felt like Robinson Crusoe, I too am veggie, so the same food every bloody meal, the sand is really bloody sharp and small sharks like swimming in the shallows, there is no 'culture' to see, no looking round interesting little markets and shops, just endless sea and sand and the couple in the bungalow next door having the loudest bloody sex at least 3 times daily (I always wondered if they were as bored as I was )

I always feel like a spoilt git when I say I found the Maldives meh but shoot me, I did.[/quote]
Maldives is lovely, but a total rip off.
As another poster said, it’s the type of place whereby you sit on your arse all day or take part in water sports. Well I could do the same thing in another island at a much cheaper cost.
I visited the capital of the Maldives for a few hours ; densely populated , narrow roads and the cars don’t allow you to cross so you constantly find yourself dashing across roads hoping to come out in one piece .

One thing I do like about this thread as it show how important it is to appreciate the little things in life

@SarahBellam

Cream - the Liverpool nightclub in the early 90s. I thought I was absolutely cutting edge. Terrifying- everyone was off their heads (I was very naive about drugs and didn’t realise they were all on E) and I couldn’t dance to the music, it was far too loud and too fast.

I went there, twice. Once, to an all nighter, I think it was called Bugged Out? (god knows why, as I am and always have been a rock chick). Hated every second, and to add insult, was rained on by sweat condensation from the ceiling. Didn't recognise one single tune and basically sat and fumed for 6 hours until I could get the first train home as I couldnt afford the £20 taxi fare. Next time was a boyfriend's friend's 21st. Boy George was doing a set (or whatever its called). Utter shite. My best mates bf at the time was with us, he was an absolute bellend and ruined her night because he couldn't score any Es. At Cream. All in all, it was such a bad night, we got the last train home and went for a lock in at our local pub instead. At 11.30 OTOH, student nights at Nation were great, much more enjoyable.