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?

I agree about New York, we spent a fortune in cabs as I felt so unsafe on the underground.

Loved Claridges, Malta, Hamilton, Wicked and other shows mentioned though

New Yorkers are very rude, and have highly entitled attitudes. The entire city is filthy and feels dangerous. I’m an American,, and most other people feel the same way. Boston, Toronto, and Washington DC are much nicer places to visit.

[quote goldielockdown2 ]Those Twinkie bars you get in the American section.
They smell and taste of something they really shouldn't! I don't want to say what it was...it's rude. How and why do people like them?! [/quote]
Yes! I used to see them advertised as something special, in Archie comics in my youth. Had to try one when we saw them in the foreign foods section, but they are absolutely grim.

A posh foot spa. Wanted one for ages! Turned out it was a massive faff and the massage rollers just hurt my feet. I've used it twice xx

Prague and christmas markets. Utter shite and a city ruined by tourism.

Jamie Oliver restaurant in London for an anniversary. Awful food.

Wimbledon. Had centre court tickets in the late 80s before centre court had a roof, and it pissed it down all day. 4 hours of travel each way to watch about 50 minutes of play. Gutted.

Excuse the xx's

I sometimes fail to switch between "texting my mum" brain and mumsnet brain.

The anticipation of a Mr Frosty, then finding out they’re shit without ever trying it for myself.... or the E numbered virulently coloured syrup....

Soda stream, I drink lots of sparkling water but it’s never as fizzy as fizzy bottled water.....even after chilling the water waiting 45 seconds.... it’s a faff they don’t tell you about....

@Lurleene

The Sistine Chapel. For some reason I had imagined the scene of God and Adam took up the whole ceiling but the ceiling is in fact made up of lots of smaller pictures so it is pretty difficult to see it. It takes an age to actually get to the chapel but you are ushered through so fast and all the while guards are shouting at you to be silent. What I had imagined would be breathtaking was actually quite stressful and disappointing in reality.

That reminds me, the Mona Lisa.

You spend ages walking through the Louvre to find it, you arrive at the room and everyone is trying to squash in and look at something not much bigger than a postage stamp. I imagined it would be huge.

Les mis was awful. Was sat up in the gods, had no idea what was going on at all and had to run to catch the last train home.
The theatre is always a bit of a let down and very pricy.

@ArabellaScott

Book publication day is the biggest non-event ever. It's sort of you sat at your desk awkwardly punching the air, to the resounding sound of ... well, nothing at all.

Yeah I agree with that one too. Somehow I thought it would be more exciting!

Am much enjoying this thread. Oddly cheering.
I actually enjoyed some of the destinations mentioned, such as Sorrento and Sistine chapel but can see why they disappointed, especially Moulin Rouge in Pigalle, which is a lively area to say the least.
My mother has a great saying:
“It’s better to travel hopefully than to arrive.”
Which I think means that you have to appreciate the anticipation stage rather than the event itself.

@Ericaequites

New Yorkers are very rude, and have highly entitled attitudes. The entire city is filthy and feels dangerous. I’m an American,, and most other people feel the same way. Boston, Toronto, and Washington DC are much nicer places to visit.

yes, when I went on my last vacation to the USA, I went to visit NY and LA only. I booked a trip of two weeks in New York and two weeks in LA.

I feel like us Europeans are often told that these two cities are the best parts of the USA.

When I got to LA, I thought "why didn't anyone tell me how shit LA is".!!

I would love to go back and see other cities in the USA. I have been to New Jersey before, I loved that.

@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 .

YES! I love france, love cities (have travelled alone to cities all over the world),but just cannot warm to Paris. It’s unfriendly even by big city standards and it’s also the only city i’ve ever felt genuinely unsafe in due to some rather nasty gangs of youths trying to mug people combined with totally indifferent and unhelpful police. It’s a shame as it’s a beautiful place and I really WANT to like it every time I go, but I just can’t.

Mr Frosty. Waited 22 years for that useless bastard

Sex on the beach!

Stonehenge. Pfft.

I ve always wanted to go to Bali. Maybe I won't bother now!

Any kind of open air event. Shakespeare in an outdoor setting? Orchestral concert against the backdrop of a castle? Open air showing of a film? All sounds lovely.
In reality it is always freezing, I always get bitten to death by insects and it always involves lugging chairs and picnic stuff a long way from the car followed by a long traffic jam late at night to leave the venue.
I hate eating outdoors in general. Why lug all the kitchen stuff outside to eat sausages that are simultaneously burnt and undercooked on a bbq and then sit there freezing to death all evening??

Disneyland is in California; Walt Disney World is in Florida. Both are overhyped and very expensive.

@Laiste

Penzance (in the 90s)

I had The Pirates of Penzance in my mind and had an image of a beautiful natural cove with crumbling cliffs and caves and little fishing boats and 100 year old pubs with thick glass lead-light windows.

Nope. It was like Uxbridge on Sea :(

However the rest of Cornwall was lovely and, iirc, Mousehole (the next day) was everything Penzance wasn't and cheered me up completely :)

Thank your lucky stars it wasn't Newquay!

@MsTSwift

Dharamasalar where the Dalai Lama lived. Dh and I went there on our travels. It rained was chilly and was like a worse version of Wales. Lots of litter and the Dalai Lama was away. Last straw was seeing a monk literally shitting in the street. Our room was so cold we went to bed in all our clothes. There was literally nothing to do. Avoid!

I've been to Dharamsala! Isn't it quite high up?

I remember being in a little cafe there, and they had a photo of Pierce Brosnan sitting in that cafe. Maybe you saw it? There were very few cafes there, so you might have done. I remember the monks everywhere too

Oh yes, another one for Cadbury World. Really, really really huge let down!

Hamilton...we watched it on Disney + and were a bit be bewildered, but now DD has soundtrack on non stop and we've swatted up on US history we realised it is a work of genius. Hopefully seeing it in London in October. Definitely recommend reading up on Hamilton first!

Venice. Was May and absolutely freezing. Dreadful food, poor service, smelly, dirty. Nope. Was beautiful, but don't need to go there again.

Special School. Literally poured everything into going to give ds the best possible chance.

It was dire. Ds was hit repeatedly by one of the other children and they provided no solution at all, it was just to be expected . First parents evening only three of his teachers could make it. One was standing in for his tutor as she was on maternity leave but hadn’t taught him more than a couple of times yet, one PE teacher who didn’t have much any news, and his IT teacher who was very very new to teaching and announced that he’d decided to teach ds’s year how to log in and use chat rooms . Three staggeringly awful terms later they set my ds a target to “sound out words” in class (he could do that at 2 and was now y7). ..... a bit shit covers that year from hell.

I loath bbq's! My kitchen isn't near the garden and that makes it a lot of lugging around.
Plus bbq food is generally ropey.
Easier to cook it all in the actual kitchen.